Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

Austroads Project Pipeline 2022-23

This webinar introduces Austroads new projects lined up for the 2022-23 financial year.

The session is most beneficial to consultants who may be interested in tendering for Austroads projects.

Upcoming projects focus on road network resilience, pavement design, movement and place, cycling and micromobility, future freight vehicles, road design, driver licensing, climate change risk assessment, automated and electric vehicle data exchange and provision.

Use of Road-grade Recycled Plastics for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements Part 3: Performance Outcomes

Austroads Project APT6305 Use of Road-grade Recycled Plastics for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements is investigating the use of recycled plastics in asphalt. The project is almost completed with results to date provided in three published reports.

The first report examined the use of road-grade recycled plastics in asphalt pavements and investigated the most suitable types of recycled plastics for incorporation into asphalt.

The second report provided a comprehensive overview of the development of various testing frameworks for the characterisation of road-grade recycled plastic, the incorporation of recycled plastics in bitumen and asphalt and the study of possible emissions and microplastics release.

The third report, the most comprehensive so far, presents the results of the experimental investigation on recycled plastics in asphalt and bitumen by focusing on the asphalt and bitumen properties, microplastics and emissions.

This webinar presents the outcomes of the project to date and covers the results of the multi-faceted (i.e. performance and environmental testing) laboratory investigation on bitumen and asphalt modified with recycled plastics. The session provides details on a potential framework for introducing the use of recycled plastics into current policies and specifications.

Webinar presenters are Andrew Papacostas from Department of Transport Victoria, Associate Professor Filippo Giustozzi from RMIT University and his team, including Dr Marie Enfrin, Yeong Jia Boom, and Dr Dai Lu Xuan.

Maximising the Use of Sustainable Rehabilitation Treatments

This webinar, presented by Dr Negin Zhalehjoo, Andrew Papacostas and Dr Didier Bodin, focuses on the outcomes of an Austroads research project “Laboratory Fatigue Characterisation of Foamed Bitumen Stabilised (FBS) Materials”. The objective of this project was to develop a laboratory fatigue relationship to predict the performance of FBS materials to be used for future pavement design of FBS materials. Extensive laboratory experiments were undertaken during the project, including indirect tensile testing and flexural testing on laboratory prepared and cured FBS specimens.

The webinar covers the following key topics:

• A summary of the testing program and procedures to measure and analyse the fatigue life of FBS specimens.
• The results of indirect tensile testing and flexural testing to determine the modulus, strength, and fatigue characteristics of FBS materials.
• The development of a new laboratory fatigue relationship for FBS materials as well as the discussion on the potential link between the fatigue performance of the FBS mixes and the mix properties.
• The comparison between the fatigue life predictions from the Shell asphalt laboratory fatigue relationship against the predictions using the developed presumptive fatigue relationship in this project.

Increasing the Use of Recycled Glass in Road Infrastructure

This webinar, presented by Dr James Grenfell and Dr Didier Bodin, focuses on the development of a specification on the supply of recycled crushed glass sand as part of a project to support increased use of recycled crushed glass (RCG) in road infrastructure. The project covers the use of RCG as a backfill and bedding sand, and within drainage, embankment fill, landscaping, and low risk concrete applications.

The webinar covers the technical basis behind the specification development and discusses the guidelines on how to process RCG.

Use of Road-grade Recycled Plastics for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements Part 2

Austroads project “Use of Road-grade Recycled Plastics for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements” is investigating the use of recycled plastics in asphalt. The project is well underway with results to date presented in two reports.

The first report examined the use of road-grade recycled plastics in asphalt pavements and investigated the most suitable types of recycled plastics for incorporation into asphalt.

The second report provided a comprehensive overview of the development of various testing frameworks for the characterisation of road-grade recycled plastic, the incorporation of recycled plastics in bitumen and asphalt and the study of possible emissions and microplastics release.

This webinar, presented by Andrew Papacostas, Dr Filippo Giustozzi, Yeong Jia and Dr Marie Enfrin, is the second session in a two-part series. It provides an overview of the outcomes of testing to date including techniques to assess emissions and microplastic release associated with the manufacture, placement and use of asphalt containing recycled plastic.

Use of Road-grade Recycled Plastics for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements Part 1

Austroads project “Use of Road-grade Recycled Plastics for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements” is investigating the use of recycled plastics in asphalt. The project is well underway with results to date presented in two reports.

 

The first report examined the use of road-grade recycled plastics in asphalt pavements and investigated the most suitable types of recycled plastics for incorporation into asphalt.

 

The second report provided a comprehensive overview of the development of various testing frameworks for the characterisation of road-grade recycled plastic, the incorporation of recycled plastics in bitumen and asphalt and the study of possible emissions and microplastics release.

 

This webinar, presented by Andrew Papacostas and Dr Filippo Giustozzi, is the first session in a two-part series and it details the outcomes of the potential use of road-grade recycled plastics in asphalt pavements and selection of the most suitable types of recycled plastics for incorporation into asphalt.

Investigation of Pavement Assessment Methodologies for PBS Access

We rely on road freight transport to keep Australia’s economy moving. Performance Based Standards (PBS) vehicles, that are typically longer and heavier, do this work more efficiently but how much road damage do they cause in the process?

This webinar, presented by Anthony Germanchev, Georgia O’Connor and Angus Draheim, explores the methods used by road managers to answer this question. It proposes a framework to support consistent approaches to understanding and comparing the pavement impacts of PBS vehicles. Some of the key steps government agencies are taking to support road managers in assessing PBS vehicles for network access are also outlined.

National Specification for Crumb Rubber Binders in Asphalt and Seals

Australia and New Zealand produce about 510,000 tonnes of end‑of‑life tyres annually. Crumb rubber derived from end‑of‑life tyres has been used in Australia for several decades to enhance the performance of binders used in sprayed seals but prior to 2017 the use of crumb rubber in asphalt pavements was limited.

Due to the lack of crumb rubber binder grades suitable for use in asphalt in the Austroads national polymer modified binder (PMB) specification (ATS 3110), two Australian jurisdictions and the Australian Flexible Pavement Association recently developed specifications for crumb rubber binders for use in asphalt which were based on tests and testing protocols used in Arizona and California.

This webinar, presented by Robert Urquhart, focuses on the outcomes of an Austroads research project which investigated whether the crumb rubber binders that were trialled in asphalt could be specified in terms of the tests and testing protocols used to specify other types of PMBs in the Austroads national PMB specification. Specification requirements have also been proposed for a binder containing 9% crumb rubber by weight which could be used in sprayed sealing applications.

The webinar also discusses the results of laboratory asphalt performance tests which investigated the effects of the amount of crumb rubber in a binder on asphalt performance.

Evaluating the Rutting Performance of Binders

Asphalt pavements are a major component of the Australian and New Zealand road networks. Road agencies in Australia and New Zealand have been putting great efforts to produce pavements which perform and are long-lasting. This has led to the development of national specifications to ensure materials of suitable quality are used for road construction.

Austroads ATS 3110 is used as a national performance-based specification for polymer modified binders (PMBs). The specification includes the consistency 6% (at 60 °C) property to evaluate the relative performance of a binder to resist rutting, as it is one of the major failure modes of asphalt pavements.

Consistency 6% tests are currently conducted using the elastometer instrument that was developed in Australia specifically for these tests. This instrument, however, is no longer being manufactured and the supplier is no longer providing technical support for existing instruments. A new test method has therefore been developed to determine consistency 6% properties using a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) rather than the elastometer. The DSR is widely used to test bituminous binders and other materials across the world.

Presented by Young Choi, this webinar details the outcomes of the Austroads research project which was conducted to develop the DSR consistency 6% test method. The project work included an extensive literature review, equipment investigations, optimisation of test procedures and validation studies using many different types of binders. These studies were conducted to ensure that the new DSR test method is equivalent to the current elastometer test method.

Use of Recycled Plastics in Road Surfacing

The ban on the export of recycled waste plastic by the Australian government has led to interest in the use of recycled waste plastic in road surfacing applications. Austroads has published a report, Interim guidelines for the use of recycled waste plastic in local government road surfacing applications, to assist local government in the use and procurement of road surfacing products incorporating recycled waste plastic.

This webinar, presented by Azeem Remtulla and Steve Halligan provides key information from the interim guidelines, discusses the status of the use of recycled waste plastic in road surfacing applications, the methods for the addition of recycled waste plastic into bituminous binders and asphalt along with limitations on the use of recycled waste plastic and proposes a methodology to the procurement of products incorporating recycled waste plastic.

The webinar also discusses surfacing applications for local council roads and propose a framework for comparing the properties of conventional asphalt to alternative asphalt mixes containing recycled waste plastic. This framework is based on current state road authority (SRA) and local government asphalt specifications and includes proposed tests to compare the performance properties of conventional asphalt against alternative asphalt mixes.

Worked hypothetical examples of the procurement and assessment process for asphalt incorporating recycled waste plastic as an alternative to conventional asphalt are also shared.