Project Description

The overall aim of this project is to create an advanced Multi-Objective Decision-Aid Tool to efficiently manage the maintenance and rehabilitation of road pavements using the state-of-the-art in terms of pavement performance models and decision-aid tools. This will involve a new deterministic segment-linked optimization model to optimally allocate the public funds and, at the same time, keeping the road network at required quality levels. To achieve that aim, it is necessary to materialize the following tasks:

• Evaluate the state-of-the-art in terms of pavement performance models and specially make the comparison between the utilization of the AASHTO pavement performance model developed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the new pavement performance models developed or that are still in development in a recently American study called National Cooperative Highway Research Program;
• Evaluate the state-of-the-art in terms of optimization models and Decision-Aid Tools;
• Development of a Multi-objective Decision-Aid Tool, incorporating into the same optimization model several objectives (minimization of maintenance costs; minimization of the number of interventions in the road network; maximization of the residual value of pavements; minimization of user costs; etc.) using the concepts of Pareto optimal solution set and rank-based fitness evaluation;
• Development of a heuristic method, based on genetic-algorithm principles, to solve the new optimization model that is behind the Multi-objective Decision-Aid Tool;
• Integration of the Multi-objective Decision-Aid Tool with Geographic information Systems (GIS);
• Development of pavement performance models using pavement data stored in Road Network Databases, acquired in the last years;
• Application of the new PMS tool to the municipal road networks of Coimbra and Oliveira do Hospital and also to the Portuguese road network under the administration of the EP (Estradas de Portugal, S.A.);
• Discussion with municipal and national road administrations about the methodologies and the results obtained using the new PMS tool with the objective of improving some aspects that can make it more practical and efficient.

A new PMS, applied throughout a validated and innovative Decision-Aid Tool, will be of great importance for optimizing the use of resources both for national and municipal road networks.

Project start date: 1/04/2011, Duration: 3 years.

Research Team

CITTA

• Adelino Ferreira
• António Antunes
• Susana Meneses.

Financial Support

• Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and by national funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology - FCT (PTDC/ECM/112775/2009).

Stage of Progress

• Concluded in 2014

Output

Publications

Papers in journals

• Santos, J., Bryce, J., Flintsch, G., Ferreira, A. and Diefenderfer, B. (2015), A life cycle assessment of in-place recycling and conventional pavement construction and maintenance practices, Structure and Infrastructure Engineering (ISI Journal), 11 (9), 1199-1217.
• Santos, J., Ferreira, A. and Flintsch, G. (2015), A life cycle assessment model for pavement management: road pavement construction and management in Portugal, International Journal of Pavement Engineering (ISI Journal), 16 (4), 315-336.
• Santos, J., Ferreira, A. and Flintsch, G. (2015), A life cycle assessment model for pavement management: methodology and computational framework, International Journal of Pavement Engineering (ISI Journal), 16 (3), 268-286.
• Meneses, S. and Ferreira, A. (2015), Flexible pavement maintenance programming considering the minimisation of maintenance and rehabilitation costs and the maximisation of the residual value of pavements, International Journal of Pavement Engineering (ISI Journal), 16 (7), 571-586.
• Ferreira, A. and Santos, J. (2013), Life-cycle cost analysis system for pavement management at project level: sensitivity analysis to the discount rate, International Journal of Pavement Engineering (ISI Journal), 14 (7), 655-673.
• Meneses, S. and Ferreira, A. (2013), Pavement maintenance programming considering two objectives: maintenance costs and user costs, International Journal of Pavement Engineering (ISI Journal), 14 (2), 206-221.
• Santos, J. and Ferreira, A. (2013), Life-cycle cost analysis for pavement management at project level, International Journal of Pavement Engineering (ISI Journal), 14 (1), 71-84.
• Meneses, S., Ferreira, A. and Collop, A. (2013), Multi-objective decision-aid tool for pavement management, Transport (ISI Journal), Institution of Civil Engineers, 166 (2), 79-94.
• Wu, Z., Flintsch, G., Ferreira, A. and Picado-Santos, L. (2012), Framework for multi‐objective optimization of physical highway assets investments, Journal of Transportation Engineering (ISI Journal), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 138 (12), 1411–1421.
• Santos, J. and Ferreira, A. (2012), Pavement design optimisation considering costs and preventive interventions, Journal of Transportation Engineering (ISI Journal), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 138 (7), 911-923.
• Jorge, D. and Ferreira, A. (2012), Road network pavement maintenance optimisation using the HDM4 pavement performance prediction models, International Journal of Pavement Engineering (ISI Journal), 13 (1), 39-51.

Papers in Proceedings of Scientific Conferences

• Santos, J., Bryce, J., Flintsch, G., Ferreira, A. and Diefenderfer, B. (2014), A Life Cycle Assessment of In-Place Recycling and Conventional Pavement Construction and Maintenance Practices, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Pavement Life Cycle Assessment, pp. 49-60, Davis, California, USA.
• Rodrigues, C., Micaelo, R., Quaresma, L. e Ferreira, A. (2014), Modelos de previsão de IRI para a gestão da conservação de pavimentos rodoviários, 43.ª Reunião Anual de Pavimentação / 17.º Encontro Nacional de Conservação Rodoviária, CD Ed., 43rapv_submission_137.pdf, pp. 1-12, Maceió, Brasil.
• Bryce, J., Santos, J., Flintsch, G., Katicha, S., McGhee, K. and Ferreira, A. (2014), Analysis of rolling resistance models to analyze vehicle fuel consumption as a function of pavement properties, Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Asphalt Pavements and Environment, in Asphalt Pavements, Y. Richard Kim, CRC Press 2014, 263–273, Print ISBN: 978-1-138-02693-3, eBook ISBN: 978-1-315-73675-4, DOI: 10.1201/b17219-39, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
• Ferreira, A., Meneses, S. and Paiva, C. (2014), Pavement maintenance programming considering three objectives: maintenance and rehabilitation costs, user costs, and the residual value of pavements, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure, CD Ed., pp. 285-291, University of Zagreb, Split, Croatia.
• Meneses, S. and Ferreira, A. (2014), Pavement maintenance programming considering two objectives: maintenance costs and residual value of pavements, Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Transport Infrastructure, CD Ed., 059.pdf, pp. 519-525, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
• Santos, J., Ferreira, A. and Flintsch, G. (2014), Development and application of a life-cycle assessment model for pavement management, Proceedings of the Transport Research Arena, CD Ed., TRA2014_Fpaper_18702.pdf, pp. 1-10, Paris, France.
• Ferreira, A., Santos, J. (2013), Life-cycle cost analysis system for pavement management – sensitivity analysis to the pavement foundation, Proceedings of the World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR 2013), CD Ed., 939.pdf, pp. 1-15, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Veiga, J., Micaelo, R., Ferreira, A. (2013), Rutting models for use in pavement maintenance management, Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields, pp. 393-402, ISBN: 978-82-321-0285-3, Trondheim, Norway.
• Ferreira, A., Queiroz, C., Souza, R. (2013), Road network maintenance optimization using the HDM-4 pavement performance prediction models, Proceedings of the 2nd Conference on Sustainable Asphalt in the Middle East, CD Ed., paper 067.pdf, pp. 1-11, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
• Ferreira, A., Santos, J. (2012), Life-cycle cost analysis system for pavement management at project level, Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Asphalt Pavements and Environment, CD Ed., paper 131.pdf, pp. 1-12, Fortaleza, Brazil.
• Ferreira, A., Souza, R. (2012), A new decision-aid tool for pavement management systems, Proceedings of the Fourth European Pavement and Asset Management Conference, CD Ed., pp. 1-12, Malmö, Sweden.
• Ferreira, A., Queiroz, C. (2012), A deterministic segment-linked optimization model for road network maintenance management, Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Optimization - EngOpt2012, CD Ed., paper 146.pdf, pp. 1-10, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Ferreira, A., Santos, J. (2012), Pavement design optimization considering costs and preventive interventions, Proceedings of the 2th International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure, CD Ed., pp. 243-250, University of Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Croatia.