FAPLAB project investigates laboratory design methods for anti-skid asphalt pavements to increase road safety
The Construction Technology Center (CTCON) has been developing the FAPLAB project since 2018. The main objective is to investigate a methodology that allows to design asphalt mixtures in laboratory and to evaluate/predict the safety of the pavement by means of its long-term anti-skid behavior simulating the action of traffic.
In addition to this main objective, a series of specific scientific-technological objectives have been set, which have been achieved within a period of 3 years:
- Formulation of new types of bituminous mixtures for wearing course with the implementation of new designs based on obtaining more reliable and representative laboratory values of adherence and friction in aggregates and asphalt mixtures.
- Predicting the skid resistance of asphalt road pavements through laboratory testing.
- Reduction of costs associated with road infrastructure maintenance tasks.
- Evaluation of the environmental impact and consequently of the sustainability, through life cycle analysis, of these new technological solutions.
In order to reach such ambitious objectives, and therefore achieve such a significant technological advance, the FAPLAB project has relied on a scientific-technological-entrepreneurial consortium composed of the following companies:
SAOP
COVIAL
PORPHYRY OF THE MEDITERREANEAN REGION
TENAGA
CTCON. Project coordinator
In addition, the project has counted with the participation of the General Directorate of Roads, the soil mechanics laboratory of the General Directorate of Roads and the laboratory of the Demarcation of the Ministry of Development of the Region of Murcia.
The project has had several work phases:
1. Study and investigation of slip resistance measurements of bituminous mixtures in the laboratory.
2. Performance of test sections of the bituminous mixtures studied.
3. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and feasibility studies of the results.
The purpose of this project is to provide tools that allow the design of bituminous mixtures in the laboratory and that can predict the evolution of the friction coefficient during the years of service on the road, as well as to have a reliable test to obtain data on friction on the roads, in order to be able to act.
.PNG)
