Asphalt mixture choice: a decision-aid model

Due to the continuous development of warm mix asphalts (WMA) as alternatives to hot mix asphalts (HMA), the choice of the most favourable mixture for a given project is not necessarily straightforward. When considering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption from road construction, few of the GHG calculators currently available are able to perform a comparison at the asphalt mixture scale – despite the clearly important effects of the asphalt mixture type on overall energy consumption and emissions. Moreover, the choice should ideally take into account aspects such as mechanical performance and other qualitative criteria. To redress this situation, a multi-criteria model has been developed in the framework of PhD research. The proposed model aims at comparing different types of asphalt mixtures and helping the road owner in the decision making process.