PAVEMENTS OF HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ANALYSIS OF THEIR SUSTAINABILITY

Pavements integrate the necessary road infrastructure to the traffic of people and loads. Once technology is blossoming, it is possible to offer new solutions to reduce the crossing time and improve the flow conditions, comfort and users security. Pavements environment impact is related to their implantation, construction materials, maintenance and rehabilitation. These environment costs have to be estimated taking into account the associated impact costs of raw materials extraction, construction materials production and transportation, and the pavement system construction itself. The gradually increase of the atmospheric pollution leads to a significant loss of vegetation which reflects on the control of drainage and erosion. Usually, the analyses are limited to the pavement design and technological aspects of construction and quality control aiming at its durability, conditions of comfort and structural security. However, the pavement performance should also be considered in terms of minimizing the environment and human costs. In this context, the relatively recent availability of high performance concrete may contribute to minimize the pavement environment impact resulting from its higher flexural strength, allowing the reduction of the pavement thickness and the consequent amount of required construction materials, and its higher durability, requiring less maintenance works. This paper presents environment and human aspects on the costs and benefits of the pavements constructed with high performance concrete, aiming at the analyses of their sustainability. Key words: pavements; high performance concrete; sustainabilit