MAT-755: SUSTAINABLE ROAD CONSTRUCTION FOR HEAVY TRAFFIC USING HIGH STRENGTH POLYMERIC GEOCELLS

Autor: Pokharel, Sanat K., Norouzi, Meisam, Martin, Ian, Breault, Marc
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Zdroj: Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
Popis: Construction Sustainability has been the focus of debate ever since the Brundtland commission report ‘Our Common Future’ defined Sustainable Development. Kyoto Protocol and subsequent climate change conferences leading up to the Paris submit this year has put still more emphasis on this agenda. Construction of heavy traffic unpaved access roads require huge amount of aggregate mining and long haulage in the areas of scarce virgin aggregate. Conventional practices in these road constructions seek structural adequacy but never specifically address the sustainability issue. Innovative technology that can reduce the volume of aggregate material while maintaining the structural integrity is required to address the sustainability issue of these roads construction. This paper discusses the construction of these roads with high strength Geocell (Neoloy) reinforcement giving special reference to Oil Sand region of Alberta. These Geocells improve the modulus and strength of the reinforced composite and durability of the road structure by drastically reducing the required quantity of aggregate material. Operation of these access roads has also demonstrated saving on running cost, maintenance and down time. Neoloy Geocells also make it possible to use recycled and locally available cheaper materials for road construction still exceeding the overall performance of conventional construction. In terms of sustainability the benefit will be more visible when the carbon footprint is analyzed for the virgin material mining and haulage to the construction site. A basic analysis of CO2 emission reduction and how it is applied to new emission standards in Alberta industry with this innovative method is also discussed.
Databáze: OpenAIRE