Ruggedised networking solutions

The new COPave package from LafargeHolcim offers users the chance to evaluate the long-term environmental footprint of road construction. COPave is a life cycle assessment (LCA) software specific to roads, which allows designers, authorities, lenders and contractors to evaluate the environmental footprint of roads. Users can target the best carbon optimum for road investment as a result. CoPave is a collaborative integrated service that can be used for both new road projects and refurbishment works.
September 15, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
LafargeHolcim has developed a program that allows users to determine the long-term sustainability of road construction

The package offers the answer to a number of key questions for road contractors and clients alike. What is the environmental impact of rigid, semi-rigid or flexible structures? Does soil stabilisation reduce the environmental footprint of pavement and if so, by how much? How can engineers quantify the environmental impact of recycling in road construction? And how are innovative structures, materials and solutions performing from an environmental point of view? What about the impact of materials hauling distances?

According to LafargeHolcim, the responses to these questions are often biased and based on habits, preferences, or perceptions. However, the company’s researchers have developed COPave to provide an objective and exhaustive evaluation of road projects to assist decision-making.

The firm says that COPave allows an objective evaluation of roads, covering all stages of the projects, from the choice of raw materials to end of life considerations, including the use phase of the roads.

A number of parameters need to be considered when performing the life cycle assessment of a road project. These parameters range from the choice of raw materials and the pavement structural design, to the chosen maintenance scenario and its effect on the fuel efficiency of the vehicles during the project’s use phase.

The LCA results also depend on local climate conditions and traffic forecasts that change from project to project. That is why there is no universal answer as to what the best material or structure is, and why COPave is needed to fully understand the potential impact of often complex projects.

The environmental performance of any road project also depends on the local context. Several asphalt plants and aggregate quarries are available at different distances, leading to different production processes and offering different products.

These local conditions can result in a 30% change in the carbon emissions associated with the construction and maintenance operations of the project. COPave allows users to optimise the impacts of operations while also understanding how the choices made can affect the impact of the use and end-of-life phases of the road project. Understanding which life cycle stage offers the highest carbon emissions saving potential will be key in supporting the deployment of a sustainable road infrastructure.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Proper GPR Surveying Techniques
    May 10, 2019
    A sustainably good road surface often depends on how well understood is the ground underneath the road’s route. Brian Jones* offers some best practice and advice for getting the most from ground-penetrating radar investigations Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is one of the most accurate non-destructive testing (NDT) methods available. To get the most from GPR surveying, it is absolutely essential to understand how GPR tools work and follow best practices when conducting surveys. Key areas to be aware o
    Read More
  • Preventive maintenance - preserving pavements
    February 14, 2012
    In the first article of a three-part series on preventive maintenance, Alan S. Kercher, of Kercher Engineering, highlights the value to road agencies of a properly implemented pavement preservation programme For many road agencies, the budget for maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction (MR&R) of their roads is focused mainly on the pavements that are in the worst condition. In the short term, this common approach may seem very logical. However, when focused on expensive structural improvements,
    Read More
  • Energy Saving Roads - The Future Way of Sustainable Infrastructure
    April 23, 2019
    A workshop into environmentally-friendly road construction was held in Denmark - report from Mikkel Bruun, Bruun Communication Recent advances in road construction have included the development of climate asphalt, which reduces rolling resistance and saves CO2. But what is it and how does it affect the production and use of asphalt pavements? And what are the socio-economic implications? The ROSE project that just ended with a workshop in Copenhagen might hold the answers. The rule of thumb is that lo
    Read More
  • A pothole damage breakthrough?
    April 11, 2013
    Academic research by two universities in the same UK city shows that patch repairs on potholes could be far more durable if a few simple techniques were consistently used. Guy Woodford reports. Repairing pothole damage to highways and vehicles across Europe costs responsible authorities and individual motorists hundreds of millions of euros each year. Yet it has cost just €20,204 to make the potentially crucial first step in identifying a method of keeping highways across the continent and beyond pothole fr
    Read More

Highlighted Content