Considering the development of conventional engineering materials, the research on new modern materials and the increasing demand for road infrastructure construction, significant changes regarding both the road fundamental properties and functional positioning have been taking place at an increasing pace. The roads have evolved from early structures meeting basic traffic needs to important assets with well-defined economic and environmental characteristics. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the need for smart and safe travel has steadily created new requirements for road infrastructure. The rapid development of material science and interdisciplinary research has provided viable and technical support for the design and construction of various types of new pavements, thus promoting the continuous expansion within the research field of pavement materials. Therefore, this research introduces and analyzes the technical principles, design, development, and challenges related to new pavement materials characterized by self-capture energy, self-luminescence, self-regulation, and self-healing functions, providing a reference for the future research direction. The main objective of piezoelectric self-powering pavement is to design the structure and optimize the performance of self-powering devices, and apply this technique in road engineering. A series of studies on mechanical modeling, laboratory verification and engineering application of self-powering devices show that the energy harvesting effect of embedded piezoelectric self-powering devices made of block or multilayer piezoelectric materials is considerable, and the piezoelectric self-powering pavement has a broad prospect. Thermoelectric pavement is a new type of pavement, which uses the Seebeck effect of thermoelectric materials to collect excess energy of asphalt pavement and realize green conversion of pavement energy. Meanwhile, it can effectively reduce the temperature of pavement and prolong the service life of road. The composition includes three main parts: Thermoelectric conversion device, hot end and cold end. A new type of thermoelectric asphalt pavement structure is studied in this paper. Results indicate that the power generation 0.564 V of single specimen has good application potential via monitoring the generation voltage of thermoelectric pavement in different seasons. The research of self-luminous pavement mainly focuses on the design and optimization of pavement luminescent materials. The self-luminous paste materials are prepared by adding long afterglow rare earth luminescent powder and glass beads reflective powder into cement materials. The luminescence properties are characterized by afterglow decay time and fluorescence chromatography. The optimum range of particle size of self-luminous pavement materials and reflective powder is determined, which can provide reference for the further research. As for the self-regulation pavement material, the thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry tests are conducted to study the thermal stability and phase transition characteristics of PEG. The results show that PEG has excellent thermal stability; the average molecular weight ranging from 4000 to 10000 of PEG have relatively high phase change heat storage capacity and similar phase change temperature. Based on asphalt properties, the optimum average molecular weight for asphalt pavements can be further decided. Conductive asphalt mixtures are used in this study to investigate the self-healing properties under microwave irradiation. The microstructure and element distribution of steel slag are characterized through scanning electron microscope. The healing level and the optimum content of steel slag are evaluated according to the recovery strength level of steel slag asphalt mixture and the surface temperature distribution of specimen under microwave radiation. Results show that steel slag is an excellent microwave absorbing material, which can effectively improve the healing level of the mixture, meanwhile, there is an optimal addition amount of the steel slag. The significance of innovative material design is not only related to expanding the pavement functions, but also to bolstering the structural technology design concepts of modern road engineering as well as to offering new technologies for the related industry sector.

The strong alkalinity of red mud and the heavy metals it contains pose a serious threat to the environment. This study investigated the possibility of applying red mud as a solid waste material in road construction to mitigate the problem of red mud accumulation. Red mud was modified using titanium gypsum and phosphogypsum as curing agents. The effects of varying gypsum types and mixing ratios on the mechanical properties and heavy metal leaching of the resulting red mud-based materials were assessed using percussion tests, unconfined compressive strength measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and continuous heavy metal leaching tests. The results showed that the optimal moisture content for titanium gypsum–cement-stabilized red mud (RTC) exceeds that of phosphogypsum–cement-stabilized red mud (RPC), with RTC exhibiting a lower maximum dry density compared to RPC. When the gypsum admixture was within 10%, the strength of the RPC was higher than that of the RTC at the same and curing time. The reticulation in RPC-10 was denser. The cumulative heavy metal releases from both RTC and RPC were within the permissible limits for Class III groundwater discharge standards. Based on the comprehensive test results, RPC is identified as the superior modified red mud material, with an optimal mix ratio of red mud/phosphogypsum/cement of 87:5:8.

Blending behavior is the main factor influencing hot recycled asphalt mixtures’ actual and design performance. The following steps were taken to investigate the above issues. Firstly, the component changes of asphalt mixtures were studied by thin-layer chromatography, with flame ionization detection to obtain the mechanism of asphalt aging and recycling. Secondly, according to the difference in the recycled asphalt components, the hot recycled asphalt mixtures were optimized based on the Marshall design method. Lastly, the hot recycled asphalt mixtures for the three mixing processes were prepared using the optimized design method described above. Laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the correlation between the degree of blending (DoB) and the high-temperature stability, low-temperature crack resistance, water stability, and fatigue performance. The test results indicate that reducing light components (saturates and aromatics) and increasing heavy components (asphaltenes and resins) are the main reasons for asphalt aging, and asphalt recycling is an inverse process. Additionally, the performance of hot recycled asphalt mixtures is improved with an increase in DoB. Specifically, the DoB is only 50% to 60% under a normal mixing process, but by adjusting parameters the DoB will increase to 80% to 90%.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology has been widely used for predicting permeability coefficients of porous medium, such as shales, sandstones, and coals. However, there have been limited studies on the prediction model of clay-quartz mixtures based on NMR technology. In this study, evaporation tests at 40 °C and NMR tests were simultaneously performed on eight clay-quartz mixtures with different mineral compositions. The results show that during the evaporation process, the decay rate of T₂ total signal amplitudes was constant at first, and then decreased to 0 after a period of time. Based on the decay rate, the evaporation process was divided into two stages: the constant rate stage and the falling rate stage. Based on the two stages, the T₂ cut-offs of eight mixtures were determined. The water in the mixture was divided into two parts by the T₂ cut-off: the free water and the bound water. The prediction model of permeability coefficients of clay-quartz mixtures was established based on the Timur-Coates model. In order to simplify the process of predicting the permeability coefficient, fractal analysis was used to develop the relationship between the T₂ cut-off and fractal dimension of the T₂ spectrum of saturated mixture. A simplified method for predicting permeability coefficients of clay-quartz mixtures based on NMR technology without centrifugal and evaporation experiments was also proposed.

The modifying effects of polymer on bitumen low-temperature performance are substantially compromised by the thermal breakdown of styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) polymer during bitumen mixture production operations. The efficacy of the utilization of Sasobit/waste cooking oil (Sasobit/WCO) as a warm-mix additive has been demonstrated in mitigating the adverse consequences of thermal aging on SBR-modified bitumen binder (SB) while preserving the binder’s original performance characteristics. However, few studies have been conducted to further investigate the rheological properties and aging resistance of SB modified with Sasobit/WCO compounds. In this work, three additives—Sasobit, WCO, and Sasobit/WCO composite—were selected, and their effects on the physical and rheological characteristics of SB as well as the temperatures at which the mixtures were prepared were assessed. In addition, by using dynamic shear rheometers (DSR) and bending beam rheometers (BBR), the effects of this innovative warm-mix addition on the performance grade (PG) and aging resistances of SB were evaluated. According to the results, Sasobit/WCO composites outperform Sasobit and WCO in lowering the mixture preparation temperature. Sasobit/WCO also improves both the high- and low-temperature performance of SB simultaneously. Compared to hot-mix asphalt mixtures, the addition of Sasobit/WCO reduces the preparation temperature of the bitumen mixtures by 19 °C, which in turn helps to minimize the negative effects of temperature aging on the functioning of the SB. Additionally, the Sasobit/WCO composite addition can improve the SB mixture’s resistance to thermal cracking. After the introduction of Sasobit/WCO, the high-temperature PG of SB was raised by two levels, regardless of whether the warm-mix impact was taken into account. With the addition of Sasobit/WCO, SB’s resilience to short-term aging was enhanced.

Sawdust, a solid waste generated during stone processing, poses a serious threat to the environment with its untreated accumulation. This paper first analyzes the chemical composition and physical properties of sawdust, and discusses its mechanism of action in cement mortar. By systematically optimizing the blending ratio and modification method of sawdust, the sawdust-modified cement mortar with excellent performance was prepared. This study evaluates the key performance indicators of sawdust-modified cement mortar, such as compressive strength, flexural strength, and durability, through a series of experiments. The experimental results indicate that the incorporation of an appropriate amount of sawdust significantly enhances the mechanical properties of cement mortar, while also improving its durability, particularly in terms of freeze-thaw resistance. Microstructural analysis reveals the mechanism by which sawdust improves the pore structure of cement mortar; the active components in the sawdust react with the hydration products of cement, resulting in the formation of crystalline structures with higher strength.Therefore, the use of sawdust as a modifier in cement mortar can improve its mechanical properties and durability, while simultaneously reducing the accumulation of solid waste and promoting the sustainable development of building materials.