The course provides students with advanced skills for the design, monitoring and maintenance of pavements and tracks for transportation infrastructures from both the structural and functional point of view.

Knowledge transferred to students will address the following topics: • Construction types; • Mechanical behavior and durability of materials; • Structural modelling of discrete and multilayered systems; • Modelling of the vehicle-pavement interaction; • Empirical and mechanistic design methods; • Survey methods of in-service distresses and performance; • Maintenance and rehabilitation techniques. At the end of the course students will be able to: • Design pavements and tracks for roads, railways and airports by means of advanced calculation methods; • Evaluate structural and functional conditions of in-service pavements and tracks, with the consequent definition of the most appropriate maintenance and rehabilitation actions.

Students attending the course should already possess knowledge and skills provided by the basic courses of the Bachelor in Civil Engineering and by the course of “Construction of Roads, Railways and Airports”.

• Introductory concepts to pavement and track engineering; • Structural analysis of flexible and rigid pavements; • Structural analysis of railway tracks; • Distresses and damage in flexible and rigid pavements; • Rail defects and railway track distresses; • Structural and functional design of flexible and rigid pavements for roads and airports; • Monitoring and maintenance of pavements and tracks.

Theoretical lectures are supported by exercise sessions and workshops on case studies. In exercise sessions, organized in working groups, students will apply the methods of analysis and design presented during theoretical lectures. In the workshops it will be shown to students how solve real problems in the context of professional and/or research activities in the field of pavements and tracks.

Resources: • Course notes; • Documents available on the course webpage. Supplementary references: • Santagata F.A., et al., Strade. Teoria e Tecnica delle Costruzioni Stradali, vol. I e II, Pearson; • Huang Y.H., Pavement analysis and design, Pearson; • Ullidtz P., Modelling Flexible Pavement Response and Performance, Polyteknisk Forlag; • Esveld C., Modern Railway Track, MRT-Productions; • FHWA (Federal Highway Administration), Distress Identification Manual for the Long-Term Pavement Performance Program; • AASHTO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures (1993).

Modalita di esame: Prova orale obbligatoria; Progetto individuale;

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual project;

... In order to be admitted to the final exam, students must provide a collection of the course exercises at least one week before the exam date. The final exam consists of an oral interview aimed to assess acquired competences in terms of knowledge, understanding and ability to solve problems.

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilita o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unita Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione piu idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.