Unit CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE
- Course
- Civil engineering
- Study-unit Code
- A006281
- Curriculum
- Structural engineering
- Teacher
- Gianluca Cerni
- Teachers
-
- Gianluca Cerni
- Hours
- 40 ore - Gianluca Cerni
- CFU
- 5
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2026
- Offered
- 2026/27
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Sector
- CEAR-03/A
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- English
- Contents
- The course focuses on the materials used in the construction and maintenance of road infrastructures and on the techniques employed for their placement and construction.
- Reference texts
- F.A. Santagata e altri, STRADE - TEORIA E TECNICA DELLE COSTRUZIONI STRADALI, vol.II - costruzione, gestione e manutenzione, Editore Pearson
P. Ferrari, F. Giannini, Ingegneria stradale, volume II - ISEDI
G. Tesoriere, Strade ferrovie ed aeroporti, volume II - UTET
Bollettino Ufficiale n. 125, Istruzioni sulla pianificazione della manutenzione stradale, 1988.
Manual Series 16, Asphalt in pavement maintenance, The Asphalt Institute, 1983.
R. Haas, W. R. Hudson, Pavement Management, Krieger publishing company, 1982. - Educational objectives
- The course aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills required for the construction and maintenance of road infrastructures.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
Students will acquire a thorough understanding of the performance characteristics of the materials used in the construction and maintenance of road infrastructures. They will also gain the knowledge required to design pavement structures and plan maintenance interventions using rational engineering methods.
Applying knowledge and understanding
Students will develop the ability to select appropriate materials, design road pavement structures, and plan and implement maintenance interventions in accordance with engineering principles and current technical standards. - Prerequisites
- The knowledge required to understand the course contents and achieve the intended learning outcomes is as follows:
Mathematical Analysis: study of functions, differentiation and integration techniques, differential equations.
Structural Mechanics: continuum mechanics, stress and strain analysis, constitutive equations, elasticity. - Teaching methods
- The course consists of lectures and, where applicable, practical sessions in the Materials Testing Laboratory – Road Infrastructure Section.
- Learning verification modality
- The assessment of the learning outcomes consists of an oral examination.
The oral examination lasts approximately 30–45 minutes and is designed to assess: (i) the student's knowledge of the theoretical and methodological contents of the course; (ii) the ability to explain the methodologies adopted for the construction and maintenance of road infrastructures; and (iii) the ability to exercise independent judgment in identifying the most appropriate engineering approach to the construction and maintenance of road pavements.
The examination also aims to evaluate the student's ability to communicate technical concepts using appropriate terminology, to engage in critical discussion with the examination committee, and to effectively summarize the practical applications of the theories covered during the course.
The final grade is awarded by the Examination Committee on a scale of 30, with 18/30 being the minimum passing grade and 30/30 cum laude representing the highest distinction. - Extended program
- The course aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills required for the construction and maintenance of road infrastructures. The course is organized into the following teaching units:
Soils: classification, compaction, and subgrade bearing capacity
Particle size distribution analysis by sieve testing. Determination of water susceptibility (Atterberg limits). Soil classification criteria (Group Index and UNI 10006). Laboratory compaction tests (Proctor test). Field compaction and density control. Empirical and rational methods for evaluating bearing capacity (Boussinesq and Westergaard theories, California Bearing Ratio (CBR), static and dynamic plate load tests, and cyclic triaxial testing).
Aggregates: physical, chemical, and mechanical properties
Physical properties (classification, shape index, flakiness index, porosity and specific gravity, macrotexture and microtexture, sand equivalent). Chemical properties (influence on bitumen–aggregate adhesion and moisture-induced damage). Mechanical properties (Los Angeles abrasion test, Micro-Deval test, and Polished Stone Value (PSV)).
Bituminous binders: bitumen rheology
Bitumen production process. Fundamentals of bitumen chemistry. Rheological behaviour of bitumen at high temperatures (flow curves, viscometers, mixing and compaction temperatures). Bitumen ageing. Bitumen as a viscoelastic material at intermediate temperatures (complex modulus and determination of rutting and fatigue cracking limit temperatures). Bitumen as a brittle material at low temperatures (determination of the thermal cracking temperature). Empirical tests (penetration, Ring-and-Ball softening point, Fraass breaking point, and ductility test).
Asphalt mixtures for road pavements: mix design and mechanical properties
Mixture composition. Aggregate blend design. Determination of the optimum bitumen content using the voids and specific surface area method. Marshall mix design. Determination of optimum bitumen content and air voids. Superpave gyratory compactor. Stiffness modulus. Production, laying, and quality control of asphalt mixtures.
Pavement design
Fatigue laws. Iso-rutting curves. Traffic loading. Introduction to empirical pavement design methods. Mechanistic pavement design of flexible pavements (stress–strain analysis, fatigue damage calculation and verification, and rut depth prediction).
Pavement maintenance management
Planned pavement maintenance based on the following five stages: initial design; establishment and updating of the pavement database through monitoring of structural and surface characteristics; evaluation of maintenance alternatives; maintenance planning; execution and acceptance testing of maintenance works.