IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i24p16777-d1298995.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the Potential of 3D Printing Technology for Sustainable Plastic Roads: A Preliminary Investigation

Author

Listed:
  • Mohamed Ezzat Al-Atroush

    (Civil and Environmental Engineering Program, College of Engineering, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11543, Saudi Arabia
    Department of Engineering Management, College of Engineering, Prince Sultan University, P.O. Box 66833, Riyadh 12211, Saudi Arabia)

  • Jumana Almushcab

    (Software Engineering, College of Computer and Information Systems, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11543, Saudi Arabia)

  • Duha Alhudaif

    (Architectural Engineering Department, College of Architecture and Design, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11543, Saudi Arabia)

  • Yosra Meskinyar

    (Architectural Engineering Department, College of Architecture and Design, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11543, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

The urgency of climate change has highlighted the need for sustainable road construction materials, replacing the conventional asphalt, which significantly contributes to global warming and the urban heat island effect. With this in mind, the construction of the world’s first 30-m plastic road in Zwolle, Netherlands, in 2018, opened the door for novel plastic applications as paving materials. However, its application is currently still limited to sidewalks and light-load cycling lanes. The feasibility of utilizing 3D printing technology to provide the necessary structural design flexibility for the production of plastic pavement modules that can withstand heavy traffic and extreme weather conditions was examined in this preliminary study. The suitability of six plastic materials (PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU, Nylon, and polycarbonate) for 3D printing was evaluated. Polylactic acid (PLA), and polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) were identified as the most suitable materials for this study. Three small-scale structural systems, namely hollow modular with plastic columns, hollow modular with solid plastic cones, and hollow modular with X-bracing, were designed and successfully printed using the adopted materials and a 3D printer. The developed systems were subsequently subjected to compression testing to assess their structural performance under heavy traffic loads and demonstrate the feasibility of the concept. The results showed that the PLA conic structural system was effective and exhibited the highest compression strength, while the PETG conic system exhibited ductile behavior with superior thermal stability. The study suggests that the hybrid system of PLA and PETG materials may improve the overall performance, combine flexibility and strength, and potentially improve the resistance to extreme weather and heavy traffic. These findings prove that 3D printing technology has the potential to revolutionize the road construction industry and provide more sustainable solutions for infrastructure development.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohamed Ezzat Al-Atroush & Jumana Almushcab & Duha Alhudaif & Yosra Meskinyar, 2023. "Exploring the Potential of 3D Printing Technology for Sustainable Plastic Roads: A Preliminary Investigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-24, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:24:p:16777-:d:1298995
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/24/16777/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/24/16777/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marianela Espinoza & Noelia Campos & Rebekah Yang & Hasan Ozer & José P. Aguiar-Moya & Alejandra Baldi & Luis G. Loría-Salazar & Imad L. Al-Qadi, 2019. "Carbon Footprint Estimation in Road Construction: La Abundancia–Florencia Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Feng Ma & Aimin Sha & Ruiyu Lin & Yue Huang & Chao Wang, 2016. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Asphalt Pavement Construction: A Case Study in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fang, Zigeng & Yan, Jiayi & Lu, Qiuchen & Chen, Long & Yang, Pu & Tang, Junqing & Jiang, Feng & Broyd, Tim & Hong, Jingke, 2023. "A systematic literature review of carbon footprint decision-making approaches for infrastructure and building projects," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    2. Kiran Sapkota & Ehsan Yaghoubi & P. L. P. Wasantha & Rudi Van Staden & Sam Fragomeni, 2023. "Mechanical Characteristics and Durability of HMA Made of Recycled Aggregates," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-19, March.
    3. Fuyi Yao & Guiwen Liu & Yingbo Ji & Wenjing Tong & Xiaoyun Du & Kaijian Li & Asheem Shrestha & Igor Martek, 2020. "Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Construction within the Industrialized Building Process: A Monetization and Building Information Modelling Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-22, November.
    4. Feng Ma & Aimin Sha & Panpan Yang & Yue Huang, 2016. "The Greenhouse Gas Emission from Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Construction in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-12, June.
    5. Abdalrhman Milad & Ali Mohammed Babalghaith & Abdulnaser M. Al-Sabaeei & Anmar Dulaimi & Abdualmtalab Ali & Sajjala Sreedhar Reddy & Munder Bilema & Nur Izzi Md Yusoff, 2022. "A Comparative Review of Hot and Warm Mix Asphalt Technologies from Environmental and Economic Perspectives: Towards a Sustainable Asphalt Pavement," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-23, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:24:p:16777-:d:1298995. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.