LCPC's Division for Transport Materials and Infrastructure (SMIT) Division is responsible for conducting studies and research on the materials and structures that constitute the domain of transport infrastructure designed for rolling loads (road pavements, as well as airport runways, public transit routes and industrial platforms). The Division's scope of research includes all materials used to build and maintain this infrastructure (i.e. materials treated with bitumen binders and hydraulic binders, untreated materials) and focuses on: material composition, optimisation from a mechanical and environmental standpoint, development of material behaviour models, design of laboratory tests on both bonded and unbonded materials, the mechanics of unbonded pavement materials and soil substrata, structural modelling, computer code development, design methodology, and implementation of full-scale tests on the pavement fatigue carrousel, all in the aim of promoting a sustainable development policy.
Division activities can be broken down according to three major themes :
- Road materials derived from limiting the use of non-renewable resources.
- Determination of material behaviour for structural optimisation purposes.
- Modelling and design of sustainable transport infrastructure.
The Division is also equipped with considerable experimental resources for the study of bound and unbound materials as well as the characterisation of their components, from a mechanical, chemical and environmental perspective. It is also responsible for managing the LCPC pavement fatigue carrousel and two smaller-sized traffic simulators (Fabac machines). The SMIT Division has been awarded the Cofrac accreditation for tests conducted on bituminous binders and materials.
This Division has been organised into two distinct study groups:
|
|
