Wander Effect on Pavement Performance for Application in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

Abstract

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) will change how road engineers design road pavements because they can position themselves within a traffic lane, keeping their position in the lane more precisely than human-driven vehicles. These vehicles will have lower lateral wandering, which can induce more damage to pavements, such as cracking and permanent deformation, than the conventional vehicles, with consequences for the infrastructures due to the increased cracking and reduced safety due to the rutting. Thus, it is essential to assess the wander effect on pavement performance to define policies for its implementation on CAV. This paper studies the impact of the lateral wander of the traffic on pavement performance, considering its fatigue and permanent deformation resistance. This impact can be used to define limits for the wander to minimize distresses on the pavement. The results of this study allow us to conclude that for a pavement with a 10 cm asphalt layer, the wander effect is more significant for fatigue life. A pavement life increase of 20% was observed for a wander of 0.2 m, while for 0.6 m, the fatigue life can increase up to 48%. For the permanent deformation, a pavement life increase of 2% for a wander of 0.2 m was observed, but for 0.6 m, the pavement life can be increased up to 34%.

Automated Trucks’ Impact on Pavement Fatigue Damage

“…In recent years, the implementation of automated driving technology into trucks has garnered significant attention due to its potential to provide a range of benefits to freight transportation, including reduced operational costs, improved fuel efficiency, and enhanced road safety [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. However, it is essential to consider the potential differences between automated trucks (ATs) and human-driven trucks (HDTs), which could impact pavement performance differently [1,2,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”