Evaluation of mechanical responses of full-scale pavement integrating inductive coils for the development of ERS for heavy goods vehicles

This paper presents full scale accelerated pavement tests (APT) performed at Université Gustave Eiffel to evaluate the mechanical behaviour, under heavy vehicle loads, of Electric Road (ERS) sections, designed for dynamic charging of heavy vehicles by induction. The objective of the tests was to compare different solutions for the integration of the inductive coils in a bituminous pavement structure, and in particular different solutions for bonding the coils with the pavement layers. The test sections were instrumented with strain gages at different levels, and temperature sensors. The article focuses on the evolution of strains in the different test sections, with loading conditions, traffic level and temperature, and compares them with strain measurements in a reference section without coils. Effects of coil material, bonding conditions and temperature on the response of the ERS sections are analysed, in order to select the most appropriate solutions for real road deployment.