Emerging challenges of electric truck and truck platooning on flexible pavement responses

Electric trucks equipped with autonomous driving have been promoting truck platooning technologies. This system offers benefits like reduced fuel consumption and improved traffic flow while presenting challenges for the durability of flexible pavements. This study analyses the impact of electric trucks and platooning on flexible pavement responses at different rolling conditions. A modified semi-analytical finite element model was developed to simulate the multi-axle truck and platooning systems. The simulation results were validated against field instrumentation measurements. Analysis cases were conducted for diesel and electric trucks to investigate pavement responses at different rolling and temperature conditions, mainly for tensile strains at the bottom of asphalt layer and shear strains at near-surface. The results show that electric trucks increase pavement strain responses under steering axle by 9%–17% due to higher axle loads and it depends on battery weight distribution. Truck platooning induces higher transverse tensile strains and shear strains as compared to the individual truck. The coupling effects of axle loading increase with the number of trucks, and the highest strain is observed under the last truck loading in the platoon. The influence of truck spacing on strain responses is more pronounced for shear strains. These findings provide insights for better pavement design to accommodate emerging vehicle technology.