2011 - Sweden - Effect of Rolling Resistance on Truck Fuel Consumption

The higher investment cost for Portland cement concrete over asphalt concrete pavements is balanced by lower maintenance costs and a longer technical life. It is also claimed that the truck roll-ing resistance is lower on concrete pavements. An important actuality as the world continues to grow and emissions must be kept at bay. A number of studies have been made where a truck is driven over different pavement structures and the fuel consumption is carefully measured. They show that the rolling resistance does vary, but it is difficult to assess exactly how much can be at-tributed to the pavement structure. The present paper deals with assessing pavement hysteresis by evaluating falling weight deflectometer time histories. It was found that the visco-elastic proper-ties of the asphalt had a great influence on the curve. Water present and the subgrade material al-so affected the curve due to the material damping properties. At a field site, a motorway consisted of asphalt concrete and PCC. The difference in energy losses between the two is significant and can be accounted for when comparing the two materials for life cost analysis purposes. The results support choosing Portland cement concrete for high volume truck roads.