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Preliminary study on rutting performance of pavement structures under the effect of future autonomous vehicle movements

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Abstract

Rutting, also referred to as permanent deformation, has always been a concern in the asphalt pavement industry. The prevalence of rutting is the sign of inefficient functioning of roadways. Various studies are being performed for rutting analysis; and currently, rutting-related studies are more focused on autonomous vehicles and their potential adverse impact, especially with the expected reduced wandering effect. The advent of automated vehicles on prevailing pavements may raise countless questions regarding the distress-free functioning of pavement. Lateral and longitudinal wandering of autonomous vehicles is of top concerns on the rutting-related analysis of pavement structures. Therefore, there is a dire need for a better understanding of rutting-related behavior of pavements when loaded with autonomous vehicles. In this study, various conditions related to automated vehicles (such as reduction of wandering effect, overall increase in traffic volume) are examined, and quantification of the rutting encountered in such circumstances is illustrated via the Permanent Deformation for Roads (PEDRO) software package. Five different levels of traffic wandering, five levels of equivalent single axle loads, five different climatic locations, and three different pavement thicknesses were utilized as the study variables. Ultimately, 375 PEDRO runs were performed to understand the effect of autonomous driving vehicles on the rutting of the pavement structures. Rutting depths under different scenarios were obtained and analyzed. Similarly, a new parameter, increased rutting susceptibility (IRS), is coined to facilitate an easy understanding of change in rutting performances after the advent of autonomous vehicles. Based on the results of this preliminary study, it is anticipated that there is a potential increase in the rutting susceptibility of the affected pavement structures that may rise up to 400%.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at Tyler, RBS 1008, 3900 University Blvd, Tyler, TX, 75701, USA

    Nitish R. Bastola, Mena I. Souliman & Matthew Vechione

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  1. Nitish R. Bastola
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  2. Mena I. Souliman
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  3. Matthew Vechione
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Correspondence to Mena I. Souliman.

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Bastola, N.R., Souliman, M.I. & Vechione, M. Preliminary study on rutting performance of pavement structures under the effect of future autonomous vehicle movements. Innov. Infrastruct. Solut. 8, 60 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-022-01024-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-022-01024-2

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