PDEng position: Development of software to estimate effects of PVI

Fuel consumption of vehicles depends on several factors, including rolling resistance (RR). RR is defined as the energy lost when the vehicle tyre rolls over a pavement surface, and to a great extent is determined by three pavement-vehicle interaction (PVI) mechanisms: pavement roughness, texture and deflection.

Although most of the strategies adopted by the highway agencies to reduce the environmental footprint of their pavement construction and maintenance practices consists of using waste and recycled materials, low temperature asphalt mixtures, and in-place recycling techniques, a more meaningful reduction can be achieved by lowering the environmental impacts arising from the movement of vehicles due to the pavement condition and characteristics.

This task requires the development of a software able to quantify the impacts of pavement condition and characteristics on RR and consequent effects on additional vehicle fuel consumption.

The main objective of the project:

To develop a software that deploys data driven models intended to estimate the effects of pavement condition and characteristics on RR and consequent additional vehicle fuel consumption under driving conditions. The goal is to improve the understanding and modelling of the role of road pavements on additional vehicle fuel consumption due to RR. Data collection campaigns will be performed by using an instrumented vehicle. The obtained data will be analysed using data mining techniques to obtain data-driven knowledge and develop models that capture the complex correlations between the variables involved in the PVI mechanisms and their effects on vehicle fuel consumption.

The expected outcomes of the project:

Data-driven models to estimate the PVI effects on additional vehicle fuel consumption.
A software that deploys the developed models to allow the quick assessment of the impact of pavement design and management decisions on the vehicle energy consumption and environmental impacts arising from the pavement use phase.