Impacts of Load Distribution and Lane Width on Pavement Rutting Performance for Automated Vehicles

Abstract

With ongoing improvements in technical possibilities and availability of faster computers and communication systems, considerable attention has been drawn to smart driving technologies and particularly to automated vehicles (AVs). The deployment of AVs would provide the opportunity to have more control over the dynamics of the vehicle including its lateral movement, which can affect the pavement long-term rutting performance. The controlled lateral movement of the AVs may also imply a reduced lane width. This paper evaluates the impacts of dedicating a reduced lane width to automated vehicles on pavement rutting performance, considering two lateral movement modes for AVs; zero and uniform wander distribution. A finite element model was developed using ABAQUS software based on the Indiana Department of Transportation/Purdue University accelerated pavement tester (APT) facility. The rutting simulation results of this study show that using a dedicated lane for AVs with zero and uniform wander distribution would cause greater rutting depth when compared to the rutting induced by non-AVs following a normal load distribution. Furthermore, the comparison between rutting depths in different lane widths reveals that when dedicating the narrower lane widths for AVs with a uniform wander distribution, the total rutting depth of the pavement would remarkably increase compared to the wider lanes.