Sustainability implications of lateral wander modes for autonomous trucks

Abstract

Autonomous trucks can bring changes in transport infrastructure in terms of sustainability based on the type of lateral wander mode used. In this research, two lateral wander modes, a zero wander and uniform wander mode are analyzed based on their applicability for sustainability by analyzing the CO2 emissions occurred during pavements life cycle. Both lateral wander modes have been analyzed in terms of occurrence of fatigue damage by using finite element analysis in ABAQUS. The fatigue damage predictions have then been used for planning the maintenance interventions for both lateral wander modes. Life cycle analysis has been performed for the analysis period of 30 years for the pavement section of 10 km. Results show that zero wander mode generates more emissions as a result of premature fatigue damage under channelized loading. The uniform wander mode leads to 20% less emissions when compared to zero wander mode. Moreover, the use of full depth reclamation during pavement’s life cycle improves the CO2 emissions by 15% when compared to traditional removal and reconstruction methods. Therefore, the uniform wander mode is favorable for improvement of pavement sustainability in terms of CO2 emissions.