European Concrete Paving Association (EUPAVE) has released a NEW FACT SHEET! “How Concrete Pavements Contribute to a Reduction of Fuel Consumption”
Following the release of its infographic “Concrete Pavements make roads more sustainable”, EUPAVE‘s working group on Environmental Strategy has decided to release fact sheets focusing on its different items. The 1st document looked deeper into the high albedo effect.
Click to download 4-page fact sheet
The topic of this 2nd fact sheet is “Less Fuel Consumption”: Fuel consumption is not only influenced by the vehicle (type of engine, aerodynamic profile, tires,…) but also by the pavement on which it is driving. There are many factors influencing the fuel consumption of a vehicle and the factors related to the surface of the pavement:
Evenness
Surface texture
Deflection
While evenness and surface texture can be made the same for asphalt and concrete roads, this is not the case for deflection. Evenness and texture depend on the quality of construction and/or safety requirements, both for concrete and asphalt roads. This includes the absence of undulations, uneven patches, rutting, potholes or deteriorated joints.
Click to enlarge
Deflection depends mainly on the stiffness of the pavement and that is the big difference between concrete and asphalt. The effect of a deflected pavement under a wheel load is the same as if the vehicle would constantly drive uphill and would consequently consume more fuel and emit more CO2. Concrete pavements are rigid structures, which show less deflection under heavy traffic and thus less fuel is consumed and less CO2 emitted.
Several researches indicate around 2% fuel savings for trucks driving on concrete pavements compared to asphalt. This was found both in theoretical studies (by MIT) and in field tests. Several studies and researches have shown a lower fuel consumption of heavy vehicles on rigid, concrete pavements compared to flexible, asphalt pavements. The fact sheet describes some of the most relevant studies and research results of:
• FIELD RESEARCH BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA
• FIELD RESEARCH BY THE SWEDISH NATIONAL ROAD AND TRANSPORT INSTITUTE (VTI)
• FIELD RESEARCH BY FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
• THEORETICAL MODELLING BY MIT
• THEORETICAL MODELLING BY IFSTTAR
The 3rd and 4th fact sheets will have the themes “100% Recycling” and “Climate Resilience”, and all fact sheets will be presented during EUPAVE’s EU event of December 9, 2020.
For the EUPAVE ARTICLE and for the 4-page NEW FACT SHEET please go to: www.eupave.eu/new-fact-sheet-how-concrete-pavement-contribute-to-a-reduction-of-fuel-consumption/