Quantifying the Effects of Vehicle Electrification Programs on Traffic Loads

As the variety and sales of electric vehicles have grown, the average capacity of batteries in U.S. EVs have also increased. If the current trend continues, by 2020 the average vehicle sold would have three times the battery capacity of the comparable EV a decade earlier. Larger lithium ion battery systems could increase the average weight of vehicles and axle loads. Increasing vehicle weights is a concern for the maintenance and design of pavement and road infrastructure. There are three primary factors that contribute to damage in pavements: traffic loads, climate, and time. Climate and precipitation weaken the structure of pavements, especially without well-designed drainage systems, while changes in temperature cause thermal cracking in asphalt pavements, as well as warping in concrete pavements. Over time, asphalt becomes brittle and stiff due to oxidation and evaporation of volatile components. The combined effects contribute to the exponential relationship between axle loads and pavement damage. Pavement thickness is primarily dependent on maximum axle loads (e.g., trucks volumes), and trucks are disproportionately responsible for traffic load damage. But the total volume of materials used for road construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation is dependent on the volume of lanes, which is primarily dependent on level of service for passenger vehicles. Even more critically, shifting or generally increasing the distribution of traffic axle weights can have implications for bridge design and survival. This study will explore the impacts of vehicle electrification policies on traffic loads in California. The white paper will provide estimates of how increased vehicle electrification could impact axle weights, average traffic loads, and pavement damages. The research will support the state’s EV policies and continued investments in roadway construction and maintenance.

• Record URL:
  https://ncst.ucdavis.edu/project/quantifying-effects-vehicle-electrification-programs-traffic-loads

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Terminated
• Funding: $36001
• Contract Numbers:

  65A0686 TO 033

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  California Department of Transportation

  1227 O Street
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95843
• Managing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  Institute of Transportation Studies
  Davis, CA  United States  95616
• Project Managers:

  Iacobucci, Lauren

• Performing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  Institute of Transportation Studies
  Davis, CA  United States  95616
• Principal Investigators:

  Ambrose, Hanjiro

  Kendall, Alissa

  Butt, Ali

• Start Date: 20200101
• Expected Completion Date: 20220930
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Electric vehicles; Equivalent single axle loads; Heavy duty vehicles; Pavement distress; Policy; Traffic loads
• Geographic Terms: California
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Motor Carriers; Planning and Forecasting; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01717760
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Center for Sustainable Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 65A0686 TO 033
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Sep 20 2019 3:50PM