ABSTRACT
A Phase 1 study that used modeling to estimate the effects of pavement non-elastic structural response on vehicle fuel economy concluded that there is an important effect on fuel consumption of vehicles, though small and highly dependent on the pavement structure, of roughness, texture and structural response. The goal of Phase II study was to measure the field vehicle fuel consumption on different pavement types over a range of air temperatures, and use the data to develop an empirical model and for calibration and validation of the mechanistic empirical models for vehicle energy consumption due to pavement structural response. The models are intended for use in pavement management and design, as well as policy development. This paper provides a brief discussion of design of the data collection experiment, data collection methods, test sections characterization, data cleaning, checking and analysis. Lessons learned during each step in this project are discussed further at the end of each section. The experiment included twenty-one sections in California with different pavement structure types. The vehicles selected and instrumented for the fuel economy measurements included a five axle semi-trailer tractor, a diesel truck, an SUV, a gasoline and a diesel car. Vehicles were run on cruise control and data recorded at 72 km/hr (45 mph) and 88.5 km/hr (55 mph), and 56 km/hr (35 mph) and 72 km/hr (45mph) on state and local roads, respectively. A linear fuel consumption empirical model was developed for each vehicle based on the collected data.
