Pavement vehicle interaction (PVI) is a concept that looks at the interaction between a vehicle’s tires and the roadway surface on which it is driving. It is also known as rolling resistance. Three factors relating to a road’s surface condition and structural properties contribute significantly to PVI: roughness, which refers to how bumpy or smooth a road is; texture, the abrasiveness of the road surface; and deflection, the bending of a pavement under the weight of a vehicle. Traffic patterns and temperature are influential factors as well.
PVI leads to excess fuel consumption (EFC), which is wasted fuel consumption beyond what is required to move a vehicle. EFC contributes to smog and greenhouse gas emissions, and impacts drivers, states, and municipalities financially.
CSHub research has led to models that quantify excess fuel consumption due to PVI for pavement segments and pavement networks.
Topic Summaries & Information Sheets
- Pavement Vehicle Interaction Information Sheet (July 2018)
- Lowering Vehicle Fuel Consumption and Emissions Through Better Pavement Design and Maintenance (October 2016)
- Analyzing Pavement-Vehicle Interaction through Bench-Top Experiments (August 2015)
- The Impact of Traffic Jams on PVI Estimates (May 2015)
- Mapping of Excess Fuel Consumption (December 2014)
- PVI Mechanistic Model Gen II (December 2013)
- PVI Mechanistic Model Refined (April 2013)
- Deterioration Induced Roughness in the US Network (February 2013)
- Potential Roadway Network Savings and PVI (July 2012)
- Network, Pavements and Fuel Consumption (April 2012)
- Smoothness Matters, But... (January 2012)
- When the Rubber Hits the Road (June 2011)
- Pavement Roughness and Fuel Consumption (August 2013)
- Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Estimating the Impact of Deflection-Induced Pavement-Vehicle Interaction on Fuel Consumption (May 2013)
- Model Based Pavement-Vehicle Interaction Simulation for Life Cycle Assessment of Pavements (April 2012)
- Reading the heartbeat of the road (MIT News, February 2019)
- Well-maintained roadways improve fuel efficiency (MIT News, February 2016)
- Data-driven approach to pavement management lowers emissions (MIT News, July 2016)
- Civil envineers find savings where the rubber meets the road (MIT News, May 2012)
Related peer-reviewed publications
- Booshehrian A., Louhghalam A., Khazanovich L., Ulm F-J. "Assessment of Pavement Deflection-Caused Fuel Consumption via FWD Data," Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting, No. 16-6246. 2016.
- Louhghalam A., Akbarian, M., Ulm F-J. "Carbon management of infrastructure performance: Integrated big data analytics and pavement-vehicle-interactions." Journal of Cleaner Production. Volume 142, Part 2, 20 January 2017, Pages 956-964. 2016
- Akbarian, Mehdi, et al. "Network Analysis of Virginia’s Interstate Pavement-Vehicle Interactions: Mapping of Roughness and Deflection-Induced Excess Fuel Consumption." Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting. No. 15-5752. 2015.
- Coleri, E., Harvey, J., Zaabar, I., Louhghalam, A., Chatti, K., "Model Development, Field Section Characterization, and Model Comparison for Excess Vehicle Fuel Use due to Pavement Structural Response" No. 16-6191. 2016.
- Louhghalam, A., Akbarian M., and Ulm F-J. "Roughness-induced pavement-vehicle interactions: Key parameters and impact on vehicle fuel consumption." Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting. No. 15-2429. 2015.
- Louhghalam, A., Mazdak T., and Ulm F-J. "Roughness-Induced Vehicle Energy Dissipation: Statistical Analysis and Scaling." Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 2015: 04015046.
- Akbarian M., Louhghalam, A., Shetty S.S., and Ulm, F-J. "Network Analysis of Virginia’s Interstate Pavement-Vehicle Interactions: Mapping of Roughness and Deflection-Induced Excess Fuel Consumption." Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting. No. 15-5752. 2015.
- Louhghalam A., Akbarian, M., Ulm, Franz-Josef. “Flugge's Conjecture: Dissipation- versus Deflection-Induced Pavement-Vehicle Interactions” Journal of Engineering Mechanics, Volume 140, Issue 8, Article Number 04014053, August 2014
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Louhghalam A., Akbarian M., Ulm F.-J., Pavement Infrastructures Footprint: The Impact of Pavement Properties on Vehicle Fuel Consumption, Euro-C 2014 conference: Computational Modeling of Concrete and Concrete Structures, 2014
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Louhghalam A., Akbarian M., Ulm, F-J. “Scaling Relationships of Dissipation-Induced Pavement-Vehicle Interactions” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (2014), Issue 2457, Pages 95-104.
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Akbarian M., Louhghalam, A., and Ulm, F-J. “Mapping Pavement-Vehicle Interaction Life Cycle Impacts on Virginia’s Interstate System,” Proceedings of the International Symposium on Pavement LCA, Davis, CA, October 14-16, 2014.
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Santero N., Loijos A., Ochsendorf J., "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Opportunities for Concrete Pavements," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume 17, Issue 6, Pages 859–868, 2013
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Akbarian M., Moeini-Ardakani S.S., Ulm F.-J., Nazzal M., "Mechanistic Approach to Pavement-Vehicle Interaction and Its Impact on Life-Cycle Assessment," Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2306, Pages 171-179, 2012
This webinar was presented on June 29, 2017. Click here for a list of upcoming webinars and additional webinar videos.
"What is pavement vehicle interaction?" In this short whiteboard video, CSHub researcher Dr. Mehdi Akbarian explains PVI and discusses some of our recent case studies. Published July 2018.