Analysis of rolling resistance models to analyse vehicle fuel consumption as a function of pavement properties

This paper presents an analysis of two recently developed models that relate pavement properties to vehicle rolling resistance and fuel consumption, as well as the sensitivity of each model to roughness, texture and future traffic predictions. The two models are the Vehicle Operating Cost model developed as part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) project 1-45 outlined in NCHRP report 720, and the model developed as part of an international collaboration, Models for rolling resistance In Road Infrastructure Asset Management systems (MIRIAM). Furthermore, several pavement related factors that contribute to vehicle rolling are discussed in this paper. It was found that the fuel consumption was highly sensitive to future traffic growth projections. Also, the pavement macrotexture can have a significant impact on excess fuel consumption of vehicles, particularly in the case that the MIRIAM model is used to calculate fuel consumption.