Comparison of the response of an instrumented pavement section under individual and platoon truck loading

Truck platooning is a recent solution proposed to optimise road transportation. Platooning can help improve transport efficiency and road safety, reduce traffic congestion, fuel consumption and greenhouse gases emissions. Considering that truck platoon configurations are new, studying their impact on pavement response and damage is crucial. In this context, this study presents the results obtained in a full-scale experiment designed to evaluate the structural responses of a test track subjected to the pass of trucks under two configurations: individual and platoon. The pavement was instrumented to measure the transverse and longitudinal strains at the bottom of the asphalt layers of the pavement structure. Strains were measured under two test configurations, individual trucks and platoons, for four vehicle speeds: 40 , 60 , 70 , and 80 km/h. In order to consider the weather influence, two test campaigns were performed, one during the winter and the other during the summer. The study's main conclusion is that by managing inter-truck distances, truck speeds, lateral deviation (wandering), time, and periods of circulation, it is possible to minimise the impact of platooning trucks on the pavement's structure responses.