Effect of Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles on Tire–Pavement Contact Forces

Abstract

Electric vehicles offer higher acceleration than conventional internal combustion engines due to larger engine torque. The design and placement of battery packs in heavy-duty electric vehicles are still being optimized, as they can affect axle load distributions and consequently impact pavement analysis and design. This study presents a finite element model of a dual tire assembly considering varying load and acceleration conditions to investigate the effect of conventional and electric heavy-duty vehicles on tire–pavement contact forces. Three scenarios for battery pack locations were examined, leading to six loading conditions for both internal combustion engines and electric trucks. The resulting 3D contact forces, compared at a specific line of points along the contact patch and throughout the entire distribution via kernel density estimate, determined that the load increase due to battery location had a much greater impact than the change in torque for both internal combustion engine and electric trucks provided they are at the same rolling condition. Higher loads altered the vertical and longitudinal contact forces and led to a broader contact area. On the other hand, transverse contact forces showed the least variation, although this may differ under cornering scenarios. Finally, a higher slip ratio exacerbated the contact forces in the traveling direction, highlighting the importance of considering rolling conditions in future analyses of pavement damage caused by heavy-duty electric vehicles. Truck loading usually governs pavement design, layer thicknesses, and corresponding materials while considering local environmental conditions. For flexible pavements, in particular, the details of the distribution of the forces at the tire–pavement interface play a significant role in driving failure near the pavement surface. As the electrification of heavy-duty truck platoons becomes a reality, it is paramount for pavement engineers to quantify the effect of the torque and battery location from electric trucks on contact forces and evaluate its impact on flexible pavements—this paper provides such quantification. The study found that battery location, rather than increased torque, is the controlling variable for the electric trucks due to increased load influence on vertical contact forces.