Rolling resistance impact on a road pavement life cycle carbon footprint analysis

Abstract

In terms of methodology, there is a continuing discussion related to the introduction of the impact of road pavement surface properties on rolling resistance in pavement Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The aim of this paper is to analyse if the current level of knowledge of this component is sufficient to be implemented in the pavement LCA framework. The study compares the CO2 emissions, calculated with two different rolling resistance models in the literature and performs a sensitivity test on the pavement deterioration rate, for two UK case studies. The rolling resistance models and the pavement deterioration rate significantly affect the LCA results. The results show that the methods of modelling and the methodological assumptions need to be transparent in the analysis of the impact of the pavement surface properties on fuel consumption, in order to be interpreted by decision makers and implemented in the LCA framework.