Sustainable Implementation of Electrified Roads : Structural and Material Analyses

Sammanfattning: Given the promise of the Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) technology for eRoad applications, the potential challenges for a successful integration of dynamic IPT technology into the physical road structure are explored extensively in this research work. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is selected for studying the structural performance of an eRoad under operational conditions. In this, an energy-based finite strain constitutive model for asphalt materials is developed and calibrated, to enable the detailed investigation of the structural response and optimization of the considered eRoad. In the context of enabling both dynamic charging and autonomous driving for future electric vehicles, the influences to the pavement (rutting) performance by the changed vehicle behaviour are investigated as well. Moreover, to study the effect on the IPT system by the integration, the potential power loss caused within eRoad pavement materials is further examined by a combined analytic and experimental analysis. The direct research goal of this Thesis is therefore to enhance the possibility of a sustainable implementation of the eRoad solutions into the real society. At the same time, it aims to demonstrate that the road structure itself is an important part of smart infrastructure systems that can either become a bottleneck or a vessel of opportunities, supporting the successful integration of these complex systems.