Just as walking on a hard road is much easier than walking on soft sand, which means that less energy is spent, this study conducted by MIT scientists suggests that trucks would find stiffer roads easier to traverse on, and they would use less fuel.
Asphalt may not seem particularly soft to us as we walk on it, but that's only because we don't weigh several thousand pounds. The heavy weight of a transport truck, on the other hand, causes the asphalt to deflect downwards slightly beneath each wheel.
As a result, the truck is perpetually in a state of trying to climb out of an ever-so-slight depression in the road. This means that it burns more fuel than it would otherwise, producing more carbon dioxide emissions in the process. According to MIT researchers Hessam Azarijafari, Jeremy Gregory and Randolph Kirchain, this problem could be alleviated if roads were made of stiffer materials.
And since trucks would use less fuel on stiffer roads, that would also mean that the carbon dioxide emissions produced by these big vehicles would be reduced. While the costs of making the roads stiffer would be initially expensive, it would be a great investment in the long run, as stiffer roads are stronger and require fewer repairs.
More details over at New Atlas.
(Image Credit: falco/ Pixabay)
The harder road would give the trucks less traction. Stopping might be a problem. Consider what it would be like if the road were made of glass.
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