The Impact of Weight Distribution in Heavy Battery Electric Vehicles on Pavement Performance: A Preliminary Study

The transition to heavy-duty electric vehicles (HDEVs) offers substantial environmental benefits but raises concerns about increased pavement deterioration due to the added mass of large battery packs. A key research question is whether additional structural demands on road infrastructure could offset these benefits. This study investigates the impact of battery weight distribution on asphalt pavement performance by comparing conventional diesel trucks with electric trucks under equivalent gross vehicle weight (36 tons). Three battery placement scenarios were evaluated: (i) concentration at the steering axle, (ii) concentration at the rear tractor axles, and (iii) uniform distribution across all tractor axles. Pavement elastic response was analyzed using a representative cross-section using mechanistic–empirical modeling, with fatigue damage estimated according to the Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) fatigue law. Results indicate that tensile strains at the bottom of asphalt layers may increase by up to 60%, with relative fatigue damage rising by 185% and 34% for scenarios (i) and (iii), respectively, while scenario (ii) produced nearly equivalent damage to conventional trucks. These findings highlight the critical role of battery placement; the optimal performance seems to be achieved when weight is concentrated at the rear tractor axles.