Analysis of vehicle carbon emission characteristics on expressways in mountainous plateau areas based on the coupled simulation of CarSim/TruckSim and MOVES

Gao, Jianping; Huang, Xin; He, Yunyong; He, Enhuai; Sun, Lu; Yang, Changfeng · 2025 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318694

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Summary

This study investigates the carbon emission characteristics of vehicles on expressways in mountainous plateau areas, specifically focusing on the Wenchuan–Barkam Expressway in western Sichuan. Motivated by the region's complex topography, harsh climate, and the need for low-carbon highway design, the research aims to quantify how alignment indicators and environmental factors influence vehicle-specific power (VSP) and subsequent carbon emissions. The authors address a gap in existing literature, which largely focuses on urban roads or general highways, by providing a theoretical foundation for optimizing alignment design in high-altitude, mountainous environments. The methodology employs a coupled simulation approach using CarSim/TruckSim for vehicle dynamics and the Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES) for emission calculations. The study simulated light-duty vehicles (LDVs, passenger cars) and heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs, four-axle cargo trucks) along a 119 km section of the expressway, which features altitudes ranging from 1300 m to 3000 m, an average grade of 1.76%, and curved segments comprising 60% of the route. Operating speeds were predicted using standard highway safety audit specifications. The MOVES model was localized for Chinese conditions, accounting for ambient temperature, humidity, and altitude. The analysis categorized road segments into 11 alignment units (e.g., horizontal curves, straight sections, curve-slope combinations) to assess spatial distribution patterns. Grey relational analysis was used to quantify the relationship between carbon emissions and alignment indicators, while comparative analyses evaluated the impacts of altitude, season, and vehicle starting frequency. Key findings reveal that VSP distributions for both LDVs and HDVs approximated normal distributions, with LDVs exhibiting a broader range and higher mean VSP (13.7 kW/t) compared to HDVs (6.5 kW/t). Carbon emissions equivalent per kilometer ranged from 60–240 g for LDVs and 100–1600 g for HDVs across different alignment units. The study identified that frequent vehicle starts significantly increase carbon emissions, with this impact being more pronounced in winter than in summer. Specifically, vehicles starting twice on average emitted 1.17 times more carbon in winter and 1.09 times more in summer compared to those starting 0.5 times (for LDVs). HDVs showed similar but slightly lower multipliers (1.07 in winter, 1.04 in summer). Additionally, the mean VSP growth rate for HDVs (33%) was higher than for LDVs (18%) when grades increased from 1% to 1.76%, indicating greater sensitivity to slope changes. The significance of this research lies in its provision of a localized MOVES emission model and a carbon emission calculation framework based on cumulative VSP for mountainous plateau expressways. By quantifying the effects of alignment design and environmental conditions, the study offers critical insights for the low-carbon planning and design of highways in ecologically fragile, high-altitude regions. It demonstrates that optimizing alignment continuity and considering seasonal climate variations are essential for minimizing vehicle carbon emissions in these challenging environments.

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