Analysis of the Suitability of 3D-Printed Road Surface Replicas for Laboratory Testing of Rolling Resistance

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study aims to investigate the influence of the method and materials used for creating road surface replicas on the evaluation of rolling resistance using the oscillatory method. Some conclusions were obtained. The following comments are made:

1. In the section of Introduction, “Both our findings and prior studies underscore the need to refine this manufacturing process to enhance the accuracy of rolling resistance analysis”, please point out more gaps between the previous research and the study in this paper.
2. In the section of Materials and methods, “ a laser sensor records the position of the arm to which the vehicle wheel is mounted (see Figure 2)”, please give the specific parameters, such as the size and position of the arm.
3. Please give more parameters on the oscillation method.
4. For the “Six tires of different types”, please give their size and load index of the tires.
5. It is recommended to combine the “Results” and “Discussion”, and separate the “Discussion and Conclusions”, just keep conclusions as part of independence.
6. In the section of conclusions, please just show the main findings in this paper.

Author Response

Thank you for the thoughtful and insightful review. Below are my responses to your comments and suggestions.

Comments 1: In the section of Introduction, “Both our findings and prior studies underscore the need to refine this manufacturing process to enhance the accuracy of rolling resistance analysis”, please point out more gaps between the previous research and the study in this paper.

Response 1: Thank you for your valuable comment. The Introduction section has been significantly expanded. A more detailed analysis of the current literature has been provided, highlighting the existing research gaps more clearly. This revision demonstrates the need for further investigation into the impact of replica manufacturing methods and materials on the accuracy of rolling resistance evaluation using the oscillatory method.

 

Comments 2: In the section of Materials and methods, “ a laser sensor records the position of the arm to which the vehicle wheel is mounted (see Figure 2)”, please give the specific parameters, such as the size and position of the arm.

Response 2: The description of the test setup has been supplemented to provide better context and understanding of the experimental approach used in this study

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Comments 3: Please give more parameters on the oscillation method.

Response 3: The description of the oscillatory method has been expanded.

 

Comments 4: For the “Six tires of different types”, please give their size and load index of the tires.

Response 4: Information about the tires has been included in the text. 

 

Comments 5: It is recommended to combine the “Results” and “Discussion”, and separate the “Discussion and Conclusions”, just keep conclusions as part of independence.

Response 5: The comment has been addressed, and a new structure of the text has been implemented.

 

Comments 6: In the section of conclusions, please just show the main findings in this paper.

Response 6: The "Conclusions" section has been revised.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The idea is quite original, to simulate wheel-surface 7interaction in laboratory conditions, rather than on a real road, however, the structure and content of the research conducted is difficult to understand, the text is not easy and fluent to read. It is necessary to restructure, separating important chapters regarding the properties of materials for 3D printing, 3D printing itself, laboratory testing simulating wheel load. Also, separate conclusions are needed. The number of literature sources is too small, which includes references to standards and technical documentation. Its needed to conduct an intensive state-of-the-art review with references to the latest research to substantiate the necessity and innovation of proposed solution. Justification of the chosen asphalt concrete solutions could be, for example, by DOI:10.1617/s11527-015-0614-6, that it is time-consuming and requires accelerated approaches. Thus, the interaction of the wheel and the road pavement is related to the use of studded tires and the material chosen for asphalt concrete, which does not appear in the introduction.

Author Response

Thank you very much for your insightful and constructive comments. We agree with all the points raised and have made the following improvements accordingly:

1. Clarity and structure of the text

We acknowledge that the original structure and flow of the manuscript were not sufficiently clear. Therefore, we have significantly restructured the manuscript to improve readability and logical flow. The revised version separates key parts of the research, making the methodology and objectives more transparent.

2. Separate conclusions section

We have rewritten and clearly separated the “Conclusions” section to summarize the main findings of the study more explicitly and concisely. This section now better reflects the results and implications of our work.

3. Insufficient number of references

We agree that the number of literature sources was too limited. In the revised manuscript, we have significantly expanded the literature review, including references to standards, technical documentation, and relevant recent publications. This improves the scientific context and supports the rationale behind our approach. This addition provides a stronger justification for the novelty and relevance of the proposed solution.

4. Justification for asphalt concrete choice

We appreciate the suggestion regarding the reference DOI:10.1617/s11527-015-0614-6. We have now included a discussion of this work and similar studies to support the selection of asphalt concrete in our study, particularly in the context of time-consuming procedures and the need for accelerated methods.

 

 

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors have revised the paper according to the comments, it is recommended to accept it.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Accept