Safety Aspects of Wet Asphalt Pavement Surfaces through Field and Numerical Modeling Investigations

Abstract

Good pavement macrotexture has a direct influence on vehicle safety during wet weather conditions by improving vehicle traction and braking ability. Apart from the macrotexture, several other factors, such as environmental, tire, and pavement-related characteristics, affect the wet friction. Most experimental studies had a limited scope of reusability as soon as there was a change in any of the other factors. In recent years, the development of powerful finite element tools has made it possible to simulate complex wet tire–pavement interaction as close as possible to the actual field conditions. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, none of the past analytical and numerical studies were able to include the actual pavement surface texture in their analysis. This paper describes an approach to study the effect of actual surface morphologies of asphalt pavements on the wet friction coefficient by using the finite element method. Asphalt surface morphologies representative of open-graded mix to close-graded mix were used in the finite element analysis. The finite element model was duly calibrated with the field investigations conducted with state-of-the-art field equipment. The extreme loss of wet friction, which ultimately led to the risk of hydroplaning, was also studied. The analyses were performed for two water film thicknesses, two tread patterns, and two tire slip ratios. The results from the current study can be used as safety indicators of in-service asphalt pavements under wet and flooded conditions.

Numerical Study of Tire Hydroplaning Based on Power Spectrum of Asphalt Pavement and Kinetic Friction Coefficient

“…Fwa speed and skid number on pavement with longitudinal and transversal grooves and revealed the significance of using transversal grooves to reduce hydroplaning probability [8,9]. Srirangam et al calculated friction coefficient of different pavement using FE hydroplaning model and verified it through comparison with field test data [10]. Macrotexture was considered important in improving skid resistance on flooded road.…”

Finite Element Framework for the Computation of Runway Friction of Aircraft Tires

“…Four types of asphalt runway surface morphologies, varying from 0.55 to 1.55 mm MTD, were considered, which represent four mixdesign surfaces: worn (aged) dense asphalt concrete (DAC), newly constructed DAC, porous asphalt concrete, and Colgrip asphalt concrete with calcined bauxite (1.5/3) on epoxy. A description of the porous asphalt mix with 22.5% voids is available elsewhere (21).…”

“…The authors presented the validation of the FE tire-wet asphalt pavement interaction model to analyze the wet friction performance at low speeds (21). As shown in Figure 5, a and b…”

Incorporating Braking Distance Evaluation into Pavement Management System for Safe Road Operation

“…Following the simulation techniques of Fwa and Ong (19), Fwa et al (20), and Jackson and Sander (28) later on developed a simulation software for the Florida Department of Transportation. There is also a similar skid resistance simulation model developed at the Delft University of Technology, based on the computer software code ABAQUS (29). This section describes the basic principles, the finite element simulation modeling, and the steps involved in the derivation of the skid resistance performance state surface of a pavement on the basis of the works of the authors (19,20).…”