AN AMPLITUDE-FREQUENCY DESCRIPTION OF ROAD ROUGHNESS

THIS PAPER DEALS WITH A METHOD FOR REDUCING ROUGHNESS OBTAINED FROM A CONTINUOUS-OUTPUT ROAD PROFILOMETER TO A COMPACT AND USEFUL FORM FOR HIGHWAY ENGINEERS. IT IS ASSUMED THAT A VOLTAGE SIGNAL REPRESENTING VERTICAL IRREGULARITIES IN THE ROAD SURFACE AS A FUNCTION OF DISTANCE HAS BEEN RECORDED ON MAGNETIC TAPE. AN ANALOG METHOD IS DESCRIBED FOR PROCESSING THIS SIGNAL AND REDUCING THE ROUGHNESS DESCRIPTION OF THE ROAD TO A SIMPLE TABLE RELATING ROUGHNESS HEIGHTS AND WAVELENGTHS. ANALOG COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS ARE STATED FOR THE PROPOSED SIGNAL-PROCESSING METHOD. RESULTS OBTAINED BY THIS METHOD ARE PRESENTED FOR BOTH IDEAL AND ACTUAL ROAD PROFILE EXAMPLES. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SURFACE DYNAMIC PROFILOMETER (SDP) HAS MADE IT POSSIBLE TO OBTAIN A MAGNETICALLY TAPED RECORD OF ANY ROAD SURFACE PROFILE IN THE DIRECTION OF VEHICLE TRAVEL. FOR A GIVEN SECTION OF ROAD, THIS RECORD IS A RANDOMLY VARYING ANALOG VOLTAGE THAT REPRESENTS TRUE ROAD ROUGHNESS WITHIN THE ACCURACY LIMITATIONS OF THE SDP SYSTEM. HAVING OBTAINED A PROFILE RECORD, THE HIGHWAY ENGINEER IS FACED WITH THE PROBLEM OF TRANSFORMING THIS RANDOM SIGNAL INTO AN INDEX, GRAPH, OR SET OF NUMBERS HE CAN USE TO SPECIFY QUANTITATIVELY THE ROUGHNESS OF THE ROAD. THIS REPORT DESCRIBES A PRACTICAL METHOD FOR ANALYZING SDP RECORDS AND FOR REDUCING EACH OF THESE RECORDS TO A SIMPLE FORM USABLE IN HIGHWAY OPERATIONS. /AUTHOR/

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    • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
  • Authors:
    • Brickman, Arthur D
    • Wambold, James C
    • Zimmerman, John R
  • Conference:
  • Publication Date: 1971

Media Info

  • Media Type: Print
  • Features: Figures; References;
  • Pagination: pp 53-67
  • Monograph Title: Improving Pavement and Bridge Deck Performance
  • Serial:

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00207252
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309018439
  • Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
  • Created Date: Jun 29 1971 12:00AM