A STUDY OF VARIABLES ASSOCIATED WITH WHEEL SPIN-DOWN AND HYDROPLANING

AN EVALUATION OF THE WET WEATHER PROPERTIES OF A PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENT AND A GRAVEL SEAL COAT PAVEMENT IS PRESENTED. THE STUDY USES WHEEL SPIN-DOWN AS THE CRITERION AND CONSIDERS THE EFFECT OF WATER DEPTH, TIRE INFLATION PRESSURE, TIRE TREAD DEPTH AND WHEEL LOAD. A HYDROPLANING TROUGH 800 FT. LONG, 30 IN. WIDE AND 4 IN. DEEP WAS USED IN OBTAINING THE DATA. THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE GRAVEL SEAL COAT PAVEMENT REQUIRES A CONSIDERABLY HIGHER GROUND SPEED TO CAUSE SPIN-DOWN THAN THE CONCRETE PAVEMENT. FURTHER EVEN THOUGH A SINGLE CRITICAL SPEED DOES NOT EXIST FOR THE RANGE OF VARIABLES SELECTED, A REDUCTION OF SPEED TO 50 MPH IS RECOMMENDED FOR ANY SECTION OF HIGHWAY WHERE WATER CAN ACCUMULATE TO DEPTHS OF 0.1 INCH OR MORE DURING WET WEATHER PERIODS. /AUTHOR/

• Corporate Authors:

  Texas Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System, 1600 E Lamar Boulevard
  Arlington, TX  United States  76011

  Texas State Department of Highways & Public Transp

  11th and Brazos Streets
  Austin, TX  United States  78701

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • MARTINEZ, J E
  • Stocker, A J
  • Lewis, J M
• Publication Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Gravel; Hydroplaning; Portland cement concrete; Seal coats; Wheels
• Old TRIS Terms: Spinning
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00219763
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: Study No 147-1
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Mar 20 1972 12:00AM