DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVED PAVEMENT MARKING MATERIALS

LABORATORY TESTS AND FIELD STUDIES WERE CONDUCTED ON THE PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF CONVENTIONAL PAVEMENT MARKING MATERIALS CURRENTLY IN USE. A DISCUSSION WAS PRESENTED OF THEIR SHORTCOMINGS AND STUDIES CONDUCTED ON THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF REFLECTIVE MATERIALS, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS UNDER VARIOUS TYPES OF WATER FILMS. A NEW PAVEMENT MARKING WAS DESIGNED AND TESTED WITH ENCOURAGING RESULTS. A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH FOR THE DESIGN OF A PAVEMENT MARKING SYSTEM HAS BEEN DEVELOPED WHEREIN ONE QUALIFIES THE SURFACE TO BE MARKED, DETERMINES THE WATER FILM THICKNESS TO BE ENCOUNTERED, AND THEN SELECTS ONE OF THE SEVERAL MARKING SYSTEMS THAT WILL PERFORM UNDER THE IMPOSED CONDITIONS. PAVEMENT MARKINGS MAY FAIL BY MECHANISMS OTHER THAN LOSS OF THEIR UPPER SURFACE. A GLASS BEAD SYSTEM HAVING A UNIFORM SIZE GRADATION MATCHED TO THE BINDER THICKNESS COULD BE USED IN THESE CASES. EXPERIMENTS WERE CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SILICONE-TREATED GLASS BEADS AND THE OPTIMUM DEPTH OF IMBEDMENT FOR GLASS BEADS TO MAINTAIN MAXIMUM RETROREFLECTION. THE FEASIBILITY OF APPLYING A SURFACE COATING OF SMALL BEADS TO A CARRIER (P-GRAVEL) WAS INVESTIGATED AS A WAY TO OBTAIN A LARGE- DIAMETER REFLECTING MATERIAL THAT WOULD PROTRUDE THROUGH SUBMERGING WATER FILMS. THE RESEARCHERS DEVELOPED A NEW SYSTEM OF PAVEMENT MARKINGS THAT COULD BE APPLIED LIKE PAINT BUT PERFORMED LIKE RAISED REFLECTORIZED MARKERS. IN THIS SYSTEM ONE QUARTER-IN. DIAMETER GLASS BEADS ARE IMBEDDED IN THE PIGMENTED EPOXY BINDER. THE MARKERS' ABILITY TO BE VISIBLE AT NIGHT WHEN WET WAS JUDGED EXCELLENT. THE LOW- PROFILE MARKER IS NOT LIKELY TO BE DAMAGED BY SNOW PLOWS. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONCEPTS PRESENTED SHOULD PROVIDE A MORE VISIBLE PAVEMENT MARKING THAT WILL INCREASE THE SAFETY ASPECTS OF THE HIGHWAY, PARTICULARLY ON RAINY NIGHTS.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_45.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00775614
• Supplemental Notes:
  • 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.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

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  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Dale, J M
• Publication Date: 1967

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 24 p.
• Serial:
  • NCHRP Report
  • Issue Number: 45
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0077-5614

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Binders; Epoxides; Field studies; Films (Coatings); Glass; Highway safety; Laboratory tests; Performance; Reflectorized materials; Road marking materials; Silicones; Visibility; Water
• Old TRIS Terms: Beading; Epoxy; Traffic marking materials; Water film
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00216346
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Laboratory Phase
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 24 1994 12:00AM