THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PAVEMENT TEXTURE

The paper discusses the influence of roadway surface textures on the skid resistance, the speed-gradient, the wet-pavement accident rate, pavement wear, and the generation of tire-road interaction noise. The tendency of a vehicle to hydroplane is reduced by increasing the texture magnitude. Appropriate textures are developed by using open-graded asphalt friction surface courses and by grooving portland cement concrete with steel tines or a vibrating float while the concrete is plastic. Hardened pavements can be textured by grooving with a diamond saw or by resurfacing with an overlay. More development is needed in texture measurement techniques, especially in automating the stereo-photo interpretation method and the linear polarized laser technique.

• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Highway Administration

  Structure and Applied Mechanics Division, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Balmer, G G
• Publication Date: 1975-2

Media Info

• Pagination: 44 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aggregates; Crash rates; Friction; Highways; Hydroplaning; Measurement; Moisture content; Noise; Open graded aggregates; Pavement grooving; Pavement surface course; Pavements; Rolling contact; Skid resistance; Speed; Texture; Wear
• Uncontrolled Terms: Wet conditions
• Subject Areas: Environment; Geotechnology; Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00092205
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-RD-75- 12 Final Rpt., FCP-21H2-192
• Files: NTIS, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Oct 18 1976 12:00AM