MEASUREMENT OF HYDROPLANING POTENTIAL

Hydroplaning is a condition in which the vehicle tires are separated from the pavement by a layer of water. Thus, steering and braking capabilities are greatly reduced. Various methods are employed to control hydroplaning; pavement grooving and providing coarse texture finish are two examples. Their primary purpose is to provide an escape path for water under the tire. The measurement of hydroplaning potential of pavements, that is, of the inability of the accumulated water to escape from the tire-pavement contact area, affords a useful criterion for ranking the performance of the pavements. The results show that very low values of Brake Force Coefficient are obtained when an ASTM Standard E 524 tire is tested at 24 psi (1.66 bar) inflation pressure and 650-lb (295-kg) vertical load. These results enabled the selection of the test parameters for testing at speeds which were easily attainable at the test facility. An important finding was that delivering the water approximately 6.5 ft (2m) ahead of the tire provided thick waterfilm thicknesses required for hydroplaning. By simple modification to the existing friction tester, the hydroplaning potential of four different pavements was measured in terms of the speed above which hydroplaning will occur.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored in part by Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation, Harrisburg. Bureau of Materials, Testing and Research.
• Corporate Authors:

  Pennsylvania State University, University Park

  Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, Transportation Research Building
  University Park, PA  United States  16802

  Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

  Bureau of Materials, Testing and Research, 1118 State State
  Harrisburg, PA  United States  17112

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Agrawal, Sudhir K
  • Meyer, W E
  • Henry, J J
• Publication Date: 1977-2

Media Info

• Pagination: 100 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Braking performance; Friction factor; Highway safety; Hydroplaning; Inflation; Measurement; Pavement grooving; Pavement performance; Pavements; Rolling contact; Speed; Thickness; Tires; Velocity; Water areas
• Uncontrolled Terms: Interaction; Surface waters
• Old TRIS Terms: Braking force coefficient
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00154014
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: PTI-7701 Final Rpt., FHWA/PA-72/6
• Files: NTIS, TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 17 1977 12:00AM