HIGHWAY CHARACTERISTICS AS RELATED TO VEHICLE PERFORMANCE

THE PERFORMANCE OF A VEHICLE ON A HIGHWAY DEPENDS ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BOTH THE HIGHWAY AND VEHICLE. IN THIS PAPER THE TERM "PERFORMANCE" PERTAINS TO THE VERTICAL DYNAMIC FORCE THAT THE WHEELS OF A MOVING VEHICLE EXERT ON THE HIGHWAY AS A RESULT OF VARIATIONS IN THE PAVEMENT PROFILE. A FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM CONSIDERED IN THIS INVESTIGATION IS THAT OF SELECTING HIGHWAY AND VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS THAT WILL ENABLE A PREDICTION OF THE DYNAMIC FORCE TO BE MADE. THE POWER SPECTRUM OF THE HIGHWAY ELEVATIONS IS FOUND TO BE USEFUL FOR THIS PURPOSE, AND AN EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE IS DESCRIBED FOR OBTAINING THIS INFORMATION. THE VEHICLE CHARACTERISTIC OF GREATEST USEFULNESS IS THE STEADY-STATE SINUSOIDAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEN THE VERTICAL DISPLACEMENT, X, OF THE BOTTOM OF THE TIRE AND THE VERTICAL FORCE, F, THAT THE TIRE EXERTS ON THE SUPPORTING SURFACE. THIS F/X RELATIONSHIP IS DETERMINED EXPERIMENTALLY FOR THREE DIFFERENT VEHICLES AND IS FOUND TO BE NON-LINEAR INASMUCH AS IT VARIES WITH THE AMPLITUDE OF THE DISPLACEMENT, X. OTHER VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS INVOLVING F ARE ALSO PRESENTED. THE EFFECT OF VEHICLE SPEED IS SEEN TO BE SIGNIFICANT IN THE SPECIAL SITUATION IN WHICH A SECTION OF HIGHWAY CONSIDERED "SMOOTH" PRODUCES A HIGHER MEAN SQUARED FORCE THAN A SECTION CONSIDERED "ROUGH". /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbbulletin/250/250-002.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 250, pp 20-39, 11 FIG, 5 PHOT 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:
  • Quinn, Bayard E
  • DeVries, Thomas W
• Discussers:
  • Kossack, Carl F
• Publication Date: 1960

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: 20p
• Monograph Title: Pavement performance concepts
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Bulletin
  • Issue Number: 250
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Dynamic loads; Mathematical analysis; Motion; Motor vehicles; Pavement performance; Speed; Vehicle characteristics; Vehicle performance
• Uncontrolled Terms: Moving vehicles
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00207108
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Aug 3 1970 12:00AM