EFFECTS OF VARIABLE TIRE PRESSURE ON ROAD SURFACINGS

The effects of variable tire pressure on road surfacings were determined. A specially designed test road was constructed and subjected both to loaded (80,000 lb) and unloaded 18-wheeled log trucks operating in two distinct traffic lanes. The traffic was applied at tire pressures of 10 psi in one lane and at approximately 39 psi in the other lane. The background, design, construction procedure, and performance of the various sections during traffic are discussed. The results indicate that (a) when failures occurred in both lanes of the same asphalt concrete section, the ratio of 39-psi tire pressure traffic to 100-psi tire pressure traffic ranged between 1.5 and 21; (b) considerable maintenance will be required on aggregate-surfaced grades receiving high-tire-pressure unloaded traffic because of severe washboarding; and (c) the installation of central tire inflation systems that allow a driver to adjust a vehicle's tire pressure while in motion will be cost-effective for heavy trucks traveling on low-volume, low-speed roads. Savings can be realized in the reduced thickness required to withstand the loads and in the effort required to maintain aggregate-surfaced roads with trucks operating at low (39-psi) tire pressure.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1991/1291vol1/1291-074.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=EFFECTS+OF+VARIABLE+TIRE+PRESSURE+ON+ROAD+SURFACINGS&author=R.+Grau&author=L.+Della-Moretta&publication_year=1991
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/030905715
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1291, Fifth International Conference on Low-Volume Roads, May 19-23, 1991, Raleigh, North Carolina, Volume 2. 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:
  • Grau, Robert W
  • Della-Moretta, Leonard B
• Conference:
  • International Conference on Low-Volume Roads, 5th, 1991, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
• Publication Date: 1991

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 313-328
• Monograph Title: Fifth International Conference on Low-Volume Roads May 19-23 1991, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; volumes 1 and 2
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1291
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aggregates; Conferences; Cost effectiveness; Deformation; Inflation; Less than truckload traffic; Logging trucks; Low volume roads; Pavement performance; Pavements; Surface course (Pavements); Thickness; Tire pressure; Tires
• Uncontrolled Terms: Pavement thickness
• Old TRIS Terms: Aggregate surfaced roads; Empty trucks; Washboarding
• Subject Areas: Design; Geotechnology; Highways; Pavements; Vehicles and Equipment; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways; I90: Vehicles;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00611812
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 030905715
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Aug 31 1991 12:00AM