Spectral Techniques Applied to Evaluate Pavement Friction and Surface Texture

• Main Authors: Yuan Yan, Maoping Ran, Ulf Sandberg, Xinglin Zhou, Shenqing Xiao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Coatings
• Subjects: pavement; surface texture; spectral analysis; skid resistance; texture level
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/10/4/424

To study texture of pavement surfaces and its effect on pavement friction, this article features a field experiment conducted on in-service pavements to characterize surface texture by spectral analysis to substantiate links to friction values. Pavement friction was measured using a Mu-meter and British pendulum tester whereas texture data was collected using a stationary laser profilometer. Texture spectra were analyzed and expressed in third octave bands. The correlation between texture spectral levels and friction values at different speeds are discussed in the paper. Results show that the texture level, including spectral band levels, can well represent texture characteristics, as texture spectral levels have a good correlation with friction coefficient, especially the texture level of texture wavelengths at 1.25–12.5 mm versus <i>SFC</i>_sl (representing the slope of the side force coefficient (<i>SFC</i>) versus speed), i.e., the slope of friction versus speed. This friction parameter gives better correlations with texture parameters than friction values at different speeds, which is believed to be an effect of the drainage caused by texture in that wavelength range.