Relating concrete pavement noise and friction to three-dimensional texture parameters

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to characterise concrete pavement surface texture using three-dimensional (3D) surface texture indicators, to explore the relationship between pavement noise/friction and texture parameters. A newly constructed Portland cement concrete pavement with 13 types of textures was selected as test site. Pavement texture heights were recovered using photometric stereo technique. A comparative study was conducted between proposed 3D texture parameters and other established two-dimensional texture measurements, i.e. the circular track meter and the high-speed texture profiler. Correlation analysis between 3D texture parameters and noise/friction data were also carried out to explore relationship between pavement texture and noise/friction. In addition to texture amplitude, the direction and distribution of pavement texture have strong impacts on pavement noise and friction. It is possible to have a better understanding of surface texture and pavement noise/friction using combinations of the proposed 3D texture parameters.

Keywords:

• Portland cement concrete pavement
• areal surface texture
• noise and friction
• three-dimensional texture parameters
• texture measurement

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Applied Research Associates Inc. (ARA) for the technical support of the research project. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada for funding this research through a discovery grant.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.