9.4 Pavement Evaluation - Skid Resistance http://training.ce.washington.edu/wsdot/Modules/09_pavement_evaluati...

Skid resistance is the force developed when a tire that is Major Topics on this Page
prevented from rotating slides along the pavement surface
(Highway Research Board, 1972). Skid resistance is an 4.1 Measurement
important pavement evaluation parameter because: 4.2 Measurement Techniques

Inadequate skid resistance will lead to higher incidences of skid related accidents.

Most agencies have an obligation to provide users with a roadway that is "reasonably" safe.

Skid resistance measurements can be used to evaluate various types of materials and
construction practices.

Skid resistance depends on a pavement surface's microtexture and macrotexture (Corley-Lay, 1998).
Microtexture refers to the small-scale texture of the pavement aggregate component (which controls
contact between the tire rubber and the pavement surface) while macrotexture refers to the large-scale
texture of the pavement as a whole due to the aggregate particle arrangement (which controls the escape
of water from under the tire and hence the loss of skid resistance with increased speed) (AASHTO,
1976). Skid resistance changes over time. Typically it increases in the first two years following
construction as the roadway is worn away by traffic and rough aggregate surfaces become exposed, then
decreases over the remaining pavement life as aggregates become more polished. Skid resistance is also
typically higher in the fall and winter and lower in the spring and summer. This seasonal variation is
quite significant and can severely skew skid resistance data if not compensated for (Jayawickrama and
Thomas, 1998).

Skid resistance is generally quantified using some form of friction measurement such as a friction factor
or skid number.

Friction factor (like a coefficient of friction): f = F/L

Skid number: SN = 100(f)

where: F = frictional resistance to motion in plane of interface

L = load perpendicular to interface

It is not correct to say a pavement has a certain friction factor because friction involves two bodies, the
tires and the pavement, which are extremely variable due to pavement wetness, vehicle speed,
temperature, tire wear, tire type, etc. Typical friction tests specify standard tires and environmental
conditions to overcome this.

In general, the friction resistance of most dry pavements is relatively high; wet pavements are the
problem. The number of accidents on wet pavements are twice as high as dry pavements (but other
factors such as visibility are involved in addition to skid resistance). Table 9.3 shows some typical Skid
Numbers (the higher the SN, the better).

Table 9.3: Typical Skid Numbers (from Jayawickrama et al., 1996)

Skid Number Comments

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≥ 35 Acceptable for heavily traveled roads

Skid testing in the U.S. may occur in a number of ways, this section covers some of the more common
methods including:

The locked wheel tester

The spin up tester

Surface texture measurement

4.2.1 Locked Wheel Tester

WSDOT uses the locked wheel tester.

The most commonly used method in the U.S. for skid resistance testing uses some form of a lock wheel
tester (see Figure 9.13). Basically, this method uses a locked wheel skidding along the tested surface to
measure friction resistance. A typical lock-wheel skid measurement system must have the following:

A test vehicle with one or more test wheels incorporated into it or as part of a towed trailer.

A standard tire for use on the test wheel. The standardized skid-test tire, a tubeless, bias-ply
G78x15 tire with seven circumferential grooves, is defined by AASHTO M 261 or ASTM E 501. A
newer tire, one with no grooves, appears to be gaining acceptance as well. By defining the
standard test tire, the tire type and design are eliminated as variables in the measurement of
pavement skid resistance.

A means to transport water (usually 750 to 1900 liters (200 to 500 gallons)) and the necessary
apparatus to deliver it in front of the test wheel at test speed

A transducer associated with the test wheel that senses the force developed between the
skidding test wheel and the pavement

Electronic signal conditioning equipment to receive the transducer output signal and modify it as
required

Suitable analog and/or digital readout equipment to record either the magnitude of the
developed force or the calculated value of the resulting Skid Number (SN)

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Figure 9.13: Lock Wheeled Skid Tester

To take a measurement, the vehicle (or trailer) is brought to the desired testing speed (typically 64
km/hr (40 mph)) and water is sprayed ahead of the test tire to create a wetted pavement surface. The
test tire braking system is then actuated to lock the test tire. Instrumentation measures the friction force
acting between the test tire and the pavement and reports the result as a Skid Number (SN).

Standard locked-wheel friction tests are:

AASHTO T 242: Frictional Properties of Paved Surfaces Using a Full-Scale Tire

ASTM E 274: Skid Resistance of Paved Surfaces Using a Full-Scale Tire

4.2.2 Spin Up Tester

A spin up tester has the same basic setup as a locked wheel tester but operates in an opposite manner.
For a spin up tester, the vehicle (or trailer) is brought to the desired testing speed (typically 64 km/hr
(40 mph)) and a locked test wheel is lowered to the pavement surface. The test wheel braking system is
then released and the test wheel is allowed to "spin up" to normal traveling speed due to its contact with
the pavement. Mathematically, the friction force at the tire/pavement interface at any moment
corresponds to that which would be present if the locked tire were pulled along the pavement at the
testing speed (Wambold et al., 1990). The spin up tester offers two advantages over the locked wheel
tester:

1. No force measurement is necessary, the force can be computed by knowing the test wheel's
moment of inertia and its rotational acceleration (Wambold et al., 1990). Force measuring
devices for the locked wheel tester cost a significant amount of money.

2. Because the test tire is in contact with the pavement while locked for a much shorter time than
the locked wheel tester, it significantly reduces test tire wear.

4.2.3 Surface Texture Measurement

Because pavement skid resistance is tied to surface macrotexture, some methods seek to measure a
pavement's macrotexture then correlate it with skid resistance as measured by some other, more
traditional method. The simplest surface texture measurement is the sand patch test (ASTM E 965). The
test is carried out on a dry pavement surface by pouring a known quantity of sand onto the surface and
spreading it in a circular pattern with a straightedge. As the sand is spread, it fills the low spots in the
pavement surface. When the sand cannot be spread any further, the diameter of the resulting circle is

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measured. This diameter can then be correlated to an average texture depth, which can be correlated to
skid resistance. A texture depth of about 1.5 mm (0.06 inches) is normally required for heavily
trafficked areas.

Laser or advanced image processing equipment are capable of determining surface macrotexture from a
vehicle moving at normal travel speeds. One particular device, the Road Surface Analyzer (ROSAN), a
series of non-contact pavement surface texture measurement devices, has been developed by the FHWA's
Turner Fairbanks Research Center Pavement Surface Analysis Laboratory. The ROSAN (see Figure 9.14)
can be used for measuring texture, aggregate segregation, grooves, tining, joints, and faulting (FHWA,
2001). ROSAN systems have been used in a number of NCHRP and FHWA sponsored studies. Some
integrated analysis units can use surface texture measuring to estimate skid resistance.

Figure 9.14: Prototype ROSAN Device (circa 1998)

The one drawback to this method is that a pavement's surface macrotexture does not entirely determine
its skid resistance. Therefore, correlation between surface macrotexture and skid resistance is often
difficult to extrapolate into any general guidance.

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