A Study of the Influence of Water Film Thickness on Wet Pavement Friction for Tined Concrete Pavement
Wet pavement friction decreases due to the increase in water film thickness (WFT), leading to a significant increase in vehicle crashes occurrences. The British Pendulum Test described in ASTM E303-93 is one of the methods used to measure pavement friction in wet conditions for the input of geometric design and pavement management systems. The British Pendulum Number (BPN) in wet conditions varies with WFT. Following ASTM E303-93 standard procedures, water film thickness was simulated by spraying water on the pavement surface. However, the measurement of BPN did not include specific information about the thickness of the water film present during testing. To address these issues, WFTs and BPNs were measured using artificial rainfall generated by a rainfall simulator across various intensities, drainage lengths, pavement slopes, and pavement surfaces. This study aims to investigate the influence of water film thickness on BPN for wet pavement friction and provide the WFT corresponding to each BPN measurement for different surface types. BPNs of three test slabs, including a smooth surface and tined surfaces with 16 mm and 25 mm spacing, were measured under wet conditions by spraying water, and by creating water film thicknesses using a rainfall simulator. This study demonstrates that the BPNs of non-tined surfaces and longitudinally and transversely tined surfaces with 25mm spacing exhibit a significant decrease with increasing water film thickness, while those with 16mm spacing show a slight decrease. These findings can be attributed to the lower friction observed in both non-tined and longitudinally tined pavements, in contrast to surfaces with transverse tinning.