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.

Since the decrease of skid resistance of the road surface due to the effects of hydroplaning increases the ratio of vehicle crashes significantly, it is important to predict water film thickness (WFT). Tined is one of the widely used textures for concrete pavements. Since previous WFT models have been developed based on the asphalt pavement texture and broom concrete, it may not give reliable predictions for Water film thickness for tinned concrete. Furthermore, surface flow on tined texture may show hydraulically different characteristics due to the geometric characteristics of tined texture. This study aims to propose a reliable water film thickness prediction model for tined concrete. Three test slabs including a smooth surface, a tined surface with 16mm spacing, and a tined surface with 25mm spacing were prepared. WFTs of the test slab were measured for various conditions such as pavement slope (0-10%), rainfall intensity (0-130mm/h), and drainage path length (0-5m). A statistical model was proposed to predict water film thickness (WFT) as a function of pavement slope, rainfall intensity, drainage path length, and mean texture depth. This model exhibits strong agreement with the experimental test results. The GWNU prediction model consistently provides reliable predictions with the actual WFT for tined concrete pavement. Conversely, the previous equation consistently underestimated the water film thickness, notably on tined surfaces with 16 mm and 25 mm spacing, due to the occurrence of viscous flow along the tined lines.