Influence of effective texture depth on pavement friction based on 3D texture area

Abstract

Pavement texture significantly affects the anti-skid performance. This study applied 3D laser technology to measure the texture of asphalt pavement surfaces with an objective to explain the variation in the friction measured using a portable pendulum tester. Pavement slab samples were prepared for six different types of asphalt mixtures (SMA-Top5, AC-10, AC-13, AC-16, SMA-13, and OGFC-13). High-precision surface texture data of the samples were then collected using a portable laser scanner (LS-40), and the friction values (BPN) were measured. The 3D image reconstruction and segmentation of the pavement texture were realized through a digital image processing technology, and the texture surface area at different depths was calculated. Finally, we performed a correlation analysis between the texture surface area at different depths and the pavement friction values. The results showed that the pavement anti-skid value and the texture surface area have a significant positive correlation in the texture depth range of 0.5–2 mm, with the lowest determination coefficient value of 0.6836. Our research confirms that the effective texture depth influencing pavement friction is 2 mm and that the texture surface area can be used as an indicator of pavement friction during its service life.