Properties of roadway particles from interaction between the tire and road pavement

Abstract

A large fraction of urban PM10 concentrations is due to non-exhaust traffic emissions, including road dust, particles from tire/road interface, and brake lining particles. Although potential health and environmental impacts associated with tire wear debris have increased, few environmentally and biologically relevant studies of actual tire wear debris have been conducted. Tire wear particles (TWP) are released from the tire tread as a result of the interaction between the tire and the pavement. Roadway particles (RP), meanwhile, are particles on roads composed of a mixture of elements from tires, pavement, fuels, brakes, environmental dust, and the atmosphere. The main objective of the present study is to identify the contribution of tires to the generation of RP and to assess the potential environmental and health impacts of this contribution. First, a mobile measurement system was constructed and used to measure the RP on asphalt roads according to vehicle speed. The equipment of the mobile system provides PM10 concentration by DustTrak DRX, and mass and number size distribution of fine and ultrafine particles by a fast mobility particle sizer (FMPS) and an aerosol particle sizer (APS). The dependence of RP mass and particle number concentration on vehicle speed was observed. It was also found that many particles were generated by rapid deceleration of the vehicle.