Study of Factors Influencing Vehicle Hydroplaning Speed

Abstract

Hydroplaning of vehicles is of particular concern to pavement engineers as it compromises the safety of automobiles during wet-weather highway operations. This paper describes the use of a finite-element model to simulate hydroplaning of a locked wheel sliding on a flooded pavement surface. The main components of the model are described and the model is validated against the various experimentally-derived relationships. The effects of tire inflation pressure, wheel load, and water-film thickness on hydroplaning speed are studied using the numerical model. It is found that hydroplaning speed increases with increasing tire pressure, increasing load, and decreasing water-film thickness. It is observed that tire inflation pressure is a dominant factor affecting hydroplaning speed while wheel load and water-film thickness are secondary factors. For easy practical application a regression relationship of hydroplaning speed as a function of tire inflation pressure, wheel load, and water-film thickness is developed using the results of the numerical simulations.