Influence of Texturing method on tyre/road noise of cement concrete pavement

The texture of pavements influences the tire/road noise. This refers especially to cement concrete pavements. This article presents the results of studies on the sound level on concrete pavements in Poland, which were textured using burlap drag, broom drag, and exposed aggregate methods. It was established that on exposed aggregate cement concrete, the maximum aggregate size, which is a key factor in the surface’s macrotexture, has a significant influence on tire/road noise. It should not exceed 8 mm in the upper layer. When using an aggregate size of 11 mm, the maximum sound level of a passing-by car increases by approximately 2 dB. Pavements textured using the broom drag and burlap drag methods turned out to be not a beneficial solution due to the sound levels emitted by heavy vehicles moving at a speed above 80 kph. Pavement texturing using the transverse broom drag emits sound levels from heavy vehicles which are approximately 3 dB higher in comparison to values noted on SMA11. The methods of pavement texturing using diamond grinding, used in some countries, point towards the possibility of obtaining beneficial acoustic properties.