Pavement Surface Characteristics Concrete New Construction (MnRoad Study)

In pavement infrastructure, functional characteristics are mainly preponderant over structural characteristics as the former typically govern pavement rehabilitation, maintenance and reconstruction decisions. Evidently, agencies invest in provision or restoration of friction (skid resistance) and make policies to minimize traffic noise. Most agencies accept (or reject) construction projects based mainly on initial ride quality. Consequently, this study examined various concrete textures imparted on new pavements in the 2007, 2010 and 2011 MnROAD test cell construction and monitored their ride quality, friction, tire pavement noise, visual conditions and acoustic impedance over time. The study successfully developed an in-situ impedance tube evaluation method for pervious concrete for a proxy to material and hydraulic conductivity condition. It also created tenable time-series equations for the progression of the various texture characteristics and developed a friction degradation model based on traffic and texture type. Advanced data analysis showed that longitudinal texturing and negative textures were strongly associated with pavement quietness. Investment analysis revealed that certain surfaces produced noise reduction of 6 decibels over the transverse time. Those textures including pervious concrete and diamond grinding were found to be cost-beneficial for noise abatement consideration. This research also associated rectangular texturing with anomalous laser-induced ride-quality measurements. Further analysis also accentuated a correlation of pavement condition to surface acoustics thus recommending the development of impedance tube for pavement joint condition monitoring. Additionally, This research recommended drag pre-textured longitudinal-tining as the optimal texture for durability, quietness and skid resistance based on the overall research results.