Skid Resistance Evaluation of Concrete Pavement Surfaces

Providing adequate surface frictional resistance is a major requirement in the construction of concrete pavements, and the choice of surface finishing treatment method is an important factor that directly affects the skid resistance properties of the pavement surface. This paper reports the findings of a study conducted to examine the common surface texturing methods adopted in Singapore in respect of their effectiveness in providing a skid resistant pavement surface. Five different finishing methods were studied. The study consisted of an experimental program that involved skid resistance testing of laboratory prepared specimens before and after accelerated wheel polishing test. The British pendulum tester was used in experimental program for skid resistance measurements. The study also performed a threedimensional finite element analysis to verify the findings of the laboratory tests. The numerical verification confirmed the experimentally established trends of variation in skid resistance of different textured surfaces.