Developing a laboratory test method for rolling resistance characterisation of road surface texture

Abstract

In this work, a new laboratory test method is developed to characterise the relationship between rolling resistance and macrotexture of road surfaces. This test would allow a fast characterisation and comparison of different wearing courses in terms of rolling resistance. Description of the test machine, samples and test protocol is provided. The effect of influential factors such as speed, temperature and surface texture on the test results is evaluated. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between surface macrotexture and rolling resistance. The macrotexture of the samples is characterised using the measured surface profiles. The partial profile envelopment by the rubber and its effect on the results is simulated by applying different filters to the surface profiles. Obtained results show that by considering the envelop profile a good correlation between surface macrotexture and rolling resistance can be observed. The laboratory results are in good agreement with those obtained using the road test.

Effects of Pavement Characteristics on Rolling Resistance of Heavy Vehicles: A Literature Review

“…A conceptually similar approach was developed with a modified version of a Wehner/Schulze machine originally used to simulate the polishing effect induced by traffic on road surfaces ( 97 ). Three rubber cones were mounted on a rotary head and rolled over a 225 mm diameter disc that reproduced the macrotexture of a pavement ( 98 ). The coefficient of RR was found by measuring the torque necessary to maintain a constant angular speed ( 98 ).…”

“…Three rubber cones were mounted on a rotary head and rolled over a 225 mm diameter disc that reproduced the macrotexture of a pavement ( 98 ). The coefficient of RR was found by measuring the torque necessary to maintain a constant angular speed ( 98 ). The values were normalized and showed a good level of correlation with the experimental values.…”

Tire/Road Rolling Resistance Modeling: Discussing the Surface Macrotexture Effect

“…The Wehner/Schulze machine-polishing unit was used to measure the Crr (Figure 3a) [21]. This unit is composed of a rotary head equipped with three rubber cones with a superior and inferior diameter of 80 and 36 mm, respectively (Figure 3b).…”

“…The RRM thus derives from the simplification of the DFM by eliminating the sliding in tire/road contact and is used to predict the coefficient of rolling resistance (Crr) on several surfaces with different macrotextures [19,20]. The experimental validation was performed using a device that simulates the rolling of tires on road surfaces [21]. The first section of this paper will present the RRM and the algorithm behind the numerical calculation program.…”

An energetic approach to model the relationship between tire rolling friction and road surface macrotexture

“…Analyses of the collected data and those from previous studies involving the TUG trailer show globally a linear relationship between Crf and MPD. More recently, Riahi and coauthors [7] developed a laboratory test method to measure the rolling friction on small road samples (circular discs of 225 mm in diameter). Results obtained by these authors on a more limited number of surfaces-yet covering a wide range of macrotextureconfirm the linear relationship between Crf and MPD.…”