1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FHWA/TX-05/0-4756-1 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date SYNTHESIS OF PAVEMENT ISSUES RELATED TO HIGH-SPEED September 2004 CORRIDORS 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Joe W. Button, Emmanuel G. Fernando and Dan R. Middleton 0-4756-1 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Texas Transportation Institute The Texas A&M University System 11. Contract or Grant No. College Station, Texas 77843-3135 Project 0-4756-1 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Texas Department of Transportation Technical Report: Research and Technology Implementation Office September 2003 – August 2004 P. O. Box 5080 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Austin, Texas 78763-5080 15. Supplementary Notes Project performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Project Title: Identify Pavement Related Issues for High Speed Corridors 16. Abstract The objective of this research project was to produce a synthesis of available information to support specific areas related to pavements for the safe, economical development of the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC). This synthesis is divided into nine sections, each of which deals with a specific topic or topics. These specific areas include (1) pavement design for heavy vehicles, (2) pavement design for light vehicles, (3) skid resistance issues on high-speed corridors, (4) issues related to traffic characterization, (5) smart pavements for high-speed corridors, (6) pavement material response to dynamic loads and performance prediction, (7) safety issues related to splash and spray, and (8) ride quality for high-speed corridors. Regarding these stated issues, this synthesis recommends state-of-the-art technology to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for use during development of the TTC. It provides recommendations for future research to fill gaps in knowledge and to take emerging technology to the stage where it can be implemented during the design and construction of the TTC pavements. This is the first synthesis study to address issues related to the TTC. A secondary objective of this project was to determine if additional synthesis studies in other areas of transportation related to the TTC should be conducted and, if so, how the process might be improved. This synthesis recommends that future syntheses should be more focused on specific, maybe critical, issue(s); the researcher should be instructed to present only those findings that are really new, innovative, and potentially implementable. One element of the study should pursue non-transportation related technology that might be adapted to transportation issues. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Trans Texas Corridor, High-Speed Corridors, No restrictions. This document is available to the Pavements public through NTIS: National Technical Information Service Springfield, Virginia 22161 http://www.ntis.gov 19. Security Classif.(of this report) 20. Security Classif.(of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 176 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized SYNTHESIS OF PAVEMENT ISSUES RELATED TO HIGH-SPEED CORRIDORS by Joe W. Button, P.E. Senior Research Engineer Texas Transportation Institute Emmanuel G. Fernando, PhD, P.E. Research Engineer Texas Transportation Institute and Dan R. Middleton, PhD, P.E. Program Manager Texas Transportation Institute Report 0-4756-1 Project Number 0-4756 Project Title: Identify Pavement Related Issues for High Speed Corridors Performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration September 2004 TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE The Texas A&M University System College Station, Texas 77843-3135 DISCLAIMER The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official view or policies of the Federal Highway Administration or the Texas Department of Transportation. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Not intended for construction, bidding, or permit purposes. The engineer in charge of the project was Joe W. Button, P.E. # 40874. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Mr. Gregory S. Cleveland, P.E., Technical Operations Manager, Materials and Pavements Section of the TxDOT Construction Division, served as project director (PD) for this research effort. Mr. Randy Hopmann, P.E., Lubbock District Engineer, served as project coordinator (PC). The project management committee included Mr. Randy Hochstein, P.E., Area Engineer in the Amarillo District and Maria Burke, P.E., of the Design Division. Their suggestions to guide this synthesis and support in the accomplishment of this project are gratefully acknowledged. Appreciation is extended to the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration for the financial support provided through the Pavements and Design Research Management Committee. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures......................................................................................................................x List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi Introduction..........................................................................................................................1 Pavement Design for Heavy Vehicles .................................................................................5 Introduction..............................................................................................................5 200X Mechanistic-Empirical Design Guide............................................................8 Advanced Design and Analysis Methods ................................................................9 International Pavement Design Procedures ...........................................................10 Recent Pertinent Research Findings ......................................................................11 Flexible Pavements.........................................................................................11 Rigid Pavements .............................................................................................14 Other Design Issues ........................................................................................15 Design Methods for Heavy Duty Pavements.........................................................15 Potential Solutions for Design or Analysis of Truck-Only Lanes .........................17 Research Needs Related to Truck-Only Lanes ......................................................19 Pavement Design for Light Vehicles .................................................................................21 Introduction............................................................................................................21 Design Methods for Lightly Trafficked Pavements...............................................22 Structural and Mixture Design Philosophy for Light Vehicle Pavements.............24 Potential Solutions for Design of Pavements for Light Vehicles ..........................25 Research Needs Related to Design of Light Vehicle Pavements ..........................27 Skid Resistance Issures on High-Speed Corridors.............................................................29 Introduction............................................................................................................29 General............................................................................................................29 Background.....................................................................................................29 Pavement Friction Measurement ...........................................................................31 Skid Resistance Measurement at High Speed........................................................32 Predicting Wet Friction Values..............................................................................33 Hydroplaning .........................................................................................................33 Recommended Skid Resistance Requirements......................................................34 Surface Aggregate Classification...........................................................................35 Potential Solutions Related to Skid Resistance .....................................................38 Research Needs Related to Skid Resistance ..........................................................41 Issues Related to Traffic Characterization.........................................................................43 Introduction............................................................................................................43 Important Recent Findings on Traffic Characterization ........................................44 Piezoelectric Sensors......................................................................................46 Quartz Sensors................................................................................................46 Fiber Optic Sensors.........................................................................................47 Effects of Winter Weather..............................................................................48 Sensor