Citation

Shupe JW, Goetz WH. Highw. Res. Board bull. 1959; 219: 56-73.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1959, National Research Council (U.S.A.), Highway Research Board)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This report briefly describes the laboratory skid-test apparatus developed at purdue university to evaluate the skid resistance of portland cement or bituminous specimens molded in the laboratory or cored from the pavement surface. A field correlation study was performed on 28 test sections, representing a large variation in surface textures. Passenger car stopping-distance tests were performed on each of the sections, after which cores were obtained and evaluated in the laboratory skid-test apparatus. In general, there was fairly good agreement between the two methods of evaluating slipperiness. Accelerated wear and polish procedures for both portland cement and bituminous specimens, intended to simulate the polishing action of traffic, are also described. A summary is presented of the initial phase of the investigation in which the polishing characteristics of bituminous mixtures composed of 22 different mineral aggregates were determined. Also summarized are a comparison of the polishing characteristics of aggregates in portland cement and bituminous mixtures, a consideration of the effect of surface texture on the skid resistance of bituminous mixtures, and an evaluation of the effect of initial aggregate shape on the anti-skid characteristics of bituminous mixtures. A discussion, based on laboratory test results, is presented as to the effect of blending a polish-resistant material with a polish- susceptible aggregate in both portland cement and bituminous mixtures. The blending materials included in the study were natural sands, harsh silica sands, slag, and sandstone. For the slag sandstone both coarse- and fine-aggregate replacement were investigated. The anti-skid characteristics of a number of fine-grained surfaces were also evaluated. Included in these surfaces were sand-asphalt mixtures composed of a dozen natural sands of dissimilar characteristics and some of the non-skid surface treatments, such as kentucky rock asphalt, silica sand, proprietary mixtures and resinous binders supporting different varieties of abrasives. By contrast, skid resistance values are also presented for some of the slickest surfaces likely to be encountered by traffic. In summarizing the results of this study, general recommendations are made with regard to design and construction practices which tend to minimize pavement slipperiness.