NTL Record

Title Measuring and Specifying Pavement Smoothness : [techbrief]
Record ID 65806
Personal Name
Creator
Smith, Kurt D.; Ram, Prashant
Personal Name
Contributor
Yu, Tom
Corporate Creator Applied Research Associates, Inc.
Corporate
Contributor
United States. Federal Highway Administration
Publisher United States. Federal Highway Administration
Publication Date 20160601
Language English
Abstract Smoothness is a measure of the level of comfort experienced by the traveling public while riding over a pavement surface. As an important indicator of pavement performance, smoothness is used interchangeably with roughness as an expression of the deviation of a surface from a true planar surface (as defined by ASTM E867) and is often cited as the most important indicator of user satisfaction. However, smoothness also imparts a number of other benefits, including improved pavement performance and service life, improved safety, and reduced fuel and vehicle maintenance cost (Smith et al. 1997; FHWA 2006; Chatti and Zaabar 2012; Van Dam et al. 2015). In recognition of the importance of pavement smoothness, many highway agencies employ specifications to control initial pavement smoothness during construction and then monitor it over time as an indicator of performance and as a trigger for maintenance or rehabilitation. The purpose of this Tech Brief is to describe the tools and techniques used to measure and express pavement smoothness.
Rosap ID dot:38480
Rosap URL https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/38480
TRT Terms Smoothness; Asphalt pavements; Concrete pavements; Roughness
Geographical
Coverage
United States
Contract Number DTFH61-14-D-00006
Report Number FHWA-HIF-16-032
Resource type Tech Report
URL https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/65000/65800/65806/FHWA-HIF-16-032.pdf
Format PDF
Database NTL Digital Repository