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Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

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Title:

Feasibility of using Friction Indicators to Improve Winter Maintenance Operations and Mobility (Conference Paper)

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of a study conducted for NCHRP Projet 6-14 to evaluate the feasibility of using friction indicators as tools for improving winter maintenance operations and mobility. The study found that analyzing information collected from low-cost, reliable friction measuring devices and other data, such as pavement temperature, traffic and weather conditions, could be useful for allocating snow-fighting resources in real-time. The information gathered suggested that a traction-control system is the most promising technology for practically and safely measuring friction in winter conditions, followed closely by deceleration and slip devices. Forecasting surface friction based on models that relate data such as temperature and traffic was also identified as a promising technique for improving winter maintenance operations, but further research is needed in this area.

Source(s):

83rd Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting; Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Virginia Transportation Research Council and Northern Arizona University. For an electronic copy of this resource, please direct your request to WeatherFeedback@dot.gov.

Date: 2004

Author:

Al-Qadi, Loulizi, Flintsch, Roosevelt, Decker, Wambold, Nixon

Keywords:


Pavement friction
Winter maintenance
Mobility

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