Tire Skid Resistance on Contaminated Wet Pavements

An experimental test rig has been designed, fabricated, and used to study the effect of wet pavement contamination on the tire-pavement skid resistance. Results showed that although precipitation water reduces tire-pavement skid resistance, the presence of other contaminants plays a major role in further loss of this resistance. It has also been shown that the fractional constituents of pavement contaminants vary according to the vertical profile of the same road under the same traffic density. Traffic signal areas showed the lowest skid resistance when compared to other locations of the same road. Also, the skid resistance on a contaminated up-gradient was found to be lower than that of a contaminated down-gradient of the same traffic density. Among other contaminants, rubber particulates produced by tire wear appear to have minimal effect on the loss of tire-pavement skid resistance.