High-speed texture measurement of pavements

This study was conducted to validate high-speed texture measuring equipment for use in highway applications. The evaluation included two high-speed systems and a new static referencing device. Tests were conducted on 22 runway and taxiway test sections from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Wallops Flight Facility and 7 surfaces from Virginia's Smart Road. Texture estimates recorded with the high-speed (dynamic) equipment correlated extremely well with estimates made with static referencing methods. The system developed by International Cybernetics Corporation was very functional for most conventional highway surfaces. However, a better correlation may be achieved with the referencing methods by using a system (such as the MGPS surface system developed by the Federal Highway Administration) that produces the American Society for Testing and Materials' standard mean profile depth. Finally, an analysis conducted using the CTMeter (circular track meter, a laser-based but static system) demonstrated an important advantage of combining indices produced from high-definition surface profiles. By comparing the mean profile depth with the root mean square data for a particular surface, it is possible to characterize more fully the shapes that contribute to a pavement's macrotexture.