Critical Assessment of HFST’s Long-Term Performance in Georgia Under Different Roadway Conditions

Details

• Creators:
  Tsai, Yichang (James) ; Wang, Zhonghua ; Pranav, Cibi ; Yu, Pingzhou (Lucas) ; Knezevich, Ronald W
• Corporate Creators:
  Georgia Institute of Technology ; Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• Corporate Contributors:
  Georgia. Department of Transportation. Office of Performance-Based Management & Research ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Calcined Aggregates Calcined Bauxite Friction Friction Deterioration Lightweight Aggregates Optimal Sampling And Testing Performance High Friction Surface Treatment Performance Monitoring Guide Phonolite
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-GA-22-1719
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States;Georgia
• Edition:
  Final Report December 2016 – April 2022
• Corporate Publisher:
  Georgia. Department of Transportation. Office of Performance-Based Management & Research
• Abstract:
  The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) uses high friction surface treatment (HFST) as a countermeasure to address curve-related crashes proactively and reactively. In the US, as of December 2020, Georgia has the highest number of pavement miles and curve sites that use epoxy-based friction improvement surface treatments (FIST). These sites include 342 curve sites with calcined bauxite HFST and 69 curve sites with phonolite TPO (“Wyoming bauxite”). Deteriorated epoxy-based materials will lead to a smooth and glossy surface that may lead to drivers running off the road. To mitigate this safety concern, this research project has the following objectives: 1) critically analyze real-world FIST friction deterioration behavior and spatial friction distribution in Georgia’s local environments, and 2) develop practical guidance for GDOT to programmatically and proactively manage its FIST sites based on life cycle activities. Thirty representative FIST sites in Georgia were monitored for three years beginning in 2018. A Dynamic Friction Tester (DFT) was used during the monitoring period; friction at 60mph was used for analysis. Findings from of this research reveal calcined bauxite is performing well with friction greater than 0.65 after six years. Meanwhile, phonolite TPO friction dropped over 40% in the first three months and below 0.4 at certain sites after three years. Therefore, phonolite is not recommended for future application and requires close monitoring at existing sites. Additional monitoring for two to three years is strongly recommended to further study the end-of-life characteristics of calcined bauxite HFST. It is recommended to use performance measures based on aggregate loss with automatic survey methods to cost effectively screen sites for targeted friction testing and optimized condition evaluation.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  PI# 0015716
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:512b0b2909516ece4f7c26298bf9ccc05120ddfb4b26e87b4a891b3d96beea35e52d44cc9b55719a3781d5214ddd62d70cc6db5052b0c5bda5124144405a3391
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/63389/dot_63389_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.79 MB ]