EuropeanRoadProfile UsersGroup

Copenhagen
1012September2013

Harmonizationinpavementsmoothnessrating
ofnewandoldpavements

PRESENTATIONOUTLINE
DefinitionandStandards
Harmonization
RoughnessandroadworkQC/QA
RoughnessandPMS
Roads Airports Bikepaths
Thresholds
Conclusion

ROADROUGHNESS
isoneofthemostimportantcharacteristicofroadsurface;
perceptionisrelatedtothespeedlimits,thekindoftraffic,theclimatic
conditions,theacceptedcomfortlimits,etc.;
isanindicatoroffunctionalperformanceandstructuralcondition.

ROADROUGHNESSDEFINITIONS
ASTM
Roughness: the deviation of a surface from a true planar surface with
characteristics dimensions that affect vehicle dynamics, ride quality, dynamic
loads, and drainage, for example, longitudinal profile, transverse profile, and
cross slope.
EN
Unevenness: deviation of a pavement surface from a filtered true planar
surface in wavelenght range of 0.5m to 50m.

ROADROUGHNESSSTANDARDS
EU
EN130366 Roadandairfieldsurfacecharacteristics
Highway agencies, airfield authorities, equipment manufacturers, and other
organizations can use this standard to define the measuring capabilities of survey
equipment that collects the data necessary to characterize surface conditions.
Methods of profiling: any device able to obtain a real profile is valid for
profiling if it satisfies the objective of the measurements.
Evenness measurements can be performed by means of static or dynamic
devices. The standard includes highspeed, lowspeed, and stationary
equipment.
The EN 130366 does not provide any indication regarding evaluation of results.

ROADROUGHNESSSTANDARDS
US
Different Standards have been developed for different roughness measurament
device.
ASTM E 95009 Standard pratice for measuring the longitudinal profile of traveled
surfaces with an accelerometer estabilished inertial profiling system.
ASTM E 136495 (12) Standard practice for measuring the road roughness by static
level method.
ASTM E 213303 (09) Standard test using a rolling inclinometer to measure
longitudinal and transversal profile of a traveled surface.
ASTM E127403 (12) Standard Test Method for Measuring Pavement Roughness
Using a Profilograph
ASTM E 121593 (12) Specification for Trailers Used for Measuring Vehicular
Response to Road Roughness

MEASUREMENTMETHODS

ROAD AND LEVEL:

The survey is carried out using rod, level
and measuring tape

DIPSTICK:
The device utilizes a precision inclinometer to
measure the difference in height between the
two supports

MEASUREMENTMETHODS
PROFILOGRAPH
It is a long beam with wheels at each
end, and a test wheel in the center; the
road roughness is measured by the
vertical movement of the test wheel.

INERTIAL PROFILERS
This device is composed of a laser
which measures the relative distance
between the road surface and a
computed inertial reference, an
odometer
which
measures
the
longitudinal
distance
and
an
accelerometer to take into account
vehicle vertical accelerations.

MEASUREMENTMETHODS

LongitudinalProfile

TransverseProfile

Grad,Radius,Cross

Macrotexture

COMPARISONOFDIFFERENTDEVICE
Static Versus Inertial Profile

Thegeneralcharacterofthe
twoprofilesisremarkably
similar.

ROUGHNESSINDICES
FromaTrueProfile(Static,WalkingorHighSpeedInertialProfile),different
RoughnessIndicescanbederived,suchase.g.:

IRI InternationalRoughnessIndex
HRI HalfCarRoughnessIndex
RN RideNumber
MRI MeanRoughnessIndex
SV SlopeVariance
CPI CaliforniaProfilographIndex
........

ROUGHNESSDATAEVALUATION

Differenttargetvaluesforroughnessareprescribedfor

QA/QCactivitiesinroadworks;
monitoringduringservicelife;
pavementmaintenanceplanning.

STANDARDIZATION isessentialtoprovideauniversalbasisinordertohaveto
equivalentorcomparableresultswherever andwhenever agivenexperimentor
studyiscarriedout.
Question:
inordertoimproveuniformityinroughnessevaluationispossibletodefinea
generalcriteriaandspecificthresholdvaluestobeappliedindifferentsituations?

STANDARDIZATION&HARMONISATION
HARMONIZATION (J.J.HENRY ):
The process of creating a new reference standard to which existing standards
can be related, whether they are maintained in parallel to the new standard
or are subsequently replaced
Harmonization can be considered the gentle road to achieving standardization
TheAimsofharmonization:
Continuity
Equity
Efficiency
Effectiveness
Technological progress
Reducing compliance requirements to the minimum essential
Eliminating conflicting requirements that might be applicable from
different agencies

STANDARDIZATION&HARMONISATION
The International Road Roughness Experiment (IRRE) was proposed to find the
best practices appropriate for the many types of roughness measuring
equipment in use. At the same time, the IRRE was planned to provide a means
for comparing roughness data obtained by different procedures and
instruments.
The equipment included two categories: profilometric methods (manual quasi
static methods and highspeed profilometers) and ResponseType Road
Roughness Measuring Systems (RTRRMSs).

ROUGHNESSTHRESHOLD
At the moment each Country uses different thresholds; the most common
reference is the scale proposed by Sayers in the Little book of profiling (1998).

ROUGHNESSTHRESHOLD
Different case is the scale reported in the ASTM E 1926, where roughness is
evaluated based on the users perception and comfort.

ROADWORKPRESCRIPTIONS Examples
ANAS
IRI1,8mm/m REHABILITATIOMONFULLCARRIAGEWAY
IRI2,0mm/m LIMITEDREHABILITATIONONAPARTOFTHECARRIAGEWAY
DEDUCTIONS
1\3OFTHEPERCENTAGEOFTHEDISCREPANCY BETWEENTHEACTUAL ANDPRESCRIBEDIRIVALUES
UNACCEPTABLETHRESHOLD
IRI>3,5mm/m (MOTORWAY ORDUALCARRIAGEWAY)
IRI >4,0mm/m(OTHERROADS)

AUTOSTRADE
I.R.I.<1,8mm/mREHABILITATIONONFULLCARRIAGEWAY
I.R.I.< 2,0mm/mLIMITEDREHABILITATIONONAPARTOFTHECARRIAGEWAY
DEDUCTIONS
15%OFITSCOST
UNACCEPTABLETHRESHOLD
IRI>3,5mm/m.

REGIONETOSCANA
I.R.I.< 1,8mm/m REHABILITATIONONFULLCARRIAGEWAY
I.R.I.< 2,0mm/m LIMITEDREHABILITATIONONAPARTOFTHECARRIAGEWAY

ROADWORKPRESCRIPTIONS Examples
QATARROADAUTHORITY
ThereadabilityofthefinishedwearingcoursewhentestedwithaLaserRoadSurfaceTesting
MachineshallhaveanIRInotexceedingthefollowingvalues:
Averagevalueovera400metresectionfornewconstructionandmultilayerpavement
rehabilitationwithcrackarrestinglayer1.05
Asabovebutaveragevalueformillingandsingleoverlayrehabilitationsection1.05
Peakvalueovera25metresectionforalltypesofnewandrehabilitatedpavement(notmore
than2valuesper400meters)1.50
Theamplitudeofthelongitudinalprofileoftheroad,filteredbetween(a)1metreand3.3metres
and(b)3.3metresand13metresshallnotexceedfollowingvalues:
1m 3.3m1.80mm
3.3m 13m3.50mm

ROADWORKPRESCRIPTIONS Examples
PLIEGODEPRESCRIPCIONESTECNICASGENERALES
PARAOBRASDECARRETERASYPUENTES(Spain)
IRI(mm/m)fornewroad

IRI(mm/m)forexistingroads

ROUGHNESSPARAMETERSUSED
FORWORKCONSTRUCTIONBONUS/PENALITIES
MINNESOTASTATEUNIVERSITY
IMPLEMENTATIONOFANINTERNATIONALROUGHNESSINDEXFORMN/DOT
PAVEMENTCONSTRUCTIONANDREHABILITATION

GOODWORK:INCENTIVES
INADEQUATEWORK:DISINCENTIVES

ROUGHNESSEVALUATIONFORAIRPORTPAVEMENTS
The existence of an international organization that oversees the lawmaking to
individual institutions for national civil aviation led to the Standardization of
technical requirements.
InternationalCivil Aviation Organization ICAO
NEW PAVEMENT
Except across the crown of a camber or across drainage channels, the
finished surface of the wearing course is to be of such regularity that, when
tested with a 3 m straightedge placed anywhere in any direction on the
surface, there is no deviation greater than 3 mm between the bottom of
the straightedge and the surface of the pavement anywhere along the
straightedge

EXISTING PAVEMENT
Isolated irregularities of the order of 2.5 cm to 3 cm over a 45 m distance
are tolerable. although maximum acceptable deviations vary with the type
and speed of an aircraft, the limits of acceptable surface irregularities can
be estimated to a reasonable extent

ROUGHNESSEVALUATIONFORAIRPORTPAVEMENTS
Inorder totakeinto accounttheinfluence oflonger wavelenghts
FAAdeveloped theBoeingBump Index.
ACn150/53809GuidelinesandProceduresforMeasuringAirfieldPavementRoughness
1.800
1.600

UNACCEPTABLE ZONE

Boeing Bump Index

1.400
1.200

EXCESSIVE ZONE
1.000
0.800
0.600

ACCEPTABLE ZONE
0.400
0.200
0.000
0.000

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

Bump Length (meters)

ASTMis also working tostandardize theBoeingBump Indexcalculation procedure.

WorkItem:ASTMWK41777 NewSpecificationforBoeingBumpIndexComputationsBased
onBumpTemplateSimulations

ROUGHNESSEVALUATIONFORAIRPORTPAVEMENTS
FAAprovides equipment measurament specifications fortheBBIcalculation.
The use of inertial profilers that include highpass filtering is not
recommended for measuring profiles which are to be used for computing
BBI index or simulated airplane accelerations on airport pavements

ROUGHNESSEVALUATIONFORAIRPORTPAVEMENTS

Ciampino InternationalAirport

1.

Staticmethod
Samplinginterval 10m

Example
2.

Inertialprofilometer
Samplinginterval25mm

3mL

Staticmethod:
IRI:0.44
BBI:0.16

Inertialprofilometer:
IRI:2.01
BBI:0.14
3.

Mergedprofile
Merged:
IRI:2.12
BBI:0.23

ROUGHNESSEVALUATIONOFAIRPORTPAVEMENTS
0,1
0,01
1E-3
1E-4

Static method
metodo statico
profilometro inerziale
Inertial profilometer
Merged combinato

PSD (m - m/cycle)

1E-5
1E-6
1E-7

notacquiredusing
inertialprofilometer

1E-8
1E-9
1E-10

notacquiredusing
staticmethod

1E-11
1E-12
1E-13
1E-14
0,1

10

wavelength (m/cycle)

15m

Staticmethod: Inertialprofilometer:

Merged:

IRI:0.44

IRI:2.01

IRI:2.12

BBI:0.16

BBI:0.14

BBI:0.23

100

WHATISMISSING??

MinimumvaluetodefinetheMAINTENANCE level.
ThresholdtodefinetheMINIMUMEXERCISEroadconditions.

ROUGHNESSANDPAVEMENTMANAGMENTSYSTEM
Roughness information is a useful input to the pavement management systems
(PMS) maintained by transportation agencies.
Nowadays road agencies use the pavement management system (PMS) to
maintain a road network and to optimize pavement maintenance strategies.

Roughness is strictly related with the time or traffic loading to adjust

maintenance operation to a certain threshold of roughness value.
A maintenance solution is necessary when the road roughness reaches a defined
threshold limit.

ROUGHNESSANDPAVEMENTMANAGEMENTSYSTEM
Different studies correlate the roughness to the vehicle operating costs, so
the maintenance is not only for a ride quality/users comfort, but is directly
related also to the drivers costs.

EffectofRoadConditiononVehicleOperatingCosts

ROUGHNESSANDPAVEMENTMANAGMENTSYSTEM
Budgetandmaintenancestrategydecisions
Time

INITIALLEVELOFROUGHNESS

STRATEGYA
IMPROVEMENTRANGE
STRATEGYB

ALARMLEVEL

Roughness

SolutionAorB
LIMITOFPREVENTIVEMAINTENANCE
USERSENSITIVITYTHRESHOLD
LEGALTHRESHOLD

THESMOOTHNESSASSURANCEMODULE(SAM)
FHWA has recently implemented the software PROVAL with a tool (SAM)
developed on the idea that starting on certain roughness level and desinging a
specific maintenance work is possible reach a predetermined roughness level.
This application is used to:

Produceridequalityreports
Optimizegrindingstrategiesbyanalyzingmeasurementsfromprofiles
collectedusinginertialprofilers
determinetheoutofspeclocationsandrecommendmustgrindlocations.
Determinetheridequalityafter grinding.

ROUGHNESSANDPAVEMENTMANAGEMENTSYSTEM
FORESEEINGTHEIRITREND
Curverecalibrationfollowingprogrammedinvestigations
IRI

5
4
3
2
1

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

Time

EXAMPLEOFMEASURAMENTTYPES
USEAMAINTENANCETHRESHOLD
Forwhat concern surface friction levels,different roadandairport
Authorities introduced thresholds not only fortheQA/QCcontruction
works,but also formaintenance andminimumlevels.

SKIDRESISTANCEMANAGEMENT
SPECIFICATIONFORSKIDRESISTANCEINVESTIGATIONANDTREATMENTSELECTION
TNZT10:2002 NEWZEALAND

SKIDRESISTANCEMANAGEMENT
ICAO ANNEX14 AERODROMES VOLUMEI
Aerodrome frictionlevelsfornewandexistingrunwaysurfaces

DIFFERENTDEVICES

DIFFERENTTARGETVALUES

BIKEPATHS
(not only roads andairports)
The importance of cyclists and pedestrians

Aim: develop a comfort index to obtain an

objective assessment of the condition of the
surface of the bike paths

Dynatest developed BPI:bicycle profile index

Focusing on certain wave lenghts

measurements carried out at low speed

and

WHYISITIMPORTANT?
Forpedestrian/cyclist safety
Cycling should beenjojable /comfortable
Overview oftheconditions ofthebikepaths
Identify where intervetions/repairs arenecessary inthebikepath network
Gis implementation forresults

CALIBRATIONTESTTO DETERMINETHEREFERENCEVALUE
Reference values used for bike paths roughness evaluation.

BPIrange510

BPIrange2030

BPIrange1020

BPIrange3040

CONCLUSION

Reference values / thresholds are

needed to evaluate roughness results;
Different Agencies and Countries must
combine their efforts to harmonize more
aspects of pavement management;
Harmonization is to be considered the
road to universal benefit for pavement
management.