TIRE NOISE AND ITS RELATION TO PAVEMENT FRICTION

Pavement friction and near-field and far-field tire-pavement noise were measured on six pavements representing a wide range of textures. Tire-pavement friction was measured in full-scale locked-wheel tests with both blank and ribbed test tires, and British pendulum numbers were measured. Near-field tire noise was measured on the same pavements by an on-board microphone mounted near the tire. Far-field tire noise was measured by coasting the vehicle through the test sites past a microphone located 15 m from the edge of the pavement. Attempts were made to correlate near-field tire noise with pavement texture to determine whether characteristics of the near-field noise spectrum could be used to predict texture and skid resistance. The data from portland cement concrete pavements produced satisfactory results, but the correlation was poor for asphalt concrete pavements. Relationships among the three measures of pavement skid resistance and far-field noise were developed. Good correlations were obtained between pavement friction and A-weighted sound pressure levels at 64 and 80 km/h, but at 48 km/h the correlations were poor. (Author)