THE PENN STATE ROAD FRICTION TESTER AS ADAPTED TO ROUTINE MEASUREMENT OF PAVEMENT SKID RESISTANCE

THE SKID RESISTANCE PROBLEM IS RESTATED AND THE NEED FOR MODERN AND EFFICIENT SKID TESTING EQUIPMENT FOR ROUTINE FIELD TESTS IS DERIVED. THE DESIGN AND OPERATION REQUIREMENTS FOR A ROUTINE TESTER ARE DEFINED IN TERMS OF PRECISION, RUGGEDNESS, COMPACTNESS, TRAFFIC INTERFERENCE, AND COST OF OPERATION. THE DESIGN CONCEPT OF THE PENN STATE ROAD FRICTION TESTER IS SHOWN TO FULFILL THESE REQUIREMENTS. THE TRAILER AND TOWING VEHICLE, INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROLS, THE CALIBRATION EQUIPMENT AND METHOD OF CALIBRATION ARE DESCRIBED. DIMENSIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS OF THE ROAD FRICTION TESTER, PERFORMANCE DATA AND SELECTED RESULTS OF RECENT TESTS ARE GIVEN. ALSO DESCRIBED IS THE PROTOTYPE OF A NEW PORTABLE TESTER DEVELOPED ESPECIALLY FOR FIELD USE TO SUPPLEMENT THE LARGE UNIT. THE NEED FOR FURTHER WORK ON THE OVERALL SKID RESISTANCE PROBLEM IS OUTLINED AND SPECIFIC PROBLEMS ARE SHOWN TO DEMAND EARLY SOLUTIONS. /AUTHOR/