Consideration of Fractals Potential in Pavement Skid Resistance Evaluation

Pavement surface texture greatly contributes to tire-pavement skid resistance. Pavement surface irregularities are continuous from pavement macrotexture to pavement microtexture. Their pattern is also roughly repetitive. This existence of self-similarity encourages an attempt to approximate the pavement surface texture with fractals in order to take advantages of fractal modeling. The mathematical background is based on C0 and C1 fractal interpolation curves. Through this approximation, the procedure of pavement surface wear is evaluated, in respect to its effect to skid resistance values. Fractal potential is simultaneously tested in representing pavement surface contamination. A qualitative relationship between the skid resistance values of characteristic pavement surface texture profiles and the fractal dimension of their interpolation function is recognized. The whole attempt yields encouraging results, although it is apparent that further research is required.