Hydroplaning on Multi Lane Facilities (original) (raw)

Rainfall-induced hydroplaning risk over road infrastructure of the continental USA

PLOS ONE

Extreme rainfall causes transient ponding on roads, which increases the risk of vehicle accidents due to hydroplaning (HP), a phenomenon characterized by reduced friction between the pavement surface and the tires of moving vehicles. Before mitigation plans are drawn, it is important to first assess the spatio-temporal patterns of hydroplaning risk (HpR). This study quantifies HpR over the entire continental USA considering the coupled role of precipitation characteristics and pavement properties. Results show the southern United States to be a primary hotspot of HpR. About 22% of road sections experiencing HpR exhibit an increasing trend in the annual occurrence of HP events with time, indicating a riskier future ahead. Alarmingly, road sections that either experience higher HpR or increasing trend in annual occurrences of HP events are the ones with sizeable traffic. These results emphasize the need to prioritize HP-aware road design, traffic management, and signage in regions wit...

Strategies for Reducing Truck Accidents on Wet Pavements

Transportation Research Record, 1986

The discovery that heavy truck tires do hydroplane at vehicle speeds from 50 to 70 mph is explored in depth. Horne's prediction of this phenomenon is described in detail. The Texas Transportation Institute's testing program to verify this prediction is described and the results are compared with Horne's theory. An analysis of the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety files on truck accidents for the years 1979 through 1981 shows the extreme overrepresentation of unloaded tractor semitrailers in wet weather accidents, supporting the thesis that tire hydroplaning of large unloaded vehicles is a major contributor to wet weather accidents. Finally, other elements of the problem are explored such as vehicle stability, braking system effects, low tire-pavement friction, and the speed increases associated with unloaded vehicles.

Modeling and Analysis of Truck Hydroplaning on Highways

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2008

The widely adopted NASA hydroplaning equation has been able to predict closely the hydroplaning speed of passenger cars on a wet pavement. However, field observations and experimental studies have found that the equation cannot explain the hydroplaning behaviors of trucks. According to the NASA equation, trucks hydroplane only at a speed much higher than the normal range of travel speeds on highways. However, this conclusion is not supported by real-world experience and field tests. In addition, field observations and experimental studies have found that lightly loaded trucks are more prone to hydroplaning than heavily loaded ones. This phenomenon cannot be explained by the NASA equation, which states that, regardless of the magnitude of wheel load, hydroplaning speed is the same if tire inflation pressure remains unchanged. To the authors’ knowledge, no studies have demonstrated theoretically or analytically why trucks behave differently from passenger cars in their hydroplaning be...

Hydrological Considerations in Designing Roadways: Avoiding Hydroplaning

Teknik Dergi, 2022

Safety on highways is essential, but high water levels on lanes risk that. Drainage structures are mostly concerned with water spread at sideways and ignore the build-up flow on the surface. This study addresses whether optimizing cross slopes prevents hydroplaning. Water depths obtained using kinematic wave equation were tested against several studies for verification. Wide range of rainfall intensities and cross slopes was tested. Findings revealed that cross slope optimization for grades up to 10% prevents hydroplaning for intensities below 250mm/hr with widths up to 15m. The study shows cross slope optimization must be considered simultaneously with inlet design work.

Study of Factors Influencing Vehicle Hydroplaning Speed

Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, 2007

Hydroplaning of vehicles is of particular concern to pavement engineers as it compromises the safety of automobiles during wet-weather highway operations. This paper describes the use of a finite-element model to simulate hydroplaning of a locked wheel sliding on a flooded pavement surface. The main components of the model are described and the model is validated against the various experimentally-derived relationships. The effects of tire inflation pressure, wheel load, and water-film thickness on hydroplaning speed are studied using the numerical model. It is found that hydroplaning speed increases with increasing tire pressure, increasing load, and decreasing water-film thickness. It is observed that tire inflation pressure is a dominant factor affecting hydroplaning speed while wheel load and water-film thickness are secondary factors. For easy practical application a regression relationship of hydroplaning speed as a function of tire inflation pressure, wheel load, and water-fi...

Comparison of operating speeds on dry and wet pavements of two-lane rural highways

Transportation Research …, 1990

The impact of design parameters and traffic volume on operating speeds of passenger cars is evaluated under free-flow conditions on 322 curved roadway sections of two-lane rural highways in New York state. The design parameters considered are degree of curve, length of curve, superelevation rate, gradient, sight distance, lane width, shoulder width , posted speed, and average annual daily traffic. For the evaluation of the quantitative effects of these factors on operating speeds, expressed herein by the 85th-percentile speeds, the multiple linear stepwise regression technique was used. The various stages of analyses revealed that degree of curve was the best available single-variable predictor of operating speeds on dry pavements. Other variables helped the regression model, but the equation did well even without them. Effect of wet pavements on 85th-percentile speeds of passenger cars were also examined. Analyses were performed using data from a total of 24 curved roadway sections. Ample evidence exists to indicate that wet pavement does not have a great effect on operating speed, and that drivers will not adjust their speeds sufficiently to accommodate inadequate wet pavement on curves in particular. Furthermore, results of the statistical analyses indicate thar the relationship between operating speed and degree of curve, developed from speed data collected on dry pavements, is also valid for wet pavement conditions so long as visibility is not affected appreciably by heavy rain. It is obvious that the drivers do not recognize the fact that friction supply is significantly lower on wet pavements as compared with dry. For the implementation of the results for design purposes , recommendations for achieving consistency and detecting inconsistencies in horizontal alignment, as well as recommendations for harmonizing design speed and operating speed, as related to wet pavement conditions, were given for good , fair, and poor design practices. These tasks are important in modern highway design and redesign strategies for improving traffic safety. Weather conditions have a tendency to modify vehicular speeds because of a reduction in visibility and a possible impairment of surface conditions. The general effect of wet pavement conditions is to lower friction supply between the tire and the roadway, with the amount of reduction depending on the presence of moisture, snow, and ice, or on the thickness of the water film covering the pavement. As the thickness of the water film increases, skid resistance decreases, and, in cases of heavy rain combined or not combined with geometric design

Relative Effectiveness of Grooves in Tire and Pavement for Reducing Vehicle Hydroplaning Risk

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2010

Grooving of pavement surface and tire tread has been accepted as good practice to enhance road travel safety against wet weather skidding and hydroplaning. Many guidelines on this practice have been derived from findings of experimental studies and field experience. However, theoretical studies to provide insights into the factors and mechanisms involved are lacking.

Synthesis of the Effects of Wet Conditions on Highway Speed and Capacity

2003

Wet and rainy conditions impact driver, vehicle, and roadway. These effects cause a reduction in speed or density (car-following headway) or both which, in turn, cause a reduction in highway capacity. This paper is a synthesis of 26 studies relating wet conditions to speed and capacity.

Analytical Modeling of Effects of Rib Tires on Hydroplaning

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2008

Hydroplaning is known to be a major cause of wet-weather road accidents. The risk of hydroplaning in wet-weather driving is a function of the depth of surface water, pavement texture properties, and tire characteristics. With the aim to improve and ensure wet-weather driving safety, extensive experimental studies have been conducted by researchers to understand how tire characteristics (in particular, tire tread depth), would affect vehicle hydroplaning risk. Rib tires have been commonly used for such experiments. Relationships derived experimentally by past researchers are available to estimate the effect of rib-tire tread depth on hydroplaning risk. However, such statistical relationships have limitations in their application range and transferability. They also do not provide detailed insights into the mechanism of hydroplaning. These limitations can be overcome through development of a theoretically derived analytical model. This paper presents an analytical simulation study tha...