In-Door Laboratory High-speed Testing of Tire-pavement Noise

Abstract

The ability to measure traffic-speed tire-pavement noise in the laboratory is useful for predicting the tire-pavement noise performance of a design mix without conducting expensive and time-consuming field trials. This research developed an in-door high-speed test facility HTP2 for tire-pavement noise measurements. Housed in a semi-anechoic room, HTP2 has a circular test track of vertical wall, and a horizontal rotating arm system mounted with full-scale test tires. The test track can accommodate 12 specimens in each test run. The highest test speed achievable is currently 70 km/h, eventually 100 km/h when fully developed. The On-Board Sound Intensity Method was adopted for tire-pavement noise measurement. Tests were conducted to assess the reliability and repeatability of the test facility. Additional tests involving eight different pavement surface types were performed to illustrate that HTP2 was able to (i) measure sound intensity-frequency characteristics of tire-pavement noise matching those of actual vehicles and pavements, (ii) differentiate sound intensity of tire-pavement noise generated by different pavement types, (iii) identify increase in tire-pavement noise caused by texturing of concrete pavement, (iv) detect differences between tire-pavement noise generated by longitudinally and transversely tined concrete pavements, and (v) measure effects of surface macrotexture on tire-pavement noise.