Evaluation method of pavement surface characteristics for rolling resistance

Pavement technology intended to reduce tyre-pavement rolling resistance is a new technology for establishing the future low-carbon society. Reduction of rolling resistance leads to reduce vehicle CO2 emission and to improve fuel efficiency. However, the relation between rolling resistance and pavement surface characteristics is complex and there are some issues to be solved including clarifying the evaluation methods. The evaluation method for rolling resistance generally involves measuring the rolling resistance coefficient directly; however this direct measurement requires special measurement devices. Indirect evaluation methods will make measurements easier and help put low-rolling resistance pavement technologies to practical use. This paper reports the results on determining the contact pressure distribution between tyre and pavement surfaces using a pressure measurement film to evaluate the rolling resistance indirectly. The results of analyses the relations between the rolling resistance and pavement surface characteristics, it were revealed that the contour map of contact pressure distribution were fully different depending on the pavement surface texture and it would be useful to evaluate the negative texture that lead to the low-rolling resistance pavement surface.