Virginia’s Experience with High Friction

Surface Treatments
ACI, Milwaukee
April 20, 2016

Michael Sprinkel, PE., Associate Director, VCTIR

Kevin K. McGhee, PE., Associate Principal Scientist, VCTIR
Edgar David de León Izeppi, Senior Research Associate, VTTI
 Introduction
• High Friction Surface (HFS) treatments are an
application of epoxy and aggregate to roadway
surfaces to provide a very high degree of skid
resistance.
• HFS treatments may be particularly effective when
used where a high risk and/or record of crashes
may be related to lower skid resistance.
• HFS treatments are one of the FHWA “Every Day
Counts” initiatives
 Introduction, continued
• In 2012 and 2014 the Virginia Department of
Transportation placed HFS materials at 9 locations
that met this description.
• This presentation provides information on the
construction, skid resistance, bond strength, early
age condition, and cost of the Virginia HFS
treatments.
 2012 Installations (August)

Site County Route Treated HFST

Curves area, yd2
1 Essex 618 11 7,338
2 Gloucester 605 12 4,470
3 Chesterfield 630 1 700
4a Southampton 58 WB 1 4,667
4b Southampton 58 EB 1 4,667

Total HFST area: 29,346 yd2

 2014 Installations (9-22 thru 11-9)

Site County Route Treated HFST

Curves area, yd2
1 Mecklenburg 903 9 15431
2 Brunswick 712 2 1844
3 Gloucester 605 3 4600
4 Caroline 639 4 6011
5 Chesterfield 602 & 643 9 15784
Total HFST area: 43,670 yd2
 Objective of Research
• This study evaluates HFS as an alternative
for increasing the skid resistance of sections
of asphalt pavement on rural roads that have
a high risk of vehicle crashes. The specific
objective was to provide information on the
construction, skid resistance, bond strength,
early age condition, and cost.
 Materials, Methods and Tasks
• A special provision was prepared for use in the
contract for constructing the HFS treatments,
• 2012 sites were tested for skid resistance
(friction) after approximately 6 months using a
continuous friction-testing device. 2014 sites
were tested within 2 months of construction
using a lock wheel tester (ASTM E274).
• 2012 sites were visually inspected after
approximately 10 and 23 months. 2014 sites
were inspected after approximately 1 to 2
months. Pictures were taken.
Materials, Methods and Tasks, continued

• For the 2012 installations three 4-in diameter

cores were extracted from 4 of the 5 sites after
approximately 10 months in service and tested
for bond strength in the laboratory using a
modified version of ASTM C1583.
• Three 2-in diameter cores were extracted from
the 2014 sites approximately 1 to 2 months after
the installations (ASTM C1583 modified).
 Friction Testing
• Special provision requires a minimum acceptable
skid resistance of 55 as measured using Virginia
Test Method 122, which applies a locked-wheel
friction tester (ASTM E274) equipped with a
smooth tire (ASTM E524).
• Unfortunately, the nature of most applications of
HFS (i.e., rural, sharp curves) made testing with a
full lock-up device at 40 mph (the standard test
speed) difficult.
 Friction Testing
• A Findlay Irvine Grip Tester (GT) was used to
measure continuous skid resistance along the right
wheel path of the travel lane of the 2012 test
sections.
• The GT system is a fixed slip device in which the
test tire is connected to the trailer wheel axle by a
chain, allowing it to measure the rotational
resistance of a constantly slipping smooth tire
(ASTM E2340).
• Measurements were taken every 3 ft at 40 mph
using a constant water film thickness of 0.02 inch.
 Contacts:

FHWA If you are interested in the

GripTester loan program for
GRIPTESTER® Surface Friction your state, contact your FHWA
(Skid Resistance) Tester resource center, division office,
Equipment Loan Program
or Bob Orthmeyer of the
Federal Highway
Administration by phone at
(708) 283-3533 or by email:
robert.orthmeyer@dot.gov
or contact Mark Swanlund at
(202) 366-1323 or by email:
mark.swanlund@dot.gov.
The program is administered by
the Virginia Tech Transportation
Institute, if you need additional
information, contact Gerardo
Flintsch at (540) 231-1569 or by
email flintsch@vt.edu.
 Special Provision
Binder is a two part exothermic epoxy resin
Property Requirement Test Method
Viscosity 7 – 70 poises ASTM D2169
Gel Time 10 minutes min. D2471
Comp Str with agg @ 24 hrs 5,000 psi min. D695
Tensile Str neat @ 7 days 2,000 – 5,000 psi D638
Elongation neat @ 7 days 30 per cent min. ASTM D638
Adhesive strength @ 24 hrs 250 psi minimum ASTM C 1583
Water Abs neat @ 24 hrs 1.0 per cent max. D570
Cure for Traffic 3 hours max Thin Film @ 75°F
 Special Provision
Aggregate must be Bauxite that is clean, dry, free
from foreign matter and meet the following
requirements:
Property Requirement Test Method
Polish Sus.(Micro-Deval) 5% Loss (max) AASHTO T327
AAV (Agg. Abras. Value) 20% max AASHTO T96
Aggregate Gradation, AASHTO T27
Per cent passing No. 6 95 – 100 %
Per cent passing No. 16 0.0 – 5.0%
Texture (sandpatch) 1.0 mm (min) ASTM E-965
Skid Resistance (SN40S) 55 (min) VTM 122*
* locked-wheelfriction tester (ASTM E274)
equipped with a smooth tire (ASTM E524)
 Special Provision
• Asphalt surfaces must be clean, dry, and free
of all dust, oil, debris and any other material
that might interfere with the bond between
the epoxy resin binder material and asphalt
surface
• Air temperature: VDOT above 60F, Others
above 40F
• New asphalt must be older than 30 days
• Automated continuous application equipment
for application of epoxy and aggregate.
 Special Provision
• A minimum epoxy binder application rate of
10 gal/per minute with a minimum uniform
application thickness of 50 mils
• Cured until vacuuming or brooming to
remove loose aggregate can be performed
without tearing or damaging the surface
• Loose aggregate removed prior to opening
to traffic
2012 Installation

Bauxite aggregate
Pictures:
Richard J. Baker
DBI Services
2014 Installation

Bauxite aggregate
Results Skid Resistance Route 618
Results Skid Resistance Route 605
Results Skid Resistance Route 630
Results Skid Resistance Route 58 WB
Results Skid Resistance Route 58 EB
 Skid Resistance 2014 Installations
Site County Route LWT SN Avg. LWT SN
5 Mecklenburg 903 83 - 98 88
6 Brunswick 712 76 - 86 81
7 Gloucester 605 79 - 87 83
8 Caroline 639
9 Chesterfield 602 83 - 92 88
9 Chesterfield 602 68 - 84 76
9 Chesterfield 643 74 - 75 75
 Underlying Pavement Condition
2012 Locations
Site County Route Condition Rating Rating
(CCI) Year
1 Gloucester 605 56 2009
2 Essex 618 66 2008
3 Chesterfield 30 89 2008
4a Franklin 58 Bus WB 60 2012
4b Franklin 58 Bus EB 67 2012
 Underlying Pavement Condition
2014 Locations
Site County Route Condition Rating
Rating (CCI) Year
5 Mecklenburg 903 good to fair
6 Brunswick 712 good
7 Gloucester 605 good to poor
8 Caroline 639 good to new
9 Chesterfield 602 & 643 good to poor
The surfaces appeared to be in
good condition (site 3)
Lost aggregate at site 2
A few spalls, reflected cracking, and minor
pumping were noted on US58
Poor quality asphalt at site 2.
Tensile Failure in Asphalt in core
from 2012 site 1, VTM 128
 Bond strength 2012, psi
Site Core1 Core 2 Core 3 Average Failure
1 26 35 20 27 asphalt
2 38 31 46 38 asphalt
3 - - - - -
4a 15 50 88 51 asphalt
4b 12 8 13 11 asphalt

Bond Strengths exceed the strength of the asphalt.

Quality asphalt has a tensile strength of approximately 100 psi
Tensile Failure in Asphalt in cores
from 2014 sites, VTM 128
 Bond strength 2014, psi
Site Core1 Core 2 Core 3 Average Failure
5 139 108 92 113 asphalt
6 47 37 54 46 asphalt
7 94 42 65 54 asphalt
8 44 68 107 73 asphalt
9 46 54 40 47 asphalt

Bond Strengths exceed the strength of the asphalt.

Quality asphalt has a tensile strength of approximately 100 psi
 Cost and Friction numbers
Alternative Cost, $/yd2 Friction number
HFS (2012) 27 GT 1.0 to 1.1
HFS (2014) 29 LW T 75 - 88
 Conclusions
1. The Virginia HFS installs were successfully constructed.
2. The materials were of high quality and bond strength
exceeded the tensile strength of the asphalt.
3. Friction numbers significantly exceeded the minimum LWT
number of 55.
4. The poor quality of the asphalt at 2012 sites 1, 2 and 4a is
influencing the surface condition of the HFS after 23 months.
5. HFS materials may provide an effective tool in a system-wide
pavement friction management program, but they will only
perform as long as the structure that supports them.
6. Use of continuous friction measurement equipment (CFME)
seems particularly appropriate for managing HFS
applications.
Virginia’s Experience with High Friction
Surface Treatments

Questions?