Permeable friction course design with consideration of hydroplaning risk

This study investigates safety performance of permeable friction courses (PFCs) in terms of hydroplaning. An analytical model was derived to calculate water depth on PFC under static rainfalls. A tire–water–pavement interaction model was used to predict hydroplaning speeds. The results show that water film depth increases from innermost to outermost traffic lanes. PFC can mitigate hydroplaning risk under 0.5 cm/h rain rate. At rain rate of 1 cm/h, the impact of horizontal hydraulic conductivity and PRF thickness on hydroplaning speed is less than 10%, but becomes negligible at higher rain rates. On the other hand, the flow slope of PFC significantly affects hydroplaning speed by over 50%, while this effect decreases as rain rate increases. The surface macrotexture of PFC shows less than 5% impact on hydroplaning speed at all rain rates. An analysis framework with design example is proposed to incorporate hydroplaning speed in decision-making of roadway design with PFC.