Resources

Obtaining a reference road profile is vital for the validation of profiling devices. The accuracy of network survey profiles affects important pavement performance indices such as roughness and rutting.

Various international researchers have identified problems with the interaction of road surface macrotexture, sensor footprint size and sample spacing of different types of profiler.

Inherent measurement errors are associated with profiler devices and their operation on road surfaces with high levels of macrotexture. This presents difficulties in countries with predominantly chipseal surfaces, such as Australia and New Zealand, when making valid comparisons between profiler systems. 

The errors caused by large footprint size and high texture interaction have been identified and quantified. Validation criteria addressing these errors have been proposed.

Measurement errors in roughness due to tracking or off-line surveying are more influenced by the transverse variability of the pavement condition rather than the transverse position of the survey vehicle.

Measurement errors in rutting due to tracking or off-line surveying have been quantified in various rutting bands for an idealised survey system that can reproduce the full transverse profile.

Keywords: chipseals, inertial, longitudinal, New Zealand, profiler, roads, roughness, rutting, static, tracking, transverse, validation