Tire abrasion induced patterns of pavement reflectivity characteristics from lab to field

Abstract

Pavement reflectivity is a critical parameter that characterizes a pavement surface's capacity to reflect solar radiation. This property is fundamentally associated with environmental challenges, particularly urban heat island effects. However, the distribution pattern of reflectivity and its decay behavior remain unclear due to the lack of rapid, large-scale sensing methods. This study aims to characterise the reflective features derived from laser-scanned data and investigate the abrasion-induced evolution patterns through laboratory and field tests. Statistical indicators and two-term Gaussian fits were proposed to describe the distribution of reflectance intensity. The M_weighted was selected as the primary indicator due to its strong consistency and linear correlation with optical reflectivity measurements (R²=0.908). Indoor and outdoor controlled experiments were designed to continuously track the reflectance decay under abrasion. In the laboratory test, a 1/3-scale Model Mobile Load Simulator was used to simulate tire abrasion on stone matrix asphalt (SMA) pavements. The results revealed a linear trend indicating that the pavement reflectivity increases with the progression of abrasion. In the field test, samples were collected from the left, right, and non-wheel tracks of eight expressway sections before and after preventive maintenance. The results show that the reflectivity of pavement tends to increase progressively in the early service time. The reflectivities of wheel tracks were lower than those of non-wheel tracks on the old road but higher than those on the newly paved road. This study paved the way for rapid and long-term assessment of pavement reflectivity, supporting research on cool and reflective pavements.