Award Date

1-1-2006

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Engineering (ME)

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

First Committee Member

Mohamed Kaseko

Number of Pages

105

Abstract

Pavement markings are one of the most important elements of traffic control on roadways. They are lines used on a roadway to warn and direct drivers and to control traffic operations on highways and streets. Pavement markings are typically white and yellow in color depending on usage. Different types of materials are used in the manufacture of pavement markings, including paint, tape, epoxy, thermoplastic, and preformed thermoplastics. Performance measures used to evaluate pavement markings include retroreflectivity, color, and durability; In the US, the National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (NTPEP), administered by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), has test decks for field evaluation of various pavement marking products across the nation. On these test decks, pavement marking products from different vendors and of different materials are installed and field performance is monitored over a period of time. NTPEP has such test decks in various geographical locations within the United States, including Utah, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Tennessee. These test decks have pavement marking samples of both yellow and white color placed on concrete and asphalt pavement surfaces. Data collected on the NTPEP test decks include field data pertaining to retroreflectivity, durability and color over time; The objective of this study is to evaluate performance of pavement markings as a function of parameters such as material type, weather, type of surface and traffic volume pertaining on a particular highway or street. Statistical analysis of the NTPEP data is carried out to evaluate and explore correlations between product performance and the parameters mentioned above; The findings of this research would enhance the ability to predict performance of pavement markings based on the above parameters and the location installed. This in turn can help agencies to have more objective criteria for selection of pavement marking materials or products for use in their local environment; The results showed that the initial value is a critical parameter in predicting the retroreflectivity performance of the products. Generally white products have higher initial retroreflectivity than the yellow. The results also showed that a product with lower initial retroreflectivity has a better performance in terms of percentage retained retroreflectivity than those products with higher initial retroreflectivity. With the increase in the initial value and AADT/Lane the value of retroreflectivity deterioration increases on the asphalt and cement concrete surface and the results show that the white paints, thermoplastics and tapes are affected more on the asphalt surface than on the cement concrete surface; With AADT/lane as a variable, the results showed that areas of the marking that are subject to contact with vehicle tires are more affected than the corresponding areas not subjected to tire contact for almost all material types. Taking the combination of summer high and winter low temperatures as variables to study its effect on the performance of pavement marking products on both asphalt and cement concrete surface it is found that the winter low temperatures has no statistical significance on the rate of deterioration of the products. The summer high temperatures has a greater effect on the rate of deterioration for different products on the asphalt surface than on cement surface; The results further show that the paint products perform better on concrete surface than on asphalt surface. However, it must be noted that the maximum AADT/Lane for the test decks studied for this research is 5400.*; *This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation).

Keywords

Analysis; Deck; Evaluation; Field; Locations; Marking; Materials; Pavement; Performance; Retroreflectivity; Test; United States

Controlled Subject

Civil engineering

File Format

pdf

File Size

5120 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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