Laboratory-Based Evaluation of Pavement Marking Characteristics

Abstract

Despite the growing demand for pavement marking materials that facilitate road driving by providing increased visibility, there is concern about the durability and long-term weatherability of these products. Current performance evaluation methodology using field test-deck protocols requires significant time and effort. The objective of this study was to develop an accelerated laboratory-based procedure that could evaluate and study the performance of pavement markings and shorten the evaluation duration. To replicate varying traffic, snowplowing, and weather conditions, a three-wheel polisher device (TWPD) and weatherometer were employed. The deterioration of the physical measurements (i.e., retroreflectivity, color change, and durability) of the waterborne and thermoplastic markings were modeled. The TWPD results illustrated that all performance measures logarithmically deteriorated under different loadings, except the durability of the thermoplastic markings, which followed a linear degradation function. The artificial weathering results illustrated a linear increase in retroreflectivity and color change during the proposed exposure time. The results yielded a significant relationship between all performance measures assessed in the laboratory and the field.