Abstract:
Speed and safety management of highways plays a prominent role in
ensuring road user safety, especially of the vulnerable categories. Pavement Friction
Management (PFM) is being considered as the best possible option in developing the
road infrastructure over the other prevalent strategies, with the focus of improving
user safety. High Friction Surface Treatment (HFST) is widely being used as a remedial
measure to improve the friction and texture retention capacity of the wearing
course, as it provides economical and sustainable solutions in upgrading the pavement
performance in both as an urgent response and in the long run as well. As an
urgent remedial intervention, HFST can be incorporated in the national practice of
safety management in Sri Lanka, to address the concerns over the escalating numbers
of grievous highway crashes. In place of the most commonly used high skid resistant
aggregates, gneiss-based mineral aggregate can be a viable alternative since it
delivers similar functionality to that of granites. The study examines the polishing
characteristics of widely used gneiss-based roadstones in the country through laboratory
experiments involving the Polish Stone Value (PSV) test. Both qualitative and
quantitative analyses of the specified physical and mechanical laboratory testing are
conducted to evaluate the applicability of gneiss-based mineral aggregates in the
use of HFST as an alternative skid-resistant roadstone in terms of their polishing
behavior.
