Another topic asking for thoughts – road surfaces are likely to be warmed up by the friction of tires traveling on them. But how much warming happens? I seem to recall that after some rain, the “tracks” where tires travel seem to dry faster than the rest of the road surface. So that’s one possible…

Rod_Knox: I have run tests on tires operating on an 8’ diameter test wheel and the tires did get noticeably hot as speed increases and inflation pressure decreases as did the test wheel. If I may ask, what surface were in contact with the test tires and did that surface get hot? [image] …

Yes of course, where salt has been applied, the tracks are usually the first to melt leaving snow or ice in the center and sides for a while. I don’t think it’s got much to do with tire heat though.

The test station looked similar to this https://chantengineering.com/products/testing-machinery/tire-testing/ and the contact surface was similar in texture to crocus cloth but with years of use there was a heavy coat of rubber at the center.

So here’s a whitepaper I found that contains information related to heat conduction to the road surface. Granted it is related to race tires but it outlines the major paths and their relative contribution: Izze_Racing_White_Paper_Tire_Temperature.pdf 4.26 MB …

[image] TwinTurbo: So here’s a whitepaper I found that contains information… Wow! Thanks very much! [edit: interesting that tires with less tread (and/or less load) apparently generate less heat, and so would have less heat to transfer to the road surface or to the air ]

Rod_Knox: The test station looked similar to this… Thanks for that!

[image] Waterbuff: Another topic asking for thoughts – road surfaces are likely to be warmed up by the friction of tires traveling on them. But how much warming happens? I always hate saying, "don’t know, don’t care, but…" Running through the changes going through the stages Coming round t…

[image] Waterbuff: I wonder if there are examples of light snow conditions My experience with light snow is the tires compact the snow into ice. Light snow is sometimes worse than a heavier snow.

[image] bing: My experience with light snow is the tires compact the snow into ice. Light snow is sometimes worse than a heavier snow. Light snow means colder temps…so it can quickly turn to ice and make for slick driving conditions. When my middle child was new to driving…one morning it snow…

[image] Waterbuff: I seem to recall that after some rain, the “tracks” where tires travel seem to dry faster than the rest of the road surface. Better explained by the fact that tires are designed to fling the water out to the sides and therefore out of the “tracks.” The tire does briefly he…

How much warming occurs on a road surface due to traffic?

General Discussion

shanonia January 16, 2020, 4:06pm 22

There has probably been research on this. State highway or transportation departments, or the US DOT may have employees who could direct you. Maybe the IIHS - Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, too. Someone somewhere has taken this question beyond the barstool.

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How much warming occurs on a road surface due to traffic?

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