Innovative Approach for Pavement Runoff Characterization.

Knowing the flow field characteristics of pavement rainfall runoff is essential for highway drainage design and skid management. This paper presents an innovative approach to characterize the flow field properties of pavement rainfall runoff under natural rainfall events. The approach is based on two-dimensional shallow water equations with porosity to encounter pavement topography, including highway alignment, the obstructive effect of pavement surface macrotexture, and side drainage types. The model is verified with a classical dambreaking model, and compared well with field monitoring results of water film thickness on existing expressway pavement. The capabilities of the approach to predict the flow field characteristics in temporal and spatial dimension make it useful in highway geometry and drainage design, and can also be potentially incorporated into skid and hydroplaning risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]