The reliability of tests and data processing procedures for pavement macrotexture evaluation

The aim of this paper is to analyse pavement profiles by using a theoretical approach in order to identify a reliable pavement profile data processing procedure for evaluation of pavement macrotexture according to the definition of the ISO 13473-1, and to verify the assumption of equivalence between the profilometric and volumetric methods. The effects of different pavement profile data processing methods were therefore analysed using two types of filters: Butterworth’s numerical filters and moving average filters. By careful analysis of texture levels, this work identifies the procedure that produces the most stable and significant results both from a statistical point of view and in terms of a description of the phenomena involved. Finally, the study also aimed to identify the data processing method that best reproduces the sand patch method for mean texture depth evaluation