WHAT ARE WEARING FOR?
Unfortunately, in Russia, serious studies of premature wear and damage to the structure of the road surface are not conducted. Therefore, we will use the experience of specialists from the US state of Washington (not to be confused with the capital of the same name). This is the most northeastern state of the United States; winters are snowy, although not very frosty. Studded tires are also used there, although less frequently (Americans prefer the all-weather season). Despite this, the condition of the roads cannot be called ideal.
To study the origin of the gauge, the Americans, in turn, turned to their northern neighbors. The Quebec National Optics Institute has developed a Laser Rut Measurement System (LRMS). Devices mounted on remote brackets at the rear of the car read out the texture of the road surface every 3 millimeters. At the same time, camcorders watched the canvas. Computer systems analyzed the width, depth, and track shape.
Similar control was subjected to all major highways of the state. The main difficulty was to distinguish the damage caused by the spikes from the wear and tear of freight vehicles and ordinary (non-studded) passenger wheels. As it turned out, the track caused by each of these factors has its own characteristics. From spikes, for example, two thin furrows arise, and outside their limits the road is absolutely flat. And from the rest of the tires, including trucks, the ruts seem to have been pressed through, on the sides of both depressions there are characteristic elevations. Asphalt is not erased, but is deformed and spreads to areas of reduced load.
Thus, it was possible to isolate wear from studded tires. For example, on track I-5, the gauge depth from them was 7 millimeters. An important clarification: the coating was laid 40 (!) Years ago, 194 thousand cars pass along this road daily. For such circumstances, wear is simply insignificant!
WHAT WEAR?
In Russia, the average road life is 8 years. To build roads in the United States, concrete is still used - a mixture of sand, gravel and cement. We have not used it since the days of the USSR - in an oil-producing country, bitumen is cheaper. Concrete pavement has a characteristic feature: on average, every 10 meters, cross seams filled with bitumen cross the road. This allows you to compensate for the compliance of the material and reduce the influence of temperature differences.
Concrete was replaced by asphalt concrete - a homogeneous black material, which, in addition to sand, contains crushed stone, minerals and astringent bitumen, thanks to which the road turns into a single canvas. In addition, asphalt has the best adhesion properties. In America, where preference is simply given to concrete, to improve safety in wet weather, shallow risks are applied to the surface that has not yet hardened, which removes water.
WHY WEAR?
Each construction requires strict adherence to technology. Asphalt concrete is more vulnerable on this side. It takes a lot of accuracy: two layers of asphalt concrete 60–80 millimeters thick are laid on the underlying layer of sand and gravel and can withstand at least three days each. One layer of asphalt is suitable only for the quietest streets, where less than 3, 000 cars drive per day. There are simply no such people in the Russian capital!
In practice, it turns out differently. Drivers scolded the road workers for narrowing, the city administration - for the terms. But few people understand what rush turns into in the future. Satisfied drivers press on the gas on a barely cooled road.
The laid out 72 hours are simply neglected. As well as two-layer technology. Why spend twice as much time and materials? Especially when overruns and non-compliance with deadlines can be seriously blundered.
Even cutting and replacing the upper damaged layer does not give a lasting effect. Because the ruts are a deformation of the coating as a whole, and not just of a few centimeters removed. A year will pass, and the new surface, like a carbon paper, will show defects of the old. Therefore, in Europe such a scheme is not applied. If the road needs repair, it is closed entirely. It costs more, but as a result it is more profitable …
SHIP OR ZILB?
It turns out that studded tires are by no means the main source of rutting. Yes, their contribution is visible after careful computer processing, but it is minimal against the background of exposure to cold, heat, wind, heavy trucks and other vehicles. Of much greater importance is the quality work of engineers and builders. If everything is done correctly, then a smooth and smooth road surface will delight drivers for decades.
Can we turn our bad roads into good? The success of this venture is doubtful. The layout of the streets of Russian cities, as well as the lack of a real alternative for most intercity routes, will lead to the fact that with a major overhaul, entire areas will be covered by transport paralysis. Of the two evils - the lack of roads and bad roads - they choose the lesser. But the spikes have definitely nothing to do with it …
The track on the asphalt is, as a rule, the result of non-compliance with the technology of its laying
GERMAN ORDER
Almost the entire territory of Germany, the use of studded tires has been prohibited since 1975. But the main reason for the ban is an increase in stopping distance on clean asphalt! German winters are mild: if snow falls, then for a short time. Spikes are allowed only in the 15-kilometer zone near the border with Austria, in mountainous Thuringia and in several other places where snow or ice on the roads is normal in winter. The ruts we know are found even on autobahns, but, of course, not on such a scale. However, road control services are looking for flaws in their work. The report of the German Road Union (Deutscher Asphaltverband) indicates the main causes of rutting:
- Errors in the design of the road; improper selection of the composition of the asphalt mix (does not match the temperature and humidity of the environment);
- insufficient connection between the layers of asphalt;
- flaws in the final control.
Ask readers
Why do ruts appear in the asphalt?
9% - the whole climate is to blame