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Making Quieter Highways

Posted by michael on from the drive-less dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at Purdue are investigating ways to make life for those who live near major highways more quiet. They have found that most of the noise is literally where the rubber hits the road, not engine noise or even passing winds. The team has come up with a new form of pavement that is in testing in Arizona and will soon be installed in California. The pavement is simply asphalt with some mixed in rubber."

1 of 137 comments (clear)

  1. Coefficient of friction by n1ywb · · Score: 4, Informative
    From http://www.hronline.com/forums/ohs/0109/msg00073.h tml

    The coefficient of kinetic friction of rubber on rubber is listed in this
    source as Natural rubber, vulcanised at 100m/min on rubber flooring or
    rubber tread vulcanisate, clean, - 1.16. That's pretty high!
    That IS pretty DAMN high! The coefficient of friction of rubber on dry asphalt is around 0.6 or 0.7, which is already considered to be pretty high. So logically, adding rubber to asphalt would probably improve the coefficient of friction between the tires and the road, hence decreasing stopping distance and improving cornering.

    Physics is the study of everything.
    --
    -73, de n1ywb
    www.n1ywb.com