Incorporating Hydroplaning Risk Consideration in Roadway Design with Permeable Friction Course

Permeable friction courses (PFCs) have been widely used to improve wet-weather safety performance of pavement. This study proposed an analysis framework to consider hydroplaning risk in roadway design with PFC. The derivation of PFC surface water depth prediction model was provided and validated. A three-dimensional (3-D) fluid–structure interaction model was used to predict hydroplaning speed on different traffic lanes based on water film depth. The proposed analysis framework enables highway agencies to incorporate safety performance in the decision-making process of roadway design in terms of hydroplaning risk.