Measuring the Pavement Distress by Implementing the Tire Sound Noise

The aim of this study is to assess the pavement performance and to measure the pavement distress by implementing the sound noise using sound level meter with single probe at different constant speeds. Different site locations have been selected in Baghdad city. The sound level meter was used with the separate probe, RS-232 Sound level meter model: SL-4013 and measure the noise that is produced as a result of interaction between tire and pavement. The vehicles utilized were: KIA Soul Model 2016 (gross vehicle weight 1820 kg, tire type KUMHO 235/45R18), Land Cruiser model 2015 (gross vehicle weight 2800 kg, tire type Dunlop 285/60R18), and Mercedes Benz truck 1993 (gross vehicle weight 9 ton, Cristone tire type 315/80R22.5. Tires used satisfied the tire criteria requirement. The single probe fixed on the right rear tire [5]. The sections at various distances tested were: Street 2 Locality 902, AL-Rubaee Street, Muhammad AL-Kassim Street parallel to the University of Technology, AL-Furat Street, and Al-Mahmodia Street. The results showed that the distress increases the noise level in case of present rutting or patching in the pavement surface. The noise level varies greatly depending on vehicle type and speed. The difference in noise level between two types of vehicle Land Crusier (Dunlop tire) and Soul Kumho tire about (1) dB) A) at speed (40, 60) km/h. While the difference in noise level for Soul car on the same section at speed 40and 60 km/h is equal to (3) dB (A) similar to Land Crusier. The Truck recorded higher noise than passenger car due to tire width and heavy load carried. Street 2 Locality 902 shows that the noise level is very low when the pavement is in a good condition and the variability over distance compared to other streets. So, this approach can be used to identify priorities of pavement for maintenance.