9/1/2020 Standard Practice for Quantifying Roughness of Pavements

Standard Practice for Quantifying Roughness of Pavements

AASHTO Designation: R 43-13 (2017)1

Technical Subcommittee: 5a, Pavement Measurement

Release: Group 1 (April)

1. SCOPE

1.1. This standard practice describes a method for estimating roughness for a pavement section. An
International Roughness Index (IRI) statistic is calculated from a single longitudinal profile measured with
a road profiler in both the inside and outside wheel paths of the pavement. The average of these two IRI
statistics (Mean Roughness Index, MRI) is reported as the roughness of the pavement section.

1.2. This standard practice recognizes the need for a quality assurance (QA) plan and proposes guidelines for
the development of a QA plan.

1.3. Measurements of profile are made in accordance with ASTM E950/E950M. If any part of this standard
practice is in conflict with its referenced documents, such as ASTM standards or other AASHTO standards,
this standard practice takes precedence for its purpose.

1.4. This standard practice does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its
use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard practice to establish appropriate safety and health
practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations related to and prior to its use.

2. REFERENCED DOCUMENTS
2.1. AASHTO Standard:
R 56, Certification of Inertial Profiling Systems

2.2. ASTM Standards:

E867, Standard Terminology Relating to Vehicle-Pavement Systems
E950/E950M, Standard Test Method for Measuring the Longitudinal Profile of Traveled Surfaces with an
Accelerometer-Established Inertial Profiling Reference
E1166, Standard Guide for Network Level Pavement Management
E1926, Standard Practice for Computing International Roughness Index of Roads from Longitudinal
Profile Measurements
E2560, Standard Specification for Data Format for Pavement Profile

2.3. Other Document:

Sayers, M. W. “On the Calculation of IRI from Longitudinal Road Profile.” Transportation Research Record
1501, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1995, pp. 1–12.

3. TERMINOLOGY
3.1. Definitions:
3.1.1. roughness—according to ASTM E867, the deviation of a surface from a true planar surface with
characteristic dimensions that affect vehicle dynamics and ride quality. In this standard practice, the term

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“roughness” is the average of two IRI statistics (MRI) calculated from longitudinal profile measurements,
one in each pavement wheel path.

3.1.2. longitudinal profile—a two-dimensional slice of the roadway surface taken along the travel direction, such
as along the wheel path. It represents the perpendicular deviations of the pavement surface from an
established reference plane parallel to the horizontal.

3.1.3. International Roughness Index—a statistic used to estimate the amount of roughness in a measured
longitudinal profile. The IRI is computed from a single longitudinal profile using a quarter-car simulation
(Sayers 1995). A computer program to calculate the IRI statistic from a longitudinal profile is included in
ASTM E1926.

4. SIGNIFICANCE AND USE

4.1. This standard practice outlines standard procedures for measuring longitudinal profile and calculating the
IRI for highway pavement surfaces to help produce consistent estimations of IRI for network-level
pavement management.

5. QUALITY ASSURANCE
5.1. Agencies using this standard practice are required to develop a satisfactory QA plan. At a minimum, the
plan shall include the requirements listed in the following sections:

5.1.1. Qualification and training records of individuals conducting the survey;

5.1.2. Accuracy, repeatability, and calibration records of equipment used in the survey; and

5.1.3. Periodic and ongoing quality control program and the content of the program.

Note 1—The estimate of roughness of pavements can be used both at network- and project-level
pavement management. Guidelines for network level are included in ASTM E1166, which can be used as a
source for the development of a QA plan.

Note 2—The guidelines that can be used for the development of a quality assurance plan are given in
Appendix X2.

6. DATA COLLECTION

6.1. Agencies using this standard practice are expected to designate the lane(s) and direction(s) of travel to be
surveyed based on sound engineering principles and management needs within the agency.

6.2. Locate (place) the two height sensors, separated approximately 65 to 71 in. in the wheel paths. The
longitudinal profile points used for calculating the IRI shall have a longitudinal spacing not greater than 2
in. Long-wavelength filters are used to remove all wavelengths exceeding 300 ft.

Note 3—The use of anti-aliasing filters and averaging to remove small wavelength content that do not
affect the IRI from the profile is left to the discretion of the agency and equipment manufacturers.

Note 4—For agencies considering procuring a profiler that will be used for additional applications, it is
suggested that the longitudinal spacing of profile points be not greater than 1 in.

7. CALCULATIONS

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7.1. Calculate IRI values for each 0.1 mile for both wheel paths. Compute an average of the two IRI values
(MRI) to determine roughness.

Note 5—The tenth-of-a-mile values are needed to calculate average values for each data collection
section.

8. REPORT
8.1. Report the following information:
8.1.1. Roughness calculated in Section 7.1 to the nearest inch per mile; and

8.1.2. Length of the data summary interval, typically 0.1 mile.

8.2. Report the following minimum data recorded and stored for each section:
8.2.1. Section Identification—List all available information necessary to locate the section using agency's current
referencing system;

8.2.2. IRI for each of the two wheel paths for the section, in./mile;

8.2.3. Average of both IRIs (MRI) calculated for the section, in./mile;

8.2.4. Date of data collection, month/day/year;

8.2.5. Length of section in miles for which the data are collected;

8.2.6. Profile data recording interval, in.;

8.2.7. Long wavelength filter setting, ft; and

8.2.8. Optional—Pavement surface temperature.

9. KEYWORDS
9.1. Inertial profiler; International Roughness Index; longitudinal pavement profile; Mean Roughness Index;
pavement; pavement ride quality; pavement smoothness; roughness.

10. REFERENCES

10.1. AASHTO Standards:

M 328, Inertial Profiler
R 57, Operating Inertial Profiling Systems

10.2. Other Document:

Sayers, M. W., T. D. Gillespie, and W. D. O. Paterson. “Guidelines for Conducting and Calibrating Road
Roughness Measurements.” The World Bank Technical Paper
, Number 46. The World Bank, 1986.

APPENDIXES
(Nonmandatory Information)

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X1. CALCULATION OF IRI FROM PROFILE

X1.1. The computer code for a Fortran program that calculates IRI is included in ASTM E1926.

X1.2. The Profile Viewer and Analysis (ProVAL) software is an application for viewing and analyzing pavement
profiles, which was developed under the auspices of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This
software is available free of charge at http://www.roadprofile.com.

X1.2.1. This software includes a routine for calculating IRI. Native data files containing profile data collected by
several equipment manufacturers can be directly imported into ProVAL. In addition, data files conforming
to the following formats can be imported into ProVAL: (1) ERD format, which is a file format developed by
the Engineering Research Division of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, (2)
Pavement Profile Standard Data File format, which is described in ASTM E2560.

X2. GUIDELINES—QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN

X2.1. Quality Assurance (QA) Plan—Each agency shall develop a QA plan. The plan shall include survey personnel
certification training records, accuracy and repeatability of equipment, daily quality control (QC)
procedures, and periodic and ongoing QC activities. The following guidelines can be used for developing
such a plan.

X2.2. Certification and Training—Agencies are individually responsible for training and/or certifying their data
collection personnel and contractors for proficiency in using the profile measuring equipment according to
this standard practice and other applicable agency procedures. The agencies should also implement a
certification program to certify profilers at least annually to ensure repeatability and accuracy of the
equipment. AASHTO Standard R 56 describes procedures for the certification of profilers.

X2.3. Equipment Calibration—Equipment calibration (accelerometers, noncontact sensors, and distance

measuring instrument) is done in accordance with specific manufacturer recommendations. The equipment
must operate within the manufacturer's specifications. A regular maintenance and testing program is
established for the equipment in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.

X2.4. Verifications Sections—Verifications sections are selected with known IRI statistics for both wheel paths.
These sections are measured by equipment operators on a regular basis. Evaluations of these
measurements can provide information about the accuracy of field measurements and give insight into
needed equipment calibration. Verification sections are rotated on a regular basis in order to assure that
the operators are not repeating previously known IRI statistics during the verification. An alternate to
verification sections is to remeasure and compare up to 5 percent of the data as a daily or weekly quality
check to ensure system stability and repeatability.

X2.5. Quality Checks—Additional quality checks can be made by comparing the most recent IRI statistics with
current measurements. At locations where large changes occur, the pavement manager may require
additional checks of the data.

1 Formerly AASHTO Provisional Standards PP 37M and PP 37. First published as a full standard in 2007.

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