Glass Beads for Road Markings: Surface Damage and Retroreflection Decay Study
Road markings must be reflectorised with glass beads to be visible to drivers at night, retro-reflecting light from vehicle’s headlights, which is critical for road safety. Four commonly used types of glass beads were evaluated in a laboratory setting for retroreflectivity and their surfaces were an...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/4/2258 |
| _version_ | 1797482948077813760 |
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| author | Kevin M. Wenzel Tomasz E. Burghardt Anton Pashkevich Wilhelm A. Buckermann |
| author_facet | Kevin M. Wenzel Tomasz E. Burghardt Anton Pashkevich Wilhelm A. Buckermann |
| author_sort | Kevin M. Wenzel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Road markings must be reflectorised with glass beads to be visible to drivers at night, retro-reflecting light from vehicle’s headlights, which is critical for road safety. Four commonly used types of glass beads were evaluated in a laboratory setting for retroreflectivity and their surfaces were analysed using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The glass beads were subjected to abrasion and a visual correlation was sought between the measured retroreflectivity and the surface damage. Scratching the glass bead surface with corundum in a rotary drum resulted in major differences in the rates of damage development, depending on the type of the glass beads, and it could be correlated with the rate of retroreflectivity decay. The relative results from abrasion testing were confirmed under tyre action during a turntable evaluation. Based on the outcomes of these tests, service lives, defined as maintaining appropriately high retroreflectivity, were predicted and used to calculate the consumption of raw materials—the basic sustainability parameter. It was shown that the use of ‘premium’ glass beads, enhanced with TiO<sub>2</sub> and made in a proprietary process, provided the road marking system characterised by the lowest long-term consumption of resources. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:39:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-96c816cae8794326bc99b7139e6f38cf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:39:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-96c816cae8794326bc99b7139e6f38cf2023-11-23T18:41:53ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172022-02-01124225810.3390/app12042258Glass Beads for Road Markings: Surface Damage and Retroreflection Decay StudyKevin M. Wenzel0Tomasz E. Burghardt1Anton Pashkevich2Wilhelm A. Buckermann3Faculty of Science, Energy and Building Services, Hochschule Esslingen, Kanalstraße 33, 73728 Esslingen am Neckar, GermanyM. Swarovski Gesellschaft m.b.H., Wipark, 14. Straße 11, 3363 Neufurth, AustriaFaculty of Civil Engineering, Politechnika Krakowska, ul. Warszawska 24, 31-155 Kraków, PolandFaculty of Science, Energy and Building Services, Hochschule Esslingen, Kanalstraße 33, 73728 Esslingen am Neckar, GermanyRoad markings must be reflectorised with glass beads to be visible to drivers at night, retro-reflecting light from vehicle’s headlights, which is critical for road safety. Four commonly used types of glass beads were evaluated in a laboratory setting for retroreflectivity and their surfaces were analysed using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The glass beads were subjected to abrasion and a visual correlation was sought between the measured retroreflectivity and the surface damage. Scratching the glass bead surface with corundum in a rotary drum resulted in major differences in the rates of damage development, depending on the type of the glass beads, and it could be correlated with the rate of retroreflectivity decay. The relative results from abrasion testing were confirmed under tyre action during a turntable evaluation. Based on the outcomes of these tests, service lives, defined as maintaining appropriately high retroreflectivity, were predicted and used to calculate the consumption of raw materials—the basic sustainability parameter. It was shown that the use of ‘premium’ glass beads, enhanced with TiO<sub>2</sub> and made in a proprietary process, provided the road marking system characterised by the lowest long-term consumption of resources.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/4/2258road safetyvisibilityservice lifeabrasion resistancesustainability |
| spellingShingle | Kevin M. Wenzel Tomasz E. Burghardt Anton Pashkevich Wilhelm A. Buckermann Glass Beads for Road Markings: Surface Damage and Retroreflection Decay Study Applied Sciences road safety visibility service life abrasion resistance sustainability |
| title | Glass Beads for Road Markings: Surface Damage and Retroreflection Decay Study |
| title_full | Glass Beads for Road Markings: Surface Damage and Retroreflection Decay Study |
| title_fullStr | Glass Beads for Road Markings: Surface Damage and Retroreflection Decay Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Glass Beads for Road Markings: Surface Damage and Retroreflection Decay Study |
| title_short | Glass Beads for Road Markings: Surface Damage and Retroreflection Decay Study |
| title_sort | glass beads for road markings surface damage and retroreflection decay study |
| topic | road safety visibility service life abrasion resistance sustainability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/4/2258 |
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