Superelevation Criteria for Sharp Horizontal Curves on Steep Grades

TL;DRAbstract

Sharp, horizontal curves on steep downgrades represent a potential safety concern for vehicles, especially heavy vehicles. Examples where this combination may occur are interchange ramp movements, curves on mountainous roads, or high-speed downgrade curves on controlled-access roadways. At these locations, the complicating factors of grade, pavement cross slope, and pavement friction fully tax the driver’s ability to provide correct vehicle positioning without compromising control of the vehicle. Superelevation criteria, horizontal curvature, and other associated geometric criteria needed to be developed for situations where steep grades are located on sharp horizontal curves. This report provides superelevation criteria for horizontal curves on steep grades. A series of field studies and vehicle dynamics simulations were undertaken to investigate combinations of horizontal curve and vertical grade design. Three classes of passenger vehicles and three classes of trucks were considered

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