Definitions and Formulas
Stopping Distance Calculator
Input
Initial Velocity
m/s
v0
Human Perception Time
1.5
thp dtk
Human Reaction Time
1
thr dtk
Grade
0 %
σ
Uphill Downhill
Road conditions
---
OR Coefficient of friction
0.7
μ
Brake type
---
OR Brake Lag
0.1
tbrl dtk
Bagikan
Output
Slope Angleθ= 0 °
Decelerationa= 3,9 m/d²
Braking Timetbr= 6,4 dtk
Human Perception DistanceShp= 37,5 m
Human Reaction DistanceShr= 25 m
Brake Lag DistanceSbrl= 2,5 m
Braking DistanceSbr= 79,7 m
Stopping DistanceSstop= 144,7 m
Critical Slope Angle for a Given Friction Coefficientθcrit= 21,8 °
Critical Slope Grade for a Given Friction Coefficientσcrit= 40 %
Skid (Pre-braking) Speed Calculator
Input
Skid Mark (Braking) Distance
Sbr
Grade
0 %
σ
Uphill Downhill
Road conditions
---
OR Coefficient of friction
0.7
μ
Bagikan
Stopping Sight Distance[edit | edit source]
Forces acting on a vehicle that is braking
Stopping Sight Distance (SSD) is the viewable distance required for a driver to see so that he or she
can make a complete stop in the event of an unforeseen hazard. SSD is made up of two
components: (1) Braking Distance and (2) Perception-Reaction Time.
For highway design, analysis of braking is simplified by assuming that deceleration is caused by the
resisting force of friction against skidding tires. This is applicable to both an uphill or a downhill
situation. A vehicle can be modeled as an object with mass sliding on a surface inclined at angle .
While the force of gravity pulls the vehicle down, the force of friction resists that movement. The
forces acting this vehicle can be simplified to:
where
= object’s weight,
= coefficient of friction.
Using Newton’s second law we can conclude then that the acceleration () of the object is
Using our basic equations to solve for braking distance () in terms of initial speed () and ending
speed () gives
and substituting for the acceleration yields
Ample Stopping Sight Distance
For angles commonly encountered on roads, and , where is called the road’s grade. This gives
Using simply the braking formula assumes that a driver reacts instantaneously to a hazard.
However, there is an inherent delay between the time a driver identifies a hazard and when he or
she mentally determines an appropriate reaction. This amount of time is called perception-reaction
time. For a vehicle in motion, this inherent delay translates to a distance covered in the meanwhile.
This extra distance must be accounted for.
For a vehicle traveling at a constant rate, distance covered by a specific velocity and a certain
perception-reaction time can be computed using simple dynamics:
Finally, combining these two elements together and incorporating unit conversion, the AASHTO
stopping sight distance formula is produced. The unit conversions convert the problem to metric,
with in kilometers per hour and in meters.
A Note on Sign Conventions[edit | edit source]
We said
Use: if going downhill and if going uphill, where G is the absolute value of the grade
Passing Sight Distance[edit | edit source]
Passing Sight Distance (PSD) is the minimum sight distance that is required on a highway, generally
a two-lane, two-directional one, that will allow a driver to pass another vehicle without colliding with a
vehicle in the opposing lane. This distance also allows the driver to abort the passing maneuver if
desired. AASHTO defines PSD as having three main distance components: (1) Distance traveled
during perception-reaction time and acceleration into the opposing lane, (2) Distance required to
pass in the opposing lane, (3) Distance necessary to clear the slower vehicle.
The first distance component is defined as:
where
= time for initial maneuver,
= acceleration (km/h/sec),
= average speed of passing vehicle (km/hr),
= difference in speeds of passing and impeder vehicles (km/hr).
The second distance component is defined as:
where
= time passing vehicle is traveling in opposing lane,
= average speed of passing vehicle (km/hr).
The third distance component is more of a rule of thumb than a calculation. Lengths to complete this
maneuver vary between 30 and 90 meters.
With these values, the total passing sight distance (PSD) can be calculated by simply taking the
summation of all three distances.
Stopping Distance
The stopping distance is the distance a vehicle travels from the time a driver
sees a hazard, takes a decision to stop a vehicle, presses on the brake pedal
until the vehicle comes to a complete stop. This distance is the sum of
several distances that the car travels while the driver makes a decision, the
brakes are activated and the vehicle slows down until it stops. The stopping
distance sstop is determined using the following formula:
where shr is the human perception distance, shr is the human reaction
distance, sbrl is the brake lag distance, and sbr is the braking distance. These
distances are discussed below.
Human Perception Distance
The human perception distance is the distance a vehicle travels while the
driver is identifying a hazard and deciding to slow down and stop the vehicle.
It is calculated using the following formula
where shp is the human perception distance in m, v is the vehicle speed in
km/h, thp is the human perception time in seconds, and 1000/3600 is the
coefficient for converting km/h to m/s (1 kilometer equals to 1000 meters
and 1 hour is equal to 3600 seconds).
Human Reaction Distance
The human reaction distance is the distance a vehicle travels while the driver
is executing a decision to stop the vehicle after they recognized a danger. It
is determined using the following formula
where shp is the human perception distance in meters, v is the vehicle speed
in km/h, and thr is the human reaction time in seconds.
Brake Lag Distance
The brake lag distance depends on the type of brakes used in the vehicle.
Hydraulic brakes are used on almost all cars and light trucks. Air brakes are
used on almost all commercial trucks. The air brake lag is approximately 0.4
s and the hydraulic brake lag is about 0.1–0.2 s. The total brake delay is
measured as the time from the moment the brake pedal is depressed to the
moment at which deceleration has reached steady-state. It consists of the
lag time in the brake system and the deceleration rising time. For pneumatic
brakes, the total brake delay varies from 0.4 to 0.7 s because air brakes do
not work almost instantly like hydraulic brakes. In pneumatic brakes, air
needs to flow through brake lines and this takes time. Hydraulic brakes, on
the other hand, act almost instantly, two to five times faster than the air
brake.
The brake lag distance is determined using the following formula
where sbrl is the brake lag distance in m, v is the vehicle speed in km/h, tbrl is
the brake lag time in seconds.
Deceleration
To simplify our calculations, we will assume that the vehicle is moving with
constant acceleration or deceleration, which is determined using the
following formula derived from the equation of accelerated (decelerated)
motion:
where a is the acceleration, v is the final speed, v0 is the initial speed,
and t is the time.
Vehicle Braking Distance
The braking distance is the distance a vehicle travels from the moment when
its brakes are fully applied to the moment when it comes to a complete stop.
This distance depends on the pre-braking speed of the vehicle and the
coefficient of friction between the tires and the road surface. In this
calculator, we will not consider other factors with negligible influence such as
rolling drag of the tires or air drag.
The results of research1, in which the coefficient of friction was determined
by means of measuring deceleration, identified that the anti-lock braking
system (ABS) influenced the coefficient of friction: it increases with velocity
increasing when using ABS and decreases with increasing velocity when ABS
is not used. This research also confirmed that the coefficient of friction
between the tires and the road is affected by temperature and rainfall.
Derivation using Newton’s Second Law Method
By definition, the coefficient of friction is defined as the ratio of force of
friction to the normal force:
or
where Ffr is the friction force, μ is the friction coefficient, and Fnorm is the
normal force.
The normal force acting on an object is defined as the component of a
contact force that is perpendicular to the contact surface of the object. For a
simple case when an object is placed on a flat horizontal surface, the normal
force is just its weight:
where m is the mass and g is the standard acceleration due to gravity. This
formula is derived from Newton’s second law:
In a more complex case where an object rests on an inclined surface, the
normal force is calculated as
where θ is the angle of the inclined surface measured from the horizontal. In
this case, the normal force is smaller than the object weight. We will
consider this case later.
For a level surface, if the coefficient of friction between the object and the
surface is μ, then the frictional force is
According to Newton’s second law, this friction force applied to the moving
object (a vehicle) produces a proportional deceleration:
or
Now, according to the equation of accelerated (decelerated) motion,
We know from the course of elementary physics that for the decelerated
motion with constant deceleration if the final velocity equals zero, then the
braking distance sbr is determined using the following equation:
or using the conversion coefficient for converting km/h to m/s:
Substituting a = μg into this equation yields the braking distance equation:
where the speed v is in km/h and the gravitational acceleration g is in m/s².
Or solving for v will give
The same braking distance formula can be derived using the energy method.
Derivation Using Energy Method
The theoretical braking distance can be found if we determine the work
required to dissipate the kinetic energy of the vehicle. If a vehicle moving
with the speed v decelerates to a complete stop, the braking
work Wb required to fully dissipate its kinetic energy Ek will be equal to this
energy:
The kinetic energy Ek of a moving vehicle is determined as follows:
where m is the vehicle of mass and v is the vehicle velocity at the start of
braking.
The work Wb done by braking is determined as
where m is the mass of the vehicle, μ is the coefficient of friction between
the tires and the road, g is the acceleration of gravity, and sbr is the distance
travelled during braking to a full stop.
Now, remembering that Ek = Wb, we have
or
The speed of the vehicle before braking is the most important factor
influencing the stopping distance. Other factors such as recognition response
time of the driver, the performance of the vehicle braking system, the road
conditions are less important components in the stopping distance.
Braking Time
We know from the course of elementary physics that the average speed of
accelerated motion at constant acceleration is equal to the half-sum of the
initial and final speed:
Considering that the final speed is zero, the braking time is determined as
Uphill and Downhill Braking Distance
Forces acting on a vehicle on the slope: Fg is the force of gravity (vehicle
weight) acting on the vehicle, Fgd is the downhill pulling component of the
vehicle weight, Ffr is the friction force acting parallel to the slope, Fgn is the
normal components of the vehicle weight, and Fnr is the reaction force equal
to the normal components of the vehicle weight.
When a driver pressed the brake pedal, the decelerating vehicle can be
modeled as an object sliding on a surface with the angle of inclination θ (see
the picture). For simplification, we consider only two forces acting on a
vehicle on an inclined road. They are the vehicle weight and the friction
force. The vehicle moving with the initial speed is decelerating when the
friction force acting parallel to the surface of the road is larger than the
pulling component of the vehicle weight, which is also parallel to the slope. If
the initial velocity of the vehicle is zero, it is not moving in this situation
provided that the angle of inclination is less than the critical angle (we will
talk about the critical angle later).
When the force of gravity Fg pulls the vehicle down, for force of
friction Ffr resists this movement. For the vehicle being able to stop, the
force of friction must exceed the downhill pulling component Fgd of the force
of gravity.
At the same time, if the friction force is smaller than the pulling component
of the vehicle weight, the vehicle will be moving downward with constant
acceleration and its brakes will not be able to stop it. This can happen if the
angle of inclination (or the road grade) is too high or the coefficient of
friction is too low (remember how a car with ordinary tires behaves on an icy
slope!)
By definition of the coefficient of friction, we can write the equation for the
friction force:
or
The downhill pulling force:
The total force Ftotal acting on a vehicle is
or
As we have already mentioned, Ftotal must point upwards, otherwise, the
vehicle that is moving downhill cannot be stopped. According to Newton’s
second law, the acceleration (or rather a deceleration) of the vehicle moving
by Ftotal is determined as
Substituting for the acceleration in the formula for braking distance above
yields:
Solving for vpre-braking, we will get:
Note one more time that in these formulas g is in m/s, v is in km/h and s is
in m. The last two formulas are used in our calculator.
Parked and moving cars on Divisadero St. in San Francisco, CA. The slope of
the street here is 31% or 17°.
Slope Grade
The grade (also called slope or gradient) of a road is the tangent of the
angle of its surface to the horizontal. It is calculated as a ratio of rise
(vertical distance or change in elevation of the slope) to run (horizontal
distance). By definition of the slope grade, driving uphill means climbing a
positive grade slope and driving downhill means descending along a negative
grade slope where a rise actually means drop. The slope grade σ can be
expressed as an angle of inclination to the horizontal, as a percentage or as
the ratio. For example, a rise of 15 meters per 100 meters of horizontal
movement corresponds to a slope of 0.15 or 15%. In this calculator we use
the grade in percentage, which is determined as
where Δh is the rise of the slope and d is the projection of the slope path to
horizontal (see picture). From this value, the angle of inclination θ can be
determined as
Critical Angle
When the inclination angle of the road exceeds a certain value called a
critical angle, the vehicle moving downhill cannot be stopped using its
braking system because the friction force acting on it becomes less than the
rolling component of the vehicle weight. This critical angle can be found from
the following condition:
or
or
From this formula, we can derive the critical angle at which the vehicle will
not stop at the given coefficient of friction:
The slope grade as a percentage corresponding to this angle is defined as
Example
An example of using the formula for braking distance. A car is moving at vpre-
braking = 90 km/h on a wet asphalt concrete downhill road (coefficient of
friction μ = 0.4) with the grade of σ = 5%. Calculate the braking distance.
For our calculations, we will use the formulas derived above.
Special Cases
Click or tap a corresponding link to view the calculator in various special
modes:
Critical angle. The downhill pulling force is equal to the friction force. It
is almost impossible to hold the vehicle using the brake. The vehicle
that is moving uphill will stop and can start going down the slope.
The slope grade is greater than the critical angle. The downhill pulling
force is greater than the friction force. The braking system cannot hold
the vehicle. It will stop, then start moving downhill with constant
acceleration.
Critical angle. The downhill pulling force is equal to the friction force.
Braking is almost impossible. The vehicle that is moving downhill will
eventually stop after a very long braking distance and can start going
down the slope.
The slope grade is greater than the critical angle. The downhill pulling
force is greater than the friction force. Braking is impossible. The
vehicle cannot be stopped and will be moving downhill with constant
acceleration.
References
1. Hartman, J 2014, Effects of velocity, temperature And rainfall on the
friction coefficient of pneumatic tyres And bitumen roads , Doctor of
Philosophy (PhD), Aerospace, Mechanical And Manufacturing
Engineering, RMIT University PDF 48 MB
2. Wikibooks. Fundamentals of Transportation
