Introduction
Pavement Profile Viewer and Analyzer, or ProVAL, is a software
package that imports, displays, and analyzes the characteristics
of pavement profiles from many different sources. ProVAL can analyze
pavement profiles using several methods, including International
Roughness Index, Ride Number, Profile Index, California profilograph,
and rolling straightedge, and other more complex filters such
as Butterworth band pass filters and power spectral density. ProVAL
also can perform American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
E 950 precision and bias tests and crosscorrelation to find recurring
patterns in pavement profiles.
ProVAL Applications
ProVAL software uses a new standard file format that is fast,
compact, and portable. Profile and project files can be transferred
easily to ProVAL installations on other computers.
The software can help State highway engineers, contractors,
and quality control managers improve the quality of pavement construction
by analyzing a given profile quickly and providing results in
a number of formats. In addition, researchers can use ProVAL to
analyze large numbers of profiles of virtually any length, frequency
of data collection, and number of longitudinal traces.
Although the software was completed recently, State departments
of transportation (DOT) already are applying it in the field.
For example, the Ohio DOT is conducting an informal study of pavement
smoothness immediately after construction and how pavement smoothness
affects a contractor's ability to achieve full payment or bonus,
especially as smoothness relates to the warranty and quality control/quality
assurance specifications.
|
Figure 1. A screen capture from the ProVAL software program
shows pavement profile characteristics at different elevations
and distances. |
FHWA also is using ProVAL as part of its recently initiated Inertial
Profile Data for Pavement Performance Analysis project. The project
aims to identify practices that will minimize the harmful effects
of curling and warping in concrete pavement slabs.
FHWA conducted a presentation on the software for the Road Profiler
User Group and the Transportation Research Board's Long-Term Pavement
Performance (LTPP) subcommittee on Product Development and Delivery.
FHWA also sponsored a workshop that was piloted in December 2002.
Compatible Profile Formats
Currently, three profile formats are compatible with ProVAL:
the industry-standard University of Michigan Transportation Research
Institute Engineering Research Division (ERD) profiler; the Texas
DOT profiler; and the K.J. Law profiler. Other formats may be
added to the import functionality of the software as manufacturers
work with the developers of ProVAL to include new capabilities.
As ProVAL evolves, more users are expected to apply its solutions
to real-world problems. FHWA expects that this software and its
new file format will become an industry standard.
For Copies of ProVAL 1.0 Software, Contact:
Mark Swanlund, P.E.
Pavement Design Engineer
HIPT-20
400 7th St., SW
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-1323
mark.swanlund@fhwa.dot.gov
Antonio Nieves
LTPP Midwest and West Regions
Turner-Fairbank Highway
Research Center, HRDI-13
6300 Georgetown Pike, Rm. F-209
McLean, VA 22102
202-493-3074
antonio.nieves@fhwa.dot.gov
Mike Moravec
LTPP Northeast and South Regions
FHWA Resource Center,
Baltimore, HRC-EA
10 S. Howard St., Ste. 4000
Baltimore, MD 21201-2819
410-962-5623
mike.moravec@fhwa.dot.gov
Software updates and other information is available on the ProVAL
Web site, http://www.roadprofile.com.