U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
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Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations
| REPORT |
| This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information |
|
| Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-15-074 Date: September 2016 |
Publication Number:
FHWA-HRT-15-074
Date: September 2016 |
PDF Version (11.9 MB)
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As State transportation departments begin to consider structural adequacy as part of their routine pavement management system (PMS) activities by incorporating deflection testing, it is important to advance their practices from deflection testing using falling weight deflectometers, which involves a slow, stop-and-go operation and requires lane closures, to a more viable alternative for network-level pavement management applications. The development of moving deflection testing devices that can measure pavement responses at traffic speeds is a more viable alternative.
The goal of this project was to establish a reliable measure of the structural condition of bound pavement layers above the unbound base layer as it deteriorates over time under traffic and environmental loading by measuring pavement deflection at traffic speeds. As part of the project, a literature review was conducted, and questionnaires were developed and followed up by interviews to device manufacturers, owners, and users. Two devices were found to be potentially viable: the Traffic Speed Deflectometer and Rolling Wheel Deflectometer. A work plan was developed and implemented to evaluate if the two devices met a minimum set of specifications related to the structural evaluation of pavements at the network level. Field evaluations and validation analyses were completed in accordance with the work plan. Finally, analysis methodologies and processes were developed for incorporating pavement structural information within PMS applications. This report is intended for use by pavement management engineers and pavement investment decision makers across the United States.
Mayela Sosa
Acting Director, Office of Infrastructure
Research and Development
Notice
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.
The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.
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Technical Report Documentation Page
| 1. Report No.
FHWA-HRT-15-074 |
2. Government Accession No. | 3 Recipient's Catalog No. | ||
| 4. Title and Subtitle
Pavement Structural Evaluation at the Network Level: Final Report |
5. Report Date September 2016 |
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| 6. Performing Organization Code
None |
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| 7. Author(s)
Gonzalo R. Rada, Soheil Nazarian, Beth A. Visintine, Raj Siddharthan, and Senthil Thyagarajan |
8. Performing Organization Report No.
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9. Performing Organization Name and Address Amec Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure, Inc. The University of Texas at El Paso University of Nevada Reno |
10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) |
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| 11. Contract or Grant No.
DTFH61-12-C-00031 |
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| 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Office of Infrastructure Research and Development |
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Final Report, September 2012–April 2015 |
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14. Sponsoring Agency Code
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| 15. Supplementary Notes
The Contracting Officer’s Representative was Nadarajah Sivaneswaran, HRDI-20. |
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| 16. Abstract
As State transportation departments consider structural adequacy as part of their routine pavement management system (PMS) activities by incorporating deflection testing, it is important to advance their practices from measuring deflection using falling weight deflectometers, which involves a slow, stop-and-go operation and requires lane closures, to a more viable alternative for network-level pavement management applications. The development of moving deflection testing devices that can measure pavement responses at traffic speeds represents this more viable alternative. The modern versions of the moving deflection testing devices that are actively used today include the Traffic Speed Deflectometer (TSD) and a Rolling Wheel Deflectometer (RWD). The goal of this project was to establish a reliable measure of the structural condition of bound pavement layers above the unbound base layer as it deteriorates over time under traffic and environmental loading based on moving pavement deflection technology measuring at traffic speeds. Moreover, this measure needed to be robust enough in capturing the structural condition or deterioration of the pavement layer notwithstanding the seasonal and spatial variation in base and subgrade layers. As part of the project, a literature review was conducted, and questionnaires were developed for device manufacturers, owners, and users, which were then followed up by interviews. Both the TSD and RWD were found to be potentially viable devices. Based on this finding, a work plan was developed and implemented to evaluate if the two devices met a minimum set of specifications related to the structural evaluation of pavements at the network level including accuracy and precision of deflection measurements, monitoring applied load, operating speed, and distance between deflection measurements. Field evaluations and validation analyses were completed in accordance with the work plan. Ultimately, analysis methodologies and processes were developed for incorporating pavement structural information within highway agencies’ PMS applications. |
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| 17. Key Words
Network-level, Structural evaluation, Rolling wheel deflectometer, Traffic speed deflectometer, Deflection indices |
18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161. |
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19. Security Classification Unclassified |
20. Security Classification Unclassified |
21. No. of Pages 282 |
22. Price | |
| Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) | Reproduction of completed page authorized |
