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Long-Term Pavement Performance Program Manual for Falling Weight Deflectometer Measurements

December 2006
FHWA-HRT-06-132
PDF version (1206 KB)

FOREWORD

This manual is intended for use in collection of Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) data for the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program. As such, it contains background information on FWD equipment and the general role of FWD testing within LTPP as well as a set of field operations guidelines for the data collection process.

This is the fourth major version of the LTPP Manual for Falling Weight Deflectometer Measurements. The first two were developed under the auspices of the Strategic Highway Research Program; the last two were developed under contract to the Federal Highway Administration. The revisions to this manual reflect the changing data needs of LTPP as well as changes in FWD equipment.

The LTPP program is a continuing, active program. Current information and access to other technical references are available at the LTPP Web site at http://www.tfhrc.gov/pavement/ltpp/ltpp.htm. Submit LTPP data requests, technical questions, and data user feedback to LTPP customer service by e-mail at ltppinfo@fhwa.dot.gov.

Gary L. Henderson
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.

QUALITY ASSURANCE STATEMENT

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No. FHWA-HRT-06-132	2. Government Accession No.	3. Recipient’s Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle LTPP Manual for Falling Weight Deflectometer Measurements, Version 4.1		5. Report Date December 2006
		6. Performing Organization Code
7.Author(s) Peter N. Schmalzer		8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, Inc. 12104 Indian Creek Court, Suite A Beltsville, MD 20705-1242		10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
		11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-02-C-00007
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Federal Highway Administration Office of Infrastructure Research and Development 6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101-2296		13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report, April 2005–July 2006
		14. Sponsoring Agency’s Code
15. Supplementary Notes Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR): Aramis Lopez, Jr., HRDI-13.
16. Abstract This document provides background information and field operations guidelines for the collection of Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) data on Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) test sections. It includes equipment setup, equipment calibration, test locations, and test procedures.
17. Key Words Deflection measurement, falling weight deflectometer, LTPP		18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161.
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified	20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified	21. No. of Pages 79	22. Price N/A

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)	Reproduction of completed page authorized

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Metric Conversion Chart

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 1 BACKGROUND
• 2 FWD-RELATED TERMINOLOGY
• 3 TEST PROCEDURE
• 4 SETUP
  • 4.1 Physical Setup
  • 4.2 Load Levels
  • 4.3 Software Setup
    • 4.3.1 Units
    • 4.3.2 File Format
    • 4.3.3 Filters
    • 4.3.4 Data Checks
    • 4.3.5 Drop Sequences
    • 4.3.6 File Naming
• 5 TEST PLANS
  • 5.1 Selecting the Appropriate Test Plan
  • 5.2 Description of Test Plans
  • 5.3 Transverse Locations
  • 5.4 Slab-Referenced Locations
    • 5.4.1 Mid-Panel
    • 5.4.2 Joint Approach
    • 5.4.3 Joint Leave
    • 5.4.4 Corner
• 6 OTHER MEASUREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH FWD TESTING
  • 6.1 Temperature Gradient Measurements
  • 6.2 Joint/Crack Width Measurements
  • 6.3 Distress Identification and Commenting
  • 6.4 Other Comments
• 7 ERROR CONDITIONS
  • 7.1 Roll-Off
  • 7.2 Nondecreasing Deflections
  • 7.3 Overflow
  • 7.4 Load Variation
  • 7.5 Deflection Variation
  • 7.6 Dealing With Deflection Errors
  • 7.7 Dealing With Load Errors
• 8 CALIBRATION AND VERIFICATION
  • 8.1 Reference Calibration
  • 8.2 Relative Calibration
  • 8.3 DMI Calibration
  • 8.4 Temperature Sensor Verification
  • 8.5 Reporting Requirements
    • 8.5.1 Reference Calibration
    • 8.5.2 Relative Calibration
    • 8.5.3 DMI Calibration
    • 8.5.4 Temperature Sensor Verification
• 9 EQUIPMENT CHECKS
  • 9.1 Before-Transit Checks
  • 9.2 Before-Operations Checks
  • 9.3 Post-Operations Checks
• 10 MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR
• 11 COLD WEATHER FWD TESTING
• 12 DATA HANDLING PROCEDURES
  • 12.1 Field Data Handling Procedures
  • 12.2 Office Data Handling Procedures
• 13 DOCUMENTATION
• 14 VERSION HISTORY
  • 14.1 Version 1.0
  • 14.2 SPS 3 and SPS 4 Supplement to Version 1.0
  • 14.3 Version 2.0
  • 14.4 Version 3.0
  • 14.5 Version 3.1
  • 14.6 Version 4.0
  • 14.7 Version 4.1
• APPENDIX A: DIAGRAMS OF FWD TEST PLANS
• APPENDIX B: STANDARD FWD FORMS AND COMMON UNIT CONVERSIONS
• APPENDIX C: UNIT CONVERSIONS FOR COMMON FWD-RELATED MEASUREMENTS

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LIST OF FIGURES

• Figure 1. Diagram. Joint approach testing
• Figure 2. Diagram. Joint approach-leave testing
• Figure 3. Diagram. Test plan 1
• Figure 4. Diagram. Test plan 2
• Figure 5. Diagram. Test plan 3
• Figure 6. Diagram. Test plan 4
• Figure 7. Diagram. Test plan 5
• Figure 8. Diagram. Test plan 6
• Figure 9. Diagram. Test plan 7
• Figure 10. Diagram. Test plan 8
• Figure 11. Diagram. Test plan 9
• Figure 12. Diagram. Test plan 10
• Figure 13. Diagram. Test plan 11

LIST OF TABLES

• Table 1. Deflection sensor offsets for nine sensor FWDs
• Table 2. Deflection sensor offsets for seven sensor FWDs
• Table 3. Target Loads and Acceptable Ranges
• Table 4. Test plans by LTPP experiment and surface type
• Table 5. Details of test plans
• Table 6. Transverse locations relative to outside lane edge
• Table 7. Temperature hole depths
• Table 8. Standard abbreviation list–distress
• Table 9. Standard abbreviation list–equipment, lane geometry, miscellaneous

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This page last modified on 03/28/07