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Publication Details

Moisture Content for Unbound Materials at Seasonal Monitoring Program Sites Research/Reference: useful for researchers doing further work in the pavement area as well as those developing improved testing and design procedures. Includes documents of historical value.

Primary Topic: Materials-General

Description: Moisture content plays a significant role in the performance of pavements. Variation in the amount of moisture in the subgrade can change the volume of swelling soil, which may result in detrimental deformation of the pavement structure. An increase in moisture in the subgrade and unbound base can weaken the bearing capacity of these materials, affecting the pavement's response to loads and, ultimately, pavement service life.

The moisture content of unbound materials at LTPP Seasonal Monitoring Program (SMP) sites is computed based on the dielectric constant determined through the use of time-domain reflectometry and soil property data contained in the LTPP Information Management System (IMS) database. A discussion of the use of time-domain reflectometer (TDR) probes and the values derived from them can be found in the computed parameters document, "An Input for Moisture Calculations—Dielectric Constant From Apparent Length" (Publication No. FHWA-RD-99-201), which can also be found on this web site.

FHWA Publication Number: FHWA-RD-00-077

Publication Year: 2000

Document Links: PDF (file size: 0.1 mb)



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Updated: 04/11/2022
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