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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-16-010 Date: March 2017 |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-16-010 Date: March 2017 |
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This report documents a study conducted to investigate the use of the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) as part of mechanistic-empirical pavement design and rehabilitation procedures incorporated within the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) developed by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program and subsequently adopted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The first volume of this three-volume report documents general pavement deflection-testing procedures and commonly used deflection analysis approaches and a review of backcalculation programs for flexible, rigid, and composite pavement structures. The relevance of the different procedures and approaches to the MEPDG were explored through examination of six case studies evaluated using FWD testing results in the MEPDG, and the findings are presented here in the second volume. Based on the case study findings and information from the literature, best practice guidelines for effective testing of existing pavement structures and interpretation of those results as part of a mechanistic-empirical pavement evaluation and rehabilitation process were developed and are presented in the third volume. This report is intended for use by pavement engineers as well as researchers involved in rehabilitation design and management of agencies’ pavements.
Cheryl Allen Richter, P.E., Ph.D.
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-16-010 |
2. Government Accession No. | 3 Recipient's Catalog No. | ||
| 4. Title and Subtitle
Using Falling Weight Deflectometer Data with Mechanistic-Empirical Design and Analysis, Volume II: Case Study Reports |
5. Report Date March 2017 |
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| 6. Performing Organization Code | ||||
| 7. Author(s)
James E. Bruinsma, Julie M. Vandenbossche, Karim Chatti, and Kurt D. Smith |
8. Performing Organization Report No.
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9. Performing Organization Name and Address Applied Pavement Technology Inc. |
10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) |
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| 11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-06-C-00046 |
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| 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Federal Highway Administration |
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Final Report; 10/2006–12/2010 |
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14. Sponsoring Agency Code
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| 15. Supplementary Notes The FHWA Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative was Nadarajah Sivaneswaran. |
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| 16. Abstract
The need to accurately characterize the structural condition of existing pavements has increased with the recent development, release, and ongoing implementation of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG). A number of different material inputs are required in the procedure, and it is important to adequately characterize and define them. The analysis of deflection data collected by the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) provides a quick and reliable way to characterize the properties of the paving layers, as well as to assess the load-carrying capacity of existing pavement structures. With the release of the new MEPDG, there is a pressing need to identify and evaluate the way that FWD testing is integrated into the new design procedure. Moreover, as highway agencies continue to implement the MEPDG, best practices guidance is needed on how to effectively test existing pavement structures and interpret the results as part of a mechanistic-empirical pavement evaluation and rehabilitation process.
This document is part of a three-volume report investigating the use of the FWD as part of mechanistic-empirical pavement design and rehabilitation procedures. In this volume, six case studies—flexible pavement, flexible pavement on rubblized portland cement concrete (PCC), rigid pavement on granular base, rigid pavement on stabilized base, rigid pavement on existing flexible pavement, and composite (hot-mix asphalt (HMA) over PCC pavement)—were used to evaluate how FWD deflection data are used in the rehabilitation portion of the MEPDG. The case studies used data from in-service pavements. Specifically, deflection data and backcalculation results were used to characterize the existing HMA, PCC, stabilized and unstabilized bases, and aggregate and subgrade properties in the MEPDG design program. Laboratory testing results were compared with FWD results, and the final designs were found to be relatively insensitive to the differences in characterization of existing layer inputs.
This is volume II of a three-volume report. The other volumes in the series are FHWA-HRT-16-009, Volume I: Final Report, and FHWA-HRT-16-011, Volume III: Guidelines for Deflection Testing, Interpretation, and Analysis. |
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| 17. Key Words
Falling weight deflectometer, Backcalculation, Deflection data, Structural evaluation, Resilient modulus, Elastic modulus, Subgrade support, Mechanistic-empirical pavement design, Rehabilitation design, Overlay design |
18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available through the |
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19. Security Classification Unclassified |
20. Security Classification Unclassified |
21. No. of Pages 188 |
22. Price N/A |
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| Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) | Reproduction of completed page authorized |
SI* (Modern Metric) Conversion Factors
| AADT | annual average daily traffic | |
| AADTT | average annual daily truck traffic | |
| AASHTO | American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials | |
| COV | coefficient of variation | |
| CTE | coefficient of thermal expansion | |
| FWD | falling weight deflectometer | |
| HMA | hot-mix asphalt | |
| ICM | Integrated Climatic Model | |
| IRI | International Roughness Index | |
| JPCP | jointed portland cement concrete pavement | |
| JRCP | jointed reinforced concrete pavement | |
| LTE | load transfer efficiency | |
| LTPP | Long-Term Pavement Performance | |
| MEPDG | Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide | |
| PCC | portland cement concrete | |
| PG | performance grade | |
| RMS | root mean square | |
| RPCC | rubblized portland cement concrete | |
| SHRP | Strategic Highway Research Program | |
| SPS | Specific Pavement Study | |
| USGS | United States Geological Survey |
