Assessing and monitoring the mechanical properties of road pavements
summary
The aim of this project is to develop new algorithms and methodologies for the rapid inspection of road-flexible pavements and the identification of early decay and loss of bearing capacity.
About the project
Decay in structural components of road pavements is an element of major concern in the management of highway infrastructures. An effective assessment of the strength and deformation properties of pavement layers can identify the causes and locate the depth of the damage.
The prompt detection of early decay and loss of bearing capacity is also a real challenge for road administrators. Conventional destructive tests are time-demanding and provide information at the location point of measurements only.
Conversely, non-destructive testing (NDT) methods are gaining momentum in pavement infrastructure monitoring. Above all, falling weight deflectometer (FWD) techniques are mostly used in combination with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to assess the stiffness and thickness of pavement layers.
Measurements must be collected using each of the above pieces of equipment, following a back-calculation process to obtain the stiffness of pavement layers. This process might be time-demanding and subject to data synchronisation errors.
This research project will investigate the mechanical properties and stiffness of construction materials and road pavement layers, using GPR and complementary non-destructive testing methods across the entire range of investigation scales. New algorithms and methodologies for more rapid integration of the above testing equipment will be provided.
Tests will be carried out in a laboratory environment, on a test-site scale and on the full scale of inspection.
Impact
Early-stage assessment of decay areas, such as pavement stiffness and loss of bearing capacity is crucial to providing effective pavement management systems (PMSs), for the sustainable management of the infrastructure asset.
New algorithms and methodologies for the inspection of the mechanical properties of pavements will be developed, based on the integration between GPR and deflection-based NDT methods.
Impact on the current PMS procedures will be created in terms of:
- improvement of the driving safety conditions of roads (lowering of potential car accidents)
- a decrease in costs allocated to ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of roads at network level.
The research team
- Professor Amir Alani
- Professor Fabio Tosti
- Dr Lilong Zou
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