Automated Construction Quality Monitoring and Inspection Protocols using Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles

Achieving in-place density of asphalt pavements is among the key indicators of construction quality, durability, and long-term performance. Therefore, quality assurance protocols used by many different agencies include in-place density as one of the key acceptance criteria. Mat temperature and its uniformity are accepted as one of the key factors contributing to achieving in-place density. Differential thermal readings, also known as thermal segregation, and lack of uniformity in the mat temperature were identified as one of the key factors hindering target densities uniformly and affecting construction quality. With the increase in the availability of sensor technology, monitoring mat temperature and identifying thermal segregation have been made possible using thermal infrared cameras. In this study, development of an automated thermal performance monitoring protocol with use of uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a thermal camera is proposed. The developed protocol with the use of UAVs provides a ubiquitous platform that can be used as an aid to be monitoring mat temperatures over wide paving areas and identifying various temperature non-uniformity patterns such as thermally segregated areas.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $147494
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552344813

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  National Center for Infrastructure Transformation

  Prairie View A&M University
  Prairie View, TX  United States  77446
• Performing Organizations:

  Arizona State University, Tempe

  Tempe, AZ  United States 
• Principal Investigators:

  Ozer, Hasan

• Start Date: 20230601
• Expected Completion Date: 20250531
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers
• Source Data: 01-01-ASU

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Density; Drones; Inspection; Pavements; Paving; Quality assurance; Temperature measurement
• Subject Areas: Construction; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01914002
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Center for Infrastructure Transformation
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552344813
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Apr 5 2024 12:08PM