Using a Cosmic Ray Neutron Rover to Measure Unpaved Road Moisture for Improved Maintenance and Safety

Unpaved roads represent an important component of the nation's transportation portfolio. The moisture of unpaved roads affects their preservation, safety, and health impacts. However, monitoring road moisture has been difficult because rapid, non-invasive measurement methods have not been readily available. In recent years, cosmic ray neutron (CRN) rovers have been developed, which can rapidly sense nearby water. Because most of the CRN signal originates near sensor, CRN rovers can potentially observe road moisture when driven on unpaved roads. The objective of this project is to evaluate the accuracy of a CRN rover for monitoring the moisture of unpaved roads. The project will focus on a lightly traveled section of an unpaved road in Colorado. The road moisture will be estimated by combining the rover measurements with landscape soil moisture estimates obtained by downscaling SMAP remote sensing data. The resulting road moisture estimates will be evaluated by comparing to gravimetric moisture measurements from road material samples.

Language

  • English

Project

  • Status: Active
  • Funding: $60000
  • Contract Numbers:

    69A3552348308

  • 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:

    Center for Transformative Infrastructure Preservation and Sustainability

    North Dakota State University
    Fargo, North Dakota  United States  58108-6050
  • Project Managers:

    Tolliver, Denver

  • Performing Organizations:

    Colorado State University

    Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Campus Delivery 1372
    Fort Collins, CO  United States  80523
  • Principal Investigators:

    Niemann, Jeffrey

    Scalia, Joseph

  • Start Date: 20240716
  • Expected Completion Date: 20260715
  • Actual Completion Date: 0
  • USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
  • Source Data: CTIPS-022

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01925646
  • Record Type: Research project
  • Source Agency: Center for Transformative Infrastructure Preservation and Sustainability
  • Contract Numbers: 69A3552348308
  • Files: UTC, RIP
  • Created Date: Jul 26 2024 9:37PM