Integration and Deployment of Novel Tools for Rapid Assessment of Pavement Conditions and Remaining Life

Extreme heat events are expected to expose pavements to more intense and prolonged stress. These events, coupled with soil movement from heavy rainfall and drought are also expected to threaten pavement functional and structural life. State and local agencies have benefited from innovative technologies and tools developed to rapidly assess pavement condition, but data has not yet been widely implemented into pavement management systems that provide cohesive and holistic assessments of state roadways. A hybrid approach combining traffic speed deflectometer (TSD) and air-coupled ground penetrating radar (GPR) data is proposed that will allow for large-scale data collection and analysis for use in state-level pavement management systems. Task 1: TxDOT District TSD Data Collection and Analysis Researchers will coordinate with TxDOT district offices to collect TSD and GPR data from roadways that are representative of different structural and functional conditions and pose a specific interest to those districts. TSD data have been collected in the Atlanta district and other TxDOT districts interested in TSD testing. The research team will work with the TxDOT districts that collect TSD data to identify project sections of interest for closer evaluation. These sections may need maintenance or structural repair, have been recently constructed, or be in good condition. Collected data may be used to assist the district in pavement management activities and/or assess district priorities. Task 2: Assist Oklahoma Researchers in Oklahoma Testing Program Oklahoma currently has around 250 miles of TSD data collected on interstate roads. The TTI team will conduct GPR and fast falling weight deflectometer (FFWD) testing at locations of interest identified by the Oklahoma team, based on the analysis of the collected TSD data. Researchers may then assist in data analysis and relay the collected data to Oklahoma. Task 3: Integration of TSD and GPR Data A primary motivation of this research is to utilize TSD testing and data collection to provide meaningful, network-level data to TxDOT districts for use within the pavement management system. To accomplish this, the research team will develop a program for TxDOT to integrate the collected TSD and GPR data within a widely used existing program to analyze GPR data. This will allow the participating districts to gain a more holistic understanding of pavement structural data and better understand the impact of structural anomalies/deficiencies on functional pavement metrics. Increased understanding from this project will lead to more informed decisions within pavement management decision trees. Task 4: Pavement Structural Analysis and Remaining Life Prediction Researchers will utilize collected data, along with new and existing mechanics-based modeling tools to develop a process to make determinations of pavement structural condition and predict remaining life that will aid in pavement management decisions. Researchers may utilize AI/ML based tools to optimize the proposed process. The results may be shared with local state and government agencies for verification and develop maintenance/repair strategies, should they be necessary.

• Record URL:
  • https://www.sptc.org/current-2022-funding-cycle-1

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $77,139
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348306

  CY1-TTI-01

• 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:

  Southern Plains Transportation Center

  University of Oklahoma
  202 W Boyd St, Room 213A
  Norman, OK  United States  73019
• Project Managers:

  Dunn, Denise

• Performing Organizations:

  Texas Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System
  3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135
• Principal Investigators:

  Dorsett, Garrett

  Scullion, Tom

• Start Date: 20230901
• Expected Completion Date: 20250115
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Condition surveys; Data analysis; Falling weight deflectometers; Ground penetrating radar; Pavement management systems; Service life
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01895985
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Southern Plains Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348306, CY1-TTI-01
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Oct 14 2023 7:22AM