Incorporating Expert System Concept into Pavement Treatment Strategy Selection

Pavement preservation treatment selection is a complex process which involves many factors ranging from pavement engineering to economic analysis. To determine the most preferable treatment is very challenging to many pavement engineers, especially for someone with limited experience. Most states or local agencies utilize either decision trees or decision tables to assist with the treatment selection. However, there are some disadvantages of using these decision trees or decision tables. This paper proposes to incorporate the expert system concept into the pavement treatment selection process. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) decision tables for treatment selection have been converted to a prototype expert system which includes a user interface, an inference engine, and a knowledge base. The prototype system allows one to evaluate various treatment alternatives. The best alternative based on user provided roadway conditions and weighting scores can then be selected by the expert system. The system can help inexperienced engineers to make a better choice; it can also help streamline the decision making process for seasoned pavement engineers.