Determination of Optimal Characteristic Point Positions for Modulus Back-Calculation of Layered Pavement Structure
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements
Volume 148, Issue 3
Abstract
The modulus back-calculation of asphalt pavement layers using falling weight deflectometer (FWD) data has become one of the most important methods of evaluating pavement bearing capacity. Several back-calculation methods have been proposed to estimate material properties. A new modulus back-calculation method called the deflection basin regulation algorithm (DBRA) has emerged recently. This algorithm requires an inertial point and two characteristic points in a deflection basin for back-calculating the moduli of three-layer pavement. However, the existing characteristic point positions are determined based on the theoretically calculated deflections and have not been verified by measured deflections. In this research, the field-measured deflection basins of different pavement structures are used to determine the optimal characteristic point positions to improve the new back-calculation method. First, the optimal point positions are determined based on the effects of the positions on the back-calculation variability. Then the back-calculated results based on the optimal characteristic points are compared to the results obtained using the MODULUS program. Finally, the improved modulus back-calculation method is also verified by the deflections from two pavement structures at different temperatures and loading levels. It was found that the optimal characteristic point positions were located at distances of 0 and 60 cm from the load center. Both comparative analysis and independent verification prove that the determined optimal characteristic point positions work well for back-calculating the layer moduli of other pavement structures. The findings of this research may facilitate the application of the DBRA for modulus back-calculation.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The research was supported by a grant from the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFB1600100). The authors express their gratitude to the Research Institute of Highway Ministry of Transport for providing the field FWD data.
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part B: Pavements
Volume 148 • Issue 3 • September 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 7, 2021
Accepted: May 10, 2022
Published online: Jul 7, 2022
Published in print: Sep 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Dec 7, 2022
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