PAVEMENT EVALUATION

Pavement evaluation

Functional evaluation

Present serviceability index

Pavement roughness

Skid resistance
 • Pavement evaluations are conducted to
determine functional and structural conditions
of a highway section either for purposes of
routine monitoring or planned corrective
action.
• Functional condition is primarily concerned
with the ride quality or surface texture of a
highway section.
• Structural condition is concerned with the
structural capacity of the pavement as
measured by deflection, layer thickness, and
material properties.
 Need of evaluation
• At the network level, routine evaluations can
be used to develop performance models and
prioritize maintenance or rehabilitation efforts
and funding.
• At the project level, evaluations are more
focused on establishing the root causes of
existing distress in order to determine the best
rehabilitation strategies.
 Functional evaluation
• Visual inspection /Present serviceability Rating
• Roughness
• Skid resistance
 Present serviceability rating
• Visual condition surveys cover aspects of both
functional and structural pavement condition,
but generally serve as a qualitative indicator of
overall condition
 Roughness
• Profilometer is a measuring instrument used to
measure a surface's profile, in order
to quantify its roughness.  
• Roughness is a component of surface texture.
• The profile of a road consists of road slopes, called
grades, connected by parabolic vertical curves.
• The road profile is the cross-sectional shape of
the road surface in relation to the road corridor
traversing the surrounding 
profilometers
 Cont..,
• The data collected by a profilometer is used to
calculate the International Roughness Index
(IRI) which is expressed in units of inches/mile
or mm/m.
• IRI values range from 0 (equivalent to driving on
a plate of glass) upwards to several hundred
in/mi (a very rough road).
• The IRI value is used for road management to
monitor road safety and quality issues.
 Cont..,
• The IRI was defined as a mathematical
property of a two-dimensional road profile (a
longitudinal slice of the road showing
elevation as it varies with longitudinal distance
along a travelled track on the road). As such, it
can be calculated from profiles obtained with
any valid measurement method, ranging from
static rod and level surveying equipment to
high-speed inertial profiling systems.
• Some profilers take
digital photos or videos while profiling the
road. Most profilers also record the position,
using GPS technology.
• Some profilometer systems include a ground
penetrating radar, used to record asphalt layer
thickness.
 Dipstick profilometer
• Dipstick, “measures profiles (relative elevation
differences) at a rate and accuracy greater
than traditional rod and level surveys.”
 Skid resistance
• Skid resistance is the force developed when a
tire that is prevented from rotating slides
along the pavement surface
• Skid resistance depends on a pavement
surface’s microtexture and macrotexture
• Microtexture refers to the small-scale texture of the pavement
aggregate component (which controls contact between the tire
rubber and the pavement surface) while
• macrotexture refers to the large-scale texture of the pavement as
a whole due to the aggregate particle arrangement (which
controls the escape of water from under the tire and hence the
loss of skid resistance with increased speed) . .
• For example, a road which has gravel spread on top followed by an
asphalt seal coat will have a high macrotexture, and a road built
with concrete slabs will have low macrotexture. For this reason,
concrete is often grooved or roughed up immediately after it is laid
on the road bed to increase the friction between the tire and road.
 Variation of skid resistance
• Skid resistance changes over time. Typically it
increases in the first two years following
construction as the roadway is worn away by
traffic and rough aggregate surfaces become
exposed, then decreases over the remaining
pavement life as aggregates become more
polished.
• Skid resistance is also typically higher in the fall
and winter and lower in the spring and summer.
 Importance of skid resistance
• Skid resistance is generally quantified using
some form of friction measurement such as a
friction factor or skid number.
• In general, the friction resistance of most dry
pavements is relatively high; wet pavements
are the problem. The number of accidents on
wet pavements are twice as high as dry
pavements (but other factors such as visibility
are involved in addition to skid resistance).
 Lock wheel tester
• The most commonly used method for skid resistance testing uses some form of a
lock wheel tester . Basically, this method uses a locked wheel skidding along the
tested surface to measure friction resistance. A typical lock-wheel skid
measurement system must have the following:
• A test vehicle with one or more test wheels incorporated into it or as part of a
towed trailer.
• A standard tire for use on the test wheel. The standardized skid-test tire, a
tubeless, bias-ply G78x15 tire with seven circumferential grooves, is defined by
AASHTO M 261 or ASTM E 501. A newer tire, one with no grooves, appears to be
gaining acceptance as well. By defining the standard test tire, the tire type and
design are eliminated as variables in the measurement of pavement skid
resistance.
• A means to transport water (usually 750 to 1900 liters (200 to 500 gallons)) and
the necessary apparatus to deliver it in front of the test wheel at test speed
•  
• A transducer associated with the test wheel that
senses the force developed between the skidding
test wheel and the pavement
• Electronic signal conditioning equipment to receive
the transducer output signal and modify it as
required
• Suitable analog and/or digital readout equipment to
record either the magnitude of the developed force
or the calculated value of the resulting Skid Number
(SN)
 Operation of the equipment
• To take a measurement, the vehicle (or trailer)
is brought to the desired testing speed
(typically 64 km/hr (40 mph)) and water is
sprayed ahead of the test tire to create a
wetted pavement surface. The test tire braking
system is then actuated to lock the test tire.
Instrumentation measures the friction force
acting between the test tire and the pavement
and reports the result as a Skid Number (SN).
Structural evaluation of pavements
• Destructive testing
1. Flexible pavements
Bitumen extraction test
• Rigid pavements
1. Flexural and crushing strength test

• Non destructive testing

 Destructive testing
• Destructive testing provides more detailed data
about the pavement not possible to obtain
through non-destructive testing. Such detailed
data include:
• laboratory mechanical, physical, and chemical
properties (obtained through coring and
trenching), and
• visual inspection of pavement layers through
coring and trenching.
 Destructive testing
• Bitumen extraction test:This test is done to
determine the bitumen content as per ASTM
2172. The apparatus needed to determine
bitumen content are –
i) Centrifuge extractor
ii) Miscellaneous – bowl, filter paper, balance
and commercial benzene.
A sample of 500g is taken.
 Bitumen extraction
• If the mixture is not soft enough to separate with a trowel,place 1000g of it in a
large pan and warm upto 100oC to separate the particles of the mixture uniformly.
• ii) Place the sample (Weight ‘A’) in the centrifuge extractor. Cover the sample with
benzene, put the filter paper on it with the cover plate tightly fitted on the bowl.
• iii) Start the centrifuge extractor, revolving slowly and gradually increase the
speed until the solvent ceases to flow from the outlet.
• iv) Allow the centrifuge extractor to stop. Add 200ml benzene and repeat the
procedure.
• v) Repeat the procedure at least thrice, so that the extract is clear and not darker
than the light straw colour and record the volume of total extract in the
graduated vessel.
• vi) Remove the filter paper from the bowl and dry in the oven at 110 + 5 oC. After
24hours, take the weight of the extracted sample (Weight ‘B’).
• Bitumen content = [(A-B)/B]×100 %
Repeat the test thrice and average the results.
 Non destructive testing
•  Non-destructive testing is the collective term for evaluations
conducted on an existing pavement structure that do not require
subsequent maintenance work to return the pavement to its pre-
testing state.
• This is generally desirable to minimize disruption to traffic, and is
essential as a screening tool to determine locations where selective
material sampling should be conducted to evaluate other material
properties in the laboratory.
• As such, its focus is to assess in situ properties that can be used to
evaluate the need for further “destructive” testing (i.e., coring,
boring, trenching), location of that destructive testing, and the
current structural capacity of the highway as related to layer stiffness
 NDT
Modulii of pavement layer
Load transfer efficiency

1. Static creep deflection method

2. Steady state deflection method
3. Wave propagation method
4. Impulse loading method
Structural evaluation of pavements
• Static creep deflection method:
• Benkleman beam :
• is used to measure deflections of flexible pavements. The light
weight instrument is supplied in two parts for assembling on site
with easy hand tools.
• In use one end of the beam rests at a point under investigation
while the beam is pivoted at the centre. The free end carries a
dial gauge to record the deflections.
• The other end is kept on a stable platform.
• with a dial gauge 0. 01 x 25mm.
• This is a light weight dismantleable instrument and easy to carry
 Impulse load
• An impulsive load
• Short loading time
• Weight falling on set of springs
• With proper choice of drop weight ,spring
constant, falling weight, impulsive load
stimulating a real traffic load can be obtained.
 deflection
• deflection is the degree to which a structural
element is displaced under a load. It may refer
to an angle or a distance.
• The deflection distance of a member under a
load is directly related to the slope of the
deflected shape of the member under that
load and can be calculated by integrating the
function that mathematically describes the
slope of the member under that load
 geophones
•  sensors (geophones; force-
balance seismometers) mounted radially from
the center of the load plate measure the
deformation of the pavement in response to
the load. Some typical offsets are 0mm,
200mm, 300mm, 450mm, 600mm, 900mm,
1200mm 1500mm. The deflections measured
at these sensors are termed D0, D200, D300
etc.
 Cont..
• A geophone is a device that converts ground
movement (displacement) into voltage, which
may be recorded at a recording station.
The deviation of this measured voltage from
the base line is called the seismic response
and is analyzed for structure of the earth.
geophone
 Elastic modulus
• An elastic modulus, or modulus of elasticity,
is a number that measures an object or
substance's resistance to being deformed
elastically (i.e., non-permanently) when
a force is applied to it. The elastic modulus of
an object is defined as the slope of its stress–
strain curve in the elastic deformation
region: A stiffer material will have a higher
elastic modulus.
 Types of modulus
• Young's modulus (E) describes tensile elasticity, or the tendency of an object to
deform along an axis when opposing forces are applied along that axis; it is defined
as the ratio of tensile stress to tensile strain. It is often referred to simply as
the elastic modulus.
• The shear modulus or modulus of rigidity (G or ) describes an object's tendency to
shear (the deformation of shape at constant volume) when acted upon by opposing
forces; it is defined as shear stress over shear strain. The shear modulus is part of
the derivation of viscosity.
• The bulk modulus (K) describes volumetric elasticity, or the tendency of an object
to deform in all directions when uniformly loaded in all directions; it is defined
as volumetric stress over volumetric strain, and is the inverse of compressibility.
The bulk modulus is an extension of Young's modulus to three dimensions
• Dynamic modulus is the ratio of stress to strain under vibratory
conditions (calculated from data obtained from either free or forced vibration tests,
in shear, compression, or elongation). It is a property of viscoelastic materials.
 Falling weight deflectometer
• A falling weight deflectometer (FWD) is a
testing device used by civil engineers to
evaluate the physical properties of pavement.
FWD data is primarily used to estimate
pavement structural capacity for
• 1) overlay design and
• 2) to determine if a pavement is being
overloaded.
 Falling weight deflectometer
• FWD data is most often used to calculate stiffness-related
parameters of a pavement structure. The process of calculating
the elastic moduli of individual layers in a multi-layer system
(e.g. asphalt concrete on top of a base course on top of
the subgrade) based on surface deflections is known as
"backcalculation", as there is no closed-form solution. Instead,
initial moduli are assumed, surface deflections calculated, and
then the moduli are adjusted in an iterative fashion to
converge on the measured deflections. This process is
computationally intensive although quick on modern
computers. It can give quite misleading results and requires an
experienced analyst.
 Types of deflectometer
• FWD data can also be used to calculate the
degree of load transfer between adjacent
concrete slabs, and to detect voids under
slabs.
• A Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD) is a
portable falling weight deflectometer. It is
used primarily to test insitu base and subgrade
moduli during construction.
 Cont..,
• A Heavy Weight Deflectometer (HWD) is a falling weight
deflectometer that uses higher loads, used primarily for testing
airport pavements.  The HWD can apply a loading in the range of 30-
320kN, enabling it to simulate even the most extreme aircraft wheel
load such as the Boeing 777, the Airbus 340 or 380. The HWD is
highly versatile and can be used to test on both rigid, paver block and
flexible pavements used on roads and airports
• A Rolling Weight Deflectometer (RWD) is a deflectometer that can
gather data at a much higher speed (as high as 55 mph) than the
FWD. It is a specially designed tractor-trailer with laser measuring
devices mounted on a beam under the trailer. Another advantage of
the RWD over the FWD is that it can gather continuous deflection
data as opposed to discrete deflection data collected by the FWD.
Evaluation of load transfer efficiency of rigid
pavement
• By FWD
• Location of height of fall=close to joints of
pavement slab
• Deflection measured close to the joint =load
transfer efficiency of the joint
• Due to application of load close to the joint
both adjacent slab deflect by same amount
joint efficiency =100%