High-speed sensors have developed rapidly in recent years, and numerous such sensors can be operated from highway speed vehicles. This sensing technology can now provide pavement condition and performance information far beyond what is currently exploited in pavement management. Data from these sensors, coupled with established knowledge of pavement behavior, can be used to infer causes of pavement conditions and to predict performance. Knowledge of cause can also be used to select appropriate maintenance strategies. This paper demonstrates how the mechanisms of flexible pavement deterioration can be inferred from the data obtained from a "suite" of pavement sensors. Included are data on subsurface moduli, asphalt thickness, and subgrade moisture, none of which are currently measured with high-speed sensors. The paper goes on to show how the subsurface moduli can be computed from continuous data describing rut depth and fatigue cracks, both of which are measurable with current technology. Finally, thecomputation of asphalt thickness and subgrade moisture content fromcontinuous radar profiles is described. Thus, a complete data set for explaining pavement condition and predicting future performance can now be provided by high-speed sensors. What remains is to integrate these sensor data into current pavement management systems. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1196, Pavement evaluation and rehabilitation.
Abstract