The system recommended by the researchers to the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) studies of the Strategic Highway Research Program for the collection and storage of surface distress data is described. Specifically, the distress acquisition system, film interpretation system, quality assurance plan, certification procedure for Pavement Distress Analysis System operators, and finally, how the system benefits the LTPP study are described. There are several advantages to using this system: it is semiautomatic and provides a permanent record of the pavement surface; in addition, work is performed exclusively at night, ensuring that there will be a minimum traffic interference. Films provide additional information for the LTPP studies; that is, a complete picture of each site is available at the office. Such a capability allows the engineers not only to analyse pavement distress, but to perform quality control of the test sites as well (e.g., inspecting the locations of the weigh-in-motion and automatic vehicle counters sites). In addition, this information can be used later to interpret the data analysis output. Although the system is limited in some respects, these limitations can be overcome through operator experience and use of supplemental information available from the site.
Abstract