Within a Pavement Management System (PMS), performance and economic analyses are conducted on the basis of discrete "analysis sections". This paper describes the various approaches to defining analysis sections and then describes in detail a unique approach implemented in the state of South Carolina, which uses a dynamic section building procedure. In this system, the various data types are stored on the basis on which they are collected: i.e. structure data based on project limits, traffic data based on the traffic count sections, roughness and distress data stored for every 1/10th mile section, etc. The sectioning analysis allows the user to define the parameters and limits that cause a section break to be defined along a highway, including performance data. The performance data are run through a smoothing procedure to identify locations of significant performance change. Graphical displays allow the user to observe the raw and smoothed performance data along with the section breaks that result from all parameters. Minimum and maximum section length limits can also be included in the analysis. In addition to the highway PMS example of South Carolina, the use of dynamic sectioning in a municipal PMS is explored using an example of such a system.
Samenvatting