A new methodology to assess the remaining service life of motorway pavements at the network level from traffic speed deflectometer measurements

Abstract

ABSTRACT Road agencies are looking for efficient pavement management tools to maintain adequate service levels and preserve the asset value. The traffic speed deflectometer (TSD) allows to continuously assess the structural condition of the pavement while moving at traffic speeds, thus overcoming the typical drawbacks of traditional non-destructive testing equipment. However, managing the huge amount of data deriving from TSD surveys is challenging, and there is no established method to use those data for identifying the remaining service life (RSL) of the pavement network. This study aimed at developing a new practical and reliable methodology to assess the RSL of motorway pavements at the network level from TSD measurements. The methodology is based on the use of the surface curvature index SCI300 and includes the temperature adjustment, the definition of a representative SCI300 value for each pavement section and the estimation of the residual fatigue resistance (considering bottom-up cracking as the critical distress). The methodology was implemented using the deflection data deriving from a TSD survey carried out on about 400 km of motorway pavement. The obtained RSL predictions can be used to identify the structural ranking of different pavement sections and guide budget forecasting, according to the actual maintenance and rehabilitation priorities.