Hybrid Modeling Approach for Quantifying Maintenance and Rehabilitation Treatment Effectiveness of Asphalt Pavements

Abstract

Analysis tools in pavement management systems are critical to assist transportation agencies in developing the most adequate maintenance and rehabilitation program. A key aspect in the treatment selection process is to evaluate the effectiveness of maintenance and rehabilitation alternative treatments. Treatment effectiveness is related to the time of the application and should be measured in the short term and long term. Short-term treatment effectiveness measures include condition improvement and reduction of the deterioration rate, while long-term treatment effectiveness is related to its ability to extend the pavement remaining life. In this paper, a hybrid modeling approach is presented to integrate expert knowledge with pavement performance data for quantifying short-term and long-term treatment effectiveness. Optimal times to apply asphalt treatments were obtained as a result of the hybrid modeling approach. The Texas Department of Transportation (DOT) has successfully incorporated these results to enhance its pavement management information system, which is used as a tool to assist Texas DOT decision makers to formulate maintenance and rehabilitation programs.