Abstract
The Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) is one of the most important non-destructive tests (NDT) used for pavement structural evaluation based on deflection measurements. Inverse analysis of FWD measurements—back-calculation—is a common process for obtaining the pavement layer moduli, including the subgrade soil, which are useful for estimating remaining pavement life for overlay design purposes. Based on a proficiency test (PT) involving testing devices from different manufacturers, the objective of this study is to analyze the influence of FWD uncertainty on the back-calculated flexible pavement and foundation layers moduli. A parametric study was performed considering the back-analysis of different asphalt pavements with regard to layer thickness and resilient modulus (unbound granular and asphalt concrete layers, including subgrade). It was concluded, in general, that FWD uncertainty could have an important influence on the layers modulus obtained from back-calculations. This influence was less significant in the case of asphalt concrete layers (±25%). The variation in resilient modulus was greater in the layers of the subgrade soil (−33 to +83%) and the unbound granular materials (−42 to +80%).
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