Temperature Correction of Multiload-Level Falling Weight Deflectometer Deflections

Abstract

A new temperature correction procedure was developed for multiload-level falling weight deflectometer (FWD) deflections for flexible pavements in North Carolina. In this procedure, temperature correction factors were dependent on the radial offset distance from the FWD load plate. Temperature and FWD multiload-level deflection data used in developing this procedure were collected from 11 pavements in three different climatic regions of North Carolina. The effect of the FWD load level on this temperature correction procedure was investigated. Research efforts focused on improving the accuracy of the current temperature correction procedure of the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The measured deflection and temperature data were also used to validate the long-term pavement performance (LTPP) temperature correction procedure. It was found that the effective pavement temperature prediction algorithm in the LTPP procedure is relatively accurate and that the temperature-deflection correction procedure undercorrects the deflections at higher temperatures in pavements with an asphalt concrete layer thicker than 242 mm. The main reason for this deficiency is that the LTPP procedure was developed from the national database and cannot fully consider the local variation in mixture characteristics.