Relationship Between Backcalculated and Laboratory-Measured Resilient Moduli of Unbound Materials

2003 ◽  
Vol 1849 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo W. Flintsch ◽  
Imad L. Al-Qadi ◽  
Youngjin Park ◽  
Thomas L. Brandon ◽  
Alexander Appea

The resilient moduli of an unbound granular subbase (used at the Virginia Smart Road) obtained from laboratory testing were compared with those backcalculated from in situ falling weight deflectometer deflection measurements. Testing was performed on the surface of the finished subgrade and granular subbase layer shortly after construction. The structural capacity of the constructed subgrade and the depth to a stiff layer were computed for 12 experimental sections. The in situ resilient modulus of the granular subbase layer (21-B) was then back-calculated from the deflections measured on top of that layer. The back-calculated layer moduli were clearly stress-dependent, showing an exponential behavior with the bulk stress in the center of the layer. Resilient modulus test results of laboratory-compacted specimens confirmed the stress dependence of the subbase material modulus. Three resilient modulus models were fitted to the data. Although all three models showed good coefficients of determination ( R2 > 90%), the K-θ model was selected because of its simplicity. The correlation between field-backcalculated and laboratory-measured resilient moduli was found to be strong. However, when the stress in the middle of the layer was used in the K-θ model, a shift in the resilient modulus, θ, was observed. This finding suggests that a simple shift factor could be used for the range of stress values considered.

Author(s):  
Alexander K. Appea ◽  
Imad L. Al-Qadi

Backcalculation of pavement moduli through the utilization of the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) is used for pavement monitoring and evaluation. The performance and structural condition of nine flexible pavement test sections built in Bedford County, Virginia, have been monitored over the past 5 years using FWD. The nine sections include three groups with aggregate base layer thicknesses of 100, 150, and 200 mm, respectively. Sections 1, 4, and 7 are control, whereas Sections 2, 5, 8 and 3, 6, 9 are stabilized with geotextiles and geogrids, respectively. The FWD testing used five double-load drops ranging from 26.5 to 58.9 kN. The deflection basins obtained from the testing have been analyzed using the ELMOD backcalculation program to find the pavement structural capacity and to detect changes in the aggregate resilient modulus. The analysis shows a reduction in the backcalculated resilient modulus of the 100-mmthick base layer. The reduction was 33 percent over 5 years for the nonstabilized section compared with the geosynthetically stabilized section. The reduction in base layer resilient modulus may have resulted from subgrade fine migration into this layer as confirmed by excavation. The study confirms the effectiveness of using woven geotextile as a separator in a pavement system built over weak subgrade. This supports the continuous rutting measurements and ground truth excavation conducted in late 1997.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 661-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nader SOLATIFAR ◽  
Amir KAVUSSI ◽  
Mojtaba ABBASGHORBANI ◽  
Henrikas SIVILEVIČIUS

This paper presents a simple method to determine dynamic modulus master curve of asphalt layers by con­ducting Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) for use in mechanistic-empirical rehabilitation. Ten new and rehabilitated in-service asphalt pavements with different physical characteristics were selected in Khuzestan and Kerman provinces in south of Iran. FWD testing was conducted on these pavements and core samples were taken. Witczak prediction model was used to predict dynamic modulus master curves from mix volumetric properties as well as the bitumen viscosity characteristics. Adjustments were made using FWD results and the in-situ dynamic modulus master curves were ob­tained. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed method, the results were compared with those obtained by us­ing the developed procedure of the state-of-the-practice, Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG). Re­sults showed the proposed method has several advantages over MEPDG including: (1) simplicity in directly constructing in-situ dynamic modulus master curve; (2) developing in-situ master curve in the same trend with the main predicted one; (3) covering the large differences between in-situ and predicted master curve in high frequencies; and (4) the value obtained for the in-situ dynamic modulus is the same as the value measured by the FWD for a corresponding frequency.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-57
Author(s):  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Pavana Vennapusa ◽  
David Joshua White

There are plenty of in situ tests available to examine pavement foundation performance regarding stiffness and support conditions. This study evaluates several in situ tests of the stiffness and support conditions of concrete pavement foundation layers. The principal objective of this study was to evaluate the outputs from Dynamic Cone Penetrometer tests and Falling Weight Deflectometer tests. The California Bearing Ratio from Dynamic Cone Penetrometer tests and the deflection data from Falling Weight Deflectometer tests were correlated to the design parameter – modulus of subgrade reaction k through correlations employed in pavement design manuals. Three methods for obtaining the k values were conducted, with the intent to evaluate which method provides the results most similar to the target value and whether the studied correlations are reliable. The back-calculated k values from Falling Weight Deflectometer deflections and the weak layer California Bearing Ratio correlated k values based on the Portland Cement Association method were close to the target value, while the California Bearing Ratio empirically correlated k based on the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials method presented values significantly higher than the target value. Those previously reported correlations were likely to overestimate the k values based on subgrade California Bearing Ratio values.


Author(s):  
Mostafa A. Elseifi ◽  
Kevin Gaspard ◽  
Paul W. Wilke ◽  
Zhongjie Zhang ◽  
Ahmed Hegab

Because of costs and the slow test process, the use of structural capacity in pavement management activities at the network level has been limited. The rolling wheel deflectometer (RWD) was introduced to support existing nondestructive testing techniques by providing a screening tool for structurally deficient pavements at the network level. A model was developed to estimate structural number (SN) from RWD data obtained in a Louisiana study. The objective for this study was to evaluate the use of the Louisiana model to predict structural capacity in Pennsylvania and to compare the results with those of existing methods. RWD testing was conducted on 288 mi of the road network in Pennsylvania, and falling weight deflectometer (FWD) testing and coring were conducted on selected sites. The prediction from a model used to estimate SN from RWD deflection data was compared statistically with the prediction obtained from FWD testing and from roadway management system records used by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to calculate SN. The results of this analysis validated the use of the model to estimate the pavement SN according to RWD deflection data. In general, the predicted SN was in agreement with the SN calculated from the FWD. The original model with the fitted coefficients developed for Louisiana showed an average prediction error of 27%. However, after the model was refitted to the data set from Pennsylvania, the average error dropped to 19%. Results indicated that the model developed for SN prediction from the RWD provided an adequate prediction of SN for conditions different from those for which it was developed in Louisiana.


Author(s):  
Moshe Livneh ◽  
Noam A. Livneh

The use of a new quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) specification involving Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) testing in concert with conventional moisture and density testing is becoming more and more frequent in various parts of the world. The need for this additional testing is essential, as the regular in-situ density tests cannot alone ensure the compliance of the layers constructed with the compaction requirements. Recent analyses of the correlation between the DCP testing and the California Bearing Ratio CBR testing show that QC and QA DCP testing is adequate to verify compaction, stability and vertical uniformity in both cohesive and granular soils. Two examples of DCP usage in two Israeli earthwork projects, one of clayey soils and the other of silty-sand soils, indicate the benefits of this usage along with, though for the clayey example only, Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) testing.


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