Development of a structural index for pavement management: An exploratory analysis

William Fredrick Flora, Purdue University

Abstract

Knowledge of the structural condition of a highway pavement is important for pavement management at both the network level and the project level, particularly when the system monitoring, evaluation, and decision-making are to be made in a context of multiple criteria that include structural condition. A key aspect of the performance criteria for multiple criteria decision making is that the criteria must be amenable to scaling so that it can be duly incorporated in the overall utility function. The unbounded nature of existing structural performance indicators inhibits their use in such decision making contexts. Also, most of the existing indicators are cumbersome and/or too costly to measure as they require extensive coring, ground penetrating radar, or deployment of other expensive equipment to obtain the needed parameters for their computation. To address this gap in the literature, the present thesis developed an index to assess the structural condition of a pavement using deflection data from Falling Weight Deflectometer measurements. The newly developed index is termed “structural strength index” (SSI). The scale selected was a logistic scale that was developed on the basis of cumulative distribution of deflection numbers on the Indiana state highway network. Using this scaling formula, the value of structural condition for a given pavement section can be established given the deflection in mils. Furthermore, taking cognizance of the fact that deflection data (and thus SSIs) are not available at all pavement sections, the thesis developed statistical regression models by which the structural condition of a pavement could be estimated given its basic characteristics such as functional class, age, and drainage condition. The developed index can be used as one of the performance measures for evaluating alternative investments that seek to enhance pavement structural condition, at both the project level and the network level.

Degree

M.S.C.E.

Advisors

Sinha, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Civil engineering|Transportation planning

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