Tom Scullion

Road evaluation with ground penetrating radar

This paper provides a status report of the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) highway applications based on studies conducted in both Scandinavia and the USA. After several years of research local transportation agencies are now beginning to implement GPR technology for both network and project level surveys. This paper summarizes the principles of operation of both ground-coupled and air-launched GPR systems together with a discussion of both signal processing and data interpretation techniques. In the area of subgrade soil evaluation GPR techniques have been used to nondestructively identify soil type, to estimate the thickness of overburden and to evaluate the compressibility and frost susceptibility of subgrade soil. In road structure surveys, GPR has been used to measure layer thickness, to detect subsurface defects and to evaluate base course quality. In quality control surveys, GPR techniques have been used for thickness measurements, to estimate air void content of asphalt surfaces and to detect mix segregation. Future developments are described where the technique has great potential in assisting pavement engineers with their new pavement designs and in determining the optimal repair strategies for deteriorated roadways.

Using Suction and Dielectric Measurements as Performance Indicators for Aggregate Base Materials

A simple laboratory test for evaluating unstabilized granular base material is introduced. The test consists of monitoring the capillary rise of moisture within a 300-mm-high cylinder of compacted aggregate. The moisture conditions at the aggregate surface are monitored with a dielectric probe. A graph of surface dielectric versus time is used as the basis for performance classification. The poorest-performing materials are those that rapidly reach saturation and exhibit high surface dielectric values. The dielectric is a measure of the “free” or unbound water within the aggregate sample. It is not a simple measure of the moisture content of the material but an assessment of the state of bonding of the water within the fine aggregates. It is this unbound water that is thought to be directly related to the strength of the material and to its ability to withstand repeated freeze-thaw cycling. This test was developed by the Finnish National Road Administration and successfully used to investigate a major flexible base failure. The test is now under evaluation in Texas, where several Panhandle districts have reported cold-weather pavement cracking problems that they have attributed to the flexible bases. The test setup and equipment used are described, and test results from several base materials are presented. Also discussed are laboratory results from a recently completed project comparing eight Texas and four Finnish aggregates. One of the Finnish aggregates was classified as a poor performer; the remaining three were good performers. All of the Texas aggregates were rated as inferior to the high-quality Finnish aggregates. If this test is found to be successful in discriminating good- from bad-performing materials, it could be used to flag potentially poor performers and to evaluate the effectiveness of different base improvement techniques such as chemical stabilization or fines replacement.

New uniplanar subnanosecond monocycle pulse generator and transformer for time-domain microwave applications

This paper presents the development of a new monocycle pulse generator and pulse-to-monocycle-pulse transformer operating in the subnanosecond regime. These circuits employ Schottky diodes, step recovery diodes, and simple charging and discharging circuitry, and are completely fabricated using coplanar waveguides. Simple transient analysis and design of the circuits are presented along with their operating principles. The pulse-to-monocycle-pulse transformer converts a 1 V 300 ps pulse into a 0.7-V 350 ps monocycle pulse. The monocycle pulse generator produces a monocycle pulse having 333 ps pulsewidth and more than 2 V from an input square wave of 10 MHz repetition rate. The generated monocycle pulses have very symmetrical positive and negative portions and low ringing level.

A novel, compact, low-cost, impulse ground-penetrating radar for nondestructive evaluation of pavements

This paper reports on the development of a novel, compact, low-cost, impulse ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and demonstrate its use for nondestructive evaluation of pavement structures. This GPR consists of an ultrashort-monocycle-pulse transmitter (330 ps), an ultrawide-band (UWB) sampling receiver (0-6 GHz), and two UWB antennas (0.2-20 GHz)-completely designed using microwave-integrated circuits with seamless electrical connections between them. An approximate analysis is used to determine the signal loss and power budget. Performance of this GPR has been verified through the measurements of relative permittivity and thicknesses of various samples, and a good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results has been achieved.

Hydrated lime stabilization of sulfate-bearing vertisols in Texas

Sulfate-bearing subgrade soils treated with calcium-based stabilizers often experience heaving problems (three-dimensional swell) caused by chemical reactions with the sulfate or sulfide minerals. Two research questions were addressed: (a) what sulfate content results in deleterious chemical reactions using traditional (no mellowing) lime stabilization and (b) how effective mellowing, double lime application and increased moisture content are at reducing swell in high-sulfate soils. To determine what concentrations of sulfate are too high for stabilization with lime in Texas, a soil from the Vertisol order was selected for three-dimensional swell measurements. This soil did not contain any detectable sulfates. Two different compounds were added to the soil: sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) and gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O). The sulfates were added to individual samples at concentrations of 0; 1,000; 2,000; 3,000; 5,000; 7,000; and 12,000 parts per million (ppm). The samples were then subjected to a three-dimensional swell test for a minimum of 45 days. Results of systematic swell experiments revealed that sulfate contents up to 3,000 ppm could safely be treated with traditional lime stabilization. Coarse-grained sulfates take longer to swell, but still swell and form deleterious reaction products. Mellowing is effective at treating sulfate concentrations up to at least 7,000 ppm, higher molding moisture contents (2% above optimum moisture) reduce swell better than optimum moisture, and single application of lime reduces swell better than double application. With systematic laboratory experiments, empirical field observations of sulfate limits presented by other investigators were confirmed.

PRELIMINARY FIELD VALIDATION OF SIMPLE PERFORMANCE TESTS FOR PERMANENT DEFORMATION: CASE STUDY

Simple performance tests (SPTs) to be used with the Superpave® volumetric mixture design procedure were recently recommended by NCHRP Project 9-19 (Simple Performance Test for Superpave Mix Design). Field validation of the SPTs is critical to their final acceptance and implementation in Superpave mixture design practice. Special Pavement Studies-1 (SPS-1) prematurely rutted sections on US-281 in Texas were used to validate the SPTs for permanent deformation, including the dynamic modulus test and repeated-load test and associated rutting indicators E*/sin δ and flow number (F n ), respectively. The results of this case study clearly show that both the dynamic modulus test and E*/sin δ and the repeated-load test and F n can effectively distinguish the good mixtures from the bad. Compared with E*/sin δ, F n can better differentiate the performance of asphalt mixtures. These results preliminarily validated both SPTs for permanent deformation. In addition, the location of the tertiary point in the plot of permanent strain versus number of load repetitions is clarified; a simple linear model needs to be added in order to determine the F n . Furthermore, the possibility of using the number of load repetitions (Nps) corresponding to the initial point of the secondary stage to characterize the rutting resistance of asphalt mixtures is discussed. The new indicator proposed is supported by the limited data presented in this paper and can be easily determined and can reduce test duration significantly.

Overlay Tester: Simple Performance Test for Fatigue Cracking

It is well known that fatigue cracking is not just a material problem; it also correlates highly with pavement structure and environmental and traffic conditions. This unique characteristic highlights the importance of a simple performance test (SPT) that can be used for daily hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixture design and also for predicting fatigue cracking. This paper investigates the use of the Texas Transportation Institutes overlay tester (OT) as an SPT for fatigue cracking. Fatigue cracking occurs in two stages: crack initiation and crack propagation. However, as noted in this paper, crack initiation is theoretically related to crack propagation. Therefore, the OT that characterizes mainly crack propagation can be used for fatigue cracking. To validate experimentally the OT for fatigue cracking, the OT results were compared with laboratory bending beam fatigue test and field accelerated pavement fatigue test results from the FHWAs accelerated loading facility test site. Positive results were obtained. In addition, other requirements (e.g., cost-related) for being an SPT are discussed. On the basis of all findings, the OT meets most requirements for being an SPT for fatigue cracking. Potential application of the OT to HMA mixture design also is proposed.

DETECTING STRIPPING IN ASPHALT CONCRETE LAYERS USING GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR

A study undertaken by the Texas Department of Transportation to nondestructively detect stripping in the asphalt surfacing on I-45 in the Bryan district is described. The highway was constructed in the 1960s and 1970s with an initial portland cement concrete thickness of 200 mm. Since then, several asphalt overlays have been applied. Maintenance of this highway is a recurring problem, and it is known that in several locations moderate to severe areas of subsurface stripping are present. To plan the future rehabilitation of this important highway, the Bryan district investigated the ability of ground penetrating radar (GPR) to provide subsurface condition information. A GPR survey was conducted at close to highway speeds, and the data were interpreted before taking validation cores. The GPR was used to provide information concerning the section breaks along the highway on the basis of asphalt layer thickness and condition, the average thickness of the asphalt layer within each section, and the extent and severity of any defect in the asphalt layer. More than 60 cores were taken to correlate the GPR interpretation. GPR results and ground truth cores are compared. In general, the comparisons were good. The GPR equipment and interpretation schemes used were found to provide information of sufficient quality and accuracy to permit the district to make programming decisions. GPR is now being used on several additional projects in the Bryan district. The best use appears to be for both defect detection and thickness estimation before deflection testing and coring. GPR will not eliminate coring or deflection testing, but by using all three in a coordinated approach pavement designers will have more confidence in their design decisions.

Hot-Mix Asphalt Permanent Deformation Evaluated by Hamburg Wheel Tracking, Dynamic Modulus, and Repeated Load Tests

Permanent deformation (or rutting) is a common distress in hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavements. As part of the HMA mix and structural design processes to optimize field performance, the Hamburg wheel-tracking, dynamic modulus, and uniaxial repeated load permanent deformation tests have been developed to characterize the HMA rutting resistance potential. The primary objective of this study was to compare the three laboratory rutting tests of HMA mixes and to relate their rutting predictive potential to actual field performance. The research methodology incorporated a two-phase approach: laboratory testing and field performance monitoring of selected mixes under both conventional traffic loading and accelerated pavement testing. For the HMA mixes evaluated, a good correlation was observed in the three laboratory tests and in comparison with actual in situ field performance. Overall, the findings indicated that the Hamburg wheel-tracking test was the most feasible test for daily routine HMA mix design and screening, while both the dynamic modulus and repeated load permanent deformation tests exhibited greater potential for comprehensive characterization of HMA material property (e.g., modulus) and applications for pavement structural design as research-level test tools.

Development, Calibration, and Validation of a New M-E Rutting Model for HMA Overlay Design and Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to present a new mechanistic-empirical (M-E) rutting model developed for hot-mix asphalt (HMA) overlay thickness design and analysis. After reviewing existing rutting models in the literature, it was found that the well-known VESYS layer rutting model still is a rational choice and was adopted with minor modification to model HMA overlay rutting development. The main feature of the proposed M-E HMA overlay rutting model is to characterize layer specific permanent deformation properties rather than global rutting parameters used in the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide. For each specific layer, the proposed model requires rutting parameters α and μ ; and these rutting parameters, which are two of the fundamental input parameters required in the proposed M-E rutting model, can be directly determined from the repeated load test following the test protocol discussed in the paper. Additionally, the proposed M-E HMA overlay rutting model was calibrated using 8 test section...