Pavement Deterioration Modeling and Network-Level Pavement Management Using Continuous Deflection Measurements

Abstract

This paper shows that the pavement structural condition as measured by the traffic speed deflectometer (TSD) has an impact on the rate of deterioration of the surface condition on a 6,469-km (4,020-mi) subset of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) network. Because of this finding, a structural condition matrix was developed to augment the treatment selection process currently used by VDOT. The treatment categories considered by VDOT are do nothing (DN), preventive maintenance (PM), corrective maintenance (CM), restorative maintenance (RM), and reconstruction (RC). The augmented matrix modifies these treatments based on whether the structural condition is strong, fair, or weak. Applying the augmented matrix on the tested interstate network resulted in reducing the percentage of the network requiring CM and increasing the percentage requiring PM and RM. The percentage of the network requiring DN or RC remained practically the same. Initially, D0 (deflection measured under the applied load), SCI300 (surface curvature index), and SNeff (effective structural number) were investigated as possible structural condition parameters to use. Only the results obtained with SCI300 are shown because it was the parameter that best explained the change in the rate of deterioration as a function of structural condition.