Sensor-Based Structural Health Monitoring of Asphalt Pavements with Semi-Rigid Bases Combining Accelerated Pavement...

Area of Science:

• Civil Engineering
• Materials Science
• Geotechnical Engineering

Background:

• Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is crucial for pavement service life assessment.
• Existing methods require enhancement for comprehensive internal and surface response evaluation.
• Pavement performance is influenced by various factors like load, speed, and temperature.

Purpose of the Study:

• To devise a methodology for surveilling pavement mechanical responses using APT and FWD.
• To assess stress and strain within pavement structures under diverse conditions.
• To establish guidelines for road sensor deployment for sustained performance observation.

Main Methods:

• Amalgamation of Accelerated Pavement Testing (APT) and Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD).
• Deployment of Resistive Sensors and Fiber-optic Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors with innovative configurations.
• Signal processing involving baseline formulation, electrical to stress/strain conversion, filtering, and noise reduction.

Main Results:

• Observed alternate tensile strains in the asphalt bottom layer (peak 10 με) under dynamic loads.
• Measured peak compressive strains of 66.5 με in horizontal transverse sensors.
• Recorded horizontal longitudinal strains in base and subbase between 3-5 με, with higher values in the base.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive suite of monitoring schemes for road structures has been formulated.
• The study provides guidelines for effective road sensor deployment.
• The methodology facilitates sustained pavement performance observation over extended durations.