EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE OF ASPHALT PAVEMENTS CONSTRUCTED USING INTELLIGENT COMPACTION TECHNIQUES

Abstract

The long-term performance of asphalt pavements depends on the quality of the subgrade and asphalt layers. Intelligent compaction methods continuously monitor the modulus/stiffness of subgrade and asphalt layers during compaction process and have been proposed for ensuring uniform compaction. The use of the Intelligent Compaction Analyzer (ICA) developed at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK in determining the subgrade modulus and asphalt layer density/dynamic modulus during construction was addressed in this project. Several case studies were conducted to demonstrate the application of the ICA in real-time estimation of compaction quality. Results from these case studies show that the ICA was able to estimate the modulus of the stabilized subgrade with accuracy suitable for the control of compaction quality. Similarly, the ICA was found to accurately estimate the density/dynamic modulus of asphalt layers during construction of asphalt pavements. Project results demonstrate that the ICA was helpful in identifying and remediating the under-compacted regions in stabilized subgrades as well as asphalt layers. It was also found that the average subgrade modulus, average asphalt layer density/dynamic modulus, and overall uniformity of compaction could be improved with the use of the ICA.