Automated pavement analysis in Missouri using ground penetrating radar

PDFTech ReportRDT03-002Ground penetrating radarAsphalt pavementsThicknessStripping (Pavements)MissouriMissouri. Dept. of TransportationCardimona, SteveWilleford, BrentWebb, DoyleHickman, ShaneWenzlick, JohnAnderson, NeilUniversity of Missouri--ColumbiaMissouri. Dept. of TransportationNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Pavement Management and PerformanceUS Transportation CollectionCurrent geotechnical procedures for monitoring the condition of roadways are time consuming and can be disruptive to traffic, often requiring extensive invasive procedures (e.g., coring). Ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology offers a methodology to perform detailed condition assessment of existing roadways, with the added advantage over other techniques of being rapid and cost-effective. This project and report were split into four different sections based on the type of roadway being surveyed. The first section presents the results of a GPR survey over portions of Interstate 44 near Springfield, Missouri. The goal of this survey was to evaluate concrete pavement layer thickness and continuity within the specific study regions.The second section applies GPR techniques to a survey along Interstate 70 across the state of Missouri. Goals of this survey were threefold: 1) determine layer thicknesses every tenth mile; 2) update history information related to types of pavements that make up I70 across Missouri; and 3) note regions where the radar signal appears anomalous. The third section applies GPR techniques to 35 test pavements of the Strategic Highways Research Program LTTP sites across the state of Missouri. The result is a correlation of GPR reflection character and GPR-derived layer thickness estimates with design information for each test pavement. In the last section of the report, GPR surveys were performed over 42 miles of secondary highways to determine the thickness of the asphalt pavement and also to determine if indications of potential maintenance problem areas could be identified. Asphalt surface layering proved to be the easiest to image, creating a strong signal in the GPR data. Not as consistently clear is the concrete-to-baserock interface where the dielectric contrast between these two media is not always strong enough to create a high amplitude reflected signal. It was also determined by correlation of GPR data and coring that anomalous areas could be characterized, especially to recognize pavement where the asphaltic cement was stripping from the aggregat