A synthesis study of noncontact nondestructive evaluation of top-down cracking in asphalt pavements.

PDFTech ReportFHWA/MS-DOT-RD-13-255UM-CAIT/2013-01State Study 255Asphalt pavementsPavement crackingLiterature reviewsGround penetrating radarPavement maintenanceNondestructive testsEvaluation and assessmentMississippiMississippi. Dept. of TransportationUddin, WaheedUniversity of Mississippi. Center for Advanced Infrastructure TechnologyUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationUS Transportation CollectionThe primary objective of this research study was to conduct an extensive literature review on top-downcracking evaluation studies, prepare a synthesis of findings, and recommend a follow up phase for apilot study in Mississippi with a candidate technology. The top-down cracking appearing mostly inlongitudinal wheel paths on asphalt highway pavements, was first reported in the 1970s in tropicalcountries, later reported in the 1980s in the UK, the Netherlands, France and South Africa, followed byfield investigations in the late 1990s and 2000s in the United States, several European countries, andJapan. Since then the top-down cracking distress has been identified as the most important distressobserved on asphalt highways in many states including Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Washington,Illinois, and Mississippi. Proper and timely maintenance of top-down cracking is critically important forthick asphalt pavements. Therefore, a procedure is needed to expedite field survey of top-down crackingwithout depending on cores. An existing viable nondestructive and noncontact technology operating athighway speed was not found in this study. Therefore, a problem statement for research need isprepared for a national study through NCHRP