THE FALLING WEIGHT DEFLECTOMETER AND ITS USE IN PAVEMENT EVALUATION

The increasing need for structural evaluation of existing pavements for maintenance purposes, and the widespread use of analytical design procedures have brought the amount of information to be gained from the structures in focus in recent years. In Denmark a falling weight deflectometer (fwd) has been developed in order to meet this need. It is used for the evaluation of the bearing capacity of roads, airfields, etc. The basic principle of the fwd is dynamically to apply a controlled load to the road surface and measure the basin of deflections (not only the centre of deflection). Because of the considerably increased information it is possible to evaluate the results from the fwd using analytical methods. In co-operation with a Danish company the Technical University of Denmark has developed a program for the evaluation of fwd data, called ELMOD (evaluation of layer moduli and overlay design). The program is based on the method of equivalent thicknesses and calculates the stiffness of each individual layer in the structure, the remaining lifetime and the overlay needed for the relevant sections. For the covering abstract of the seminar see IRRD 286701. (TRRL)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Highway Construction and Maintenance. Proceedings of Seminar P held at the PTRC Summer Annual Meeting, University of Sussex, England, 15-18 July 1985, Volume P271.
• Corporate Authors:

  PTRC Education and Research Services Limited

  110 Strand
  London WC2,   England 
• Authors:
  • SCHMITH, N B
• Conference:
  • Planning & Transport Res & Comp, Sum Ann Mtg, Proc
• Publication Date: 1985

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 127-137

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bearing capacity; Computer programs; Evaluation; Falling weight deflectometers; Pavement design; Pavement layers; Pavement overlays; Pavement performance; Pavements; Service life; Thickness
• Old TRIS Terms: Pavement life; Thickness design
• ITRD Terms: 3085: Bearing capacity; 8525: Conference; 6187: Deflectograph; 8028: Denmark; 5910: Durability; 9019: Equivalent; 9020: Evaluation (assessment); 2952: Layer; 2955: Pavement; 8645: Software; 5931: Stiffness; 3096: Strengthening (pavement); 5933: Thickness
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00462716
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 31 1987 12:00AM