Accelerated Pavement Testing: Data Guidelines (2003)

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T R A N S P O R T A T I O N R E S E A R C H B O A R D WASHINGTON, D.C. 2003 www.TRB.org NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM NCHRP REPORT 512 Research Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in Cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration SUBJECT AREAS Pavement Design, Management and Performance • Materials and Construction Accelerated Pavement Testing: Data Guidelines ATHAR SAEED JIM W. HALL, JR. Applied Research Associates, Inc. ERES Consultants Division Vicksburg, Mississippi

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective approach to the solution of many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was requested by the Association to administer the research program because of the Board’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council and the Transportation Research Board. The needs for highway research are many, and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other highway research programs. Note: The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the individual states participating in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. Published reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at: http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America NCHRP REPORT 512 Project D10-56 ISSN 0077-5614 ISBN 0-309-08783-X Library of Congress Control Number 2003115792 © 2003 Transportation Research Board Price $19.00 NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board’s judgment that the program concerned is of national importance and appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and, while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical committee, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical committee according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished schol- ars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and techni- cal matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Acad- emy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achieve- ments of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Acad- emy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both the Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. The Board’s mission is to promote innovation and progress in transportation through research. In an objective and interdisciplinary setting, the Board facilitates the sharing of information on transportation practice and policy by researchers and practitioners; stimulates research and offers research management services that promote technical excellence; provides expert advice on transportation policy and programs; and disseminates research results broadly and encourages their implementation. The Board’s varied activities annually engage more than 4,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 512 ROBERT J. REILLY, Director, Cooperative Research Programs CRAWFORD F. JENCKS, Manager, NCHRP AMIR N. HANNA, Senior Program Officer EILEEN P. DELANEY, Managing Editor BETH HATCH, Assistant Editor NCHRP PROJECT 10-56 PANEL Field of Materials and Construction—Area of Specifications, Procedures and Practices WILLIAM F. EDWARDS, Mt. Vernon, OH (Chair) JAMSHID M. ARMAGHANI, Florida Concrete and Products Association, Gainesville, FL ANDREW J. GISI, Kansas DOT THOMAS P. HOOVER, California DOT JOHN B. METCALF, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA DAVID W. PITTMAN, US Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, MS ANDREW J. WIMSATT, Texas DOT WEI-SHIH “WES” YANG, New York State DOT TERRY M. MITCHELL, FHWA Liaison Representative STEPHEN F. MAHER, TRB Liaison Representative AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Applied Research Associates, Inc., ERES Consultants Division, conducted the research described herein. Dr. Jim W. Hall, Jr., was the principal investigator for the study. Dr. Athar Saeed served as the project engineer and prepared this report with Dr. Hall. Mr. Richard N. Stubstad supervised the work at Consulpav International, and Mr. Erland Lukanen supervised the work at Braun Intertec Corporation. Dr. Vincent Janoo and Dr. Thomas D. White served as project consultants.

This report provides definition and guidelines to help agencies involved in accel- erated pavement testing (APT) ensure proper interpretation of the data and facilitate their use by other agencies. Use of these guidelines will promote compatibility of data resulting from APT at different facilities and will provide an effective means for eco- nomically addressing issues of common concern, reducing duplication of research efforts, and enhancing the benefits of APT. The report is a useful resource for pave- ment and materials engineers, researchers, and others involved the accelerated evalua- tion of pavement materials, designs, and features. The use of APT for determining pavement response and performance has increased in recent years, primarily because of its ability to apply wheel loads in a compressed time period, thus providing an expedited means of evaluating potential materials, designs, and features. However, the data collected and reported by the various APT facilities have often varied in definition and format, making it difficult for others to inter- pret and use. Therefore, research was needed to identify and develop definitions of the data associated with the tests performed by APT facilities and to recommend guidelines for data collection, storage, and retrieval. This information will help to ensure proper interpretation of the data and facilitate their use by other agencies, thus enhancing the benefits of APT results. NCHRP Project 10-56 was conducted to address this need. Under NCHRP Project 10-56, “Accelerated Pavement Testing: Data Guidelines,” Applied Research Associates was assigned the objectives of (1) identifying and devel- oping definitions of the data elements associated with APT and (2) recommending guidelines for their collection, storage, and retrieval. The research was limited to APT in which full-scale wheel loads are applied to full pavement structures by either machines or vehicles in a test facility, test track, or in-service pavement for the purpose of determining pavement response and performance in a compressed time period. To accomplish these objectives, the researchers reviewed relevant domestic and foreign literature; surveyed U.S. organizations that had active APT facilities as well as organi- zations that previously operated or planned future operation of APT facilities; and vis- ited several U.S. facilities to acquire information on the current practices for use as a basis for developing acceptable definitions and rational guidelines. The literature review and field visits revealed that 15 APT facilities were in opera- tion in the United States in 2002. Tests were conducted at these facilities to address a vari- ety of topics related to materials, design, construction, and life-cycle costs of pavements. The research also highlighted the operating characteristics of these facilities, the types of data being collected, and the practices for collecting, storing, and retrieving these data. The research suggested the classification of data elements into seven categories— administrative, load application, pavement description, material characterization, envi- ronmental conditions, pavement response, and pavement performance—and provided FOREWORD By Amir N. Hanna Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

definitions of the data elements included in each category. The research also recom- mended guidelines that address (1) the data elements and their definitions and (2) the data collection and storage requirements, and the research identified the test methods currently available for characterizing paving materials used in APT. The information contained in this report will be particularly useful to agencies cur- rently operating, or planning the operation of, APT facilities. These agencies should ensure compatibility of their databases with the recommended guidelines to facilitate the use of data from tests performed at different APT facilities in addressing issues of common concern.

1 SUMMARY 3 CHAPTER 1 Introduction Background, 3 Research Objective, 3 Scope of Study, 3 Research Approach, 3 4 CHAPTER 2 Accelerated Pavement Testing: State of the Practice Results of Literature Review, 4 Purpose of APT Programs, 4 Data Collected at APT Facilities, 4 Data Types, 9 Selected Features of APT Facilities, 16 19 CHAPTER 3 Data Elements Introduction, 19 Combining of Data from Different Sources, 19 21 CHAPTER 4 Methods for Data Storage and Retrieval Introduction, 21 Data Storage and Retrieval, 22 Protocols for Collection of Data Associated with APT, 24 25 CHAPTER 5 Accelerated Pavement Testing: Data Guidelines Introduction, 25 Data Elements and Definitions, 25 Data Storage and Retrieval, 32 Sampling Frequency of Data Measurements, 34 36 CHAPTER 6 Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations Findings, 36 General Conclusions, 36 Recommendations, 36 37 CHAPTER 7 References A-1 APPENDIX A Protocols for Material Characterization Data Elements B-1 APPENDIX B Glossary CONTENTS