Temperature Adjustment for Light Weight Deflectometer Application of Evaluating Asphalt Pavement Structural Bearing Capacity

Abstract

Researchers have been increasingly studying the application of the lightweight deflectometer (LWD) in asphalt pavement structural bearing capacity because of its advantages of light weight, easy maneuverability, and relatively low cost. Because asphalt is temperature sensitive, a rational temperature adjustment model is essential for application of the LWD. This study conducted a series of 24-h LWD field experiments on asphalt pavements with 10- and 20-cm surface layers, and a simplified temperature adjustment model was developed with only one parameter, the surface temperature. The 24-h LWD data were used to compare the developed model with three well-known temperature adjustment models: the Long-Term Pavement Project’s, Nazarian’s, and AASHTO’s. The findings indicate that the developed model receives the most consistent adjusted modulus among the four.