Sensor selection, installation, and survivability in a geosynthetic-reinforced flexible pavement

Abstract

Seventeen instrumented test sections were constructed on a geosynthetic-reinforced flexible pavement in Arkansas to determine the benefits of geosynthetic inclusions and collect dynamic response data from traffic loads to support a mechanistic-empirical pavement design procedure. A total of 129 sensors were installed to acquire dynamic measurements of stress and strain as well as static measurements of moisture content, pore pressure, temperature, and precipitation. Approximately 94% of the structural gages survived the construction phase, but 82% were still functional by the end of the test interval. Over 5000 m of cable and 370 m of protective conduit were installed. The purpose of this paper is to: (1) summarize the selection and installation criteria for the sensors and data acquisition system; (2) describe the construction procedure and modifications associated with each instrumented pavement layer; (3) detail the construction sequence of the protective pipe network; (4) discuss gage survivability and signal filtering; and (5) display typical response curves. This paper will provide sufficient detail and discuss specific recommendations that can be used by others in future full-scale field studies. While the initial testing program has been completed, the overall results and analysis from this project are beyond the scope of this paper.