Advancing Flexible Pavement Structural Health Monitoring: A User-Friendly Approach for Network-Scale Assessments

The Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) has long been recognized as a reliable tool for the evaluation of the structural adequacy of flexible pavements. Numerous structural condition indices (SCI) have been developed to further assess pavement health based on FWD data. However, most existing indices have focused on deflection bowl parameters or relied on subgrade California Bearing Ratio (CBR) and layer thicknesses, which can be challenging to obtain accurately. Notably, the full deflection bowl data, ranging from central deflection (D0) up to 1800 mm sensor deflection, has not yet been utilized in the development of a comprehensive structural condition index. In this study, the limitations of existing methods are addressed by presenting a user-friendly approach for network-level assessment of asphalt pavements that incorporates the entire deflection bowl. It has been suggested by existing research that the area under the deflection bowl provides a more accurate representation of pavement structural health, forming the basis of the proposed method. The collection of field data to validate the efficacy of the proposed approach is involved in the current study, and its performance is compared to traditional assessment methods. By leveraging the full range of deflection data, the accuracy and efficiency of network-level evaluations are enhanced through the user-friendly approach presented in this paper, ultimately facilitating improved decision-making in pavement management and maintenance. The proposed method, which offers a simplified, comprehensive assessment tool accounting for the full range of deflection data, advances flexible pavement structural health monitoring. The potential of this novel approach to significantly impact the field of pavement health monitoring is noteworthy, providing practitioners with a more accurate and efficient means of evaluating and prioritizing interventions at the network level, ultimately contributing to more sustainable and cost-effective infrastructure management.