ABSTRACT
This paper presented an approach for mechanical pavement condition monitoring based on post-construction installation of near surface LVDTs. The concept calls for making shallow grooves or blind holes at the pavement surface, and then fixing horizontal LVDTs to measure any changes in groove length or hole diameter resulting from nearby vehicle passes. A field experiment was designed and executed to demonstrate the approach involving the deployment of two LVDTs in an existing asphalt road, and recording the effects of a passing truck. It is shown that the LVDT readings can be matched with a layered elastic pavement model, leading to the inference of in situ layer moduli. The investigation is considered a first step towards practical application of a real-world sensing platform for pavements.
