Using Rolling Deflectometer and Ground Penetrating Radar Technologies for Full Coverage Testing of Jointed Concrete Pavements

Selecting the optimal rehabilitation strategy for old Jointed Concrete Pavements (JCP) continues to be a daunting challenge for TxDOT engineers. The variability of joint load transfer efficiency and slab support along projects are major issues contributing to both strategy selection and performance. The presence of water trapped beneath slabs can also be a major limiting factor in strategy selection. In this project two new technologies were investigated which show tremendous potential for providing 100 percent coverage of the JCP sections. The Rolling Dynamic Deflectometer (RDD) was evaluated on a number of rehabilitation studies and in some control tests. The second technology is Ground Penetrating Radar which shows great promise to identify areas of trapped moisture beneath slabs. The strengths and weaknesses of these devices are described in this report. The overall conclusion is that these technologies are ideal for testing jointed concrete pavements. More development work is recommended, and future versions of the RDD should incorporate both GPR and video logging capabilities.