Rational Estimation of Construction Impact on Pavement Performance

Abstract

The goal in any highway construction project is to produce a durable pavement that will perform satisfactorily throughout its expected design life. The quality of construction also plays a significant role in accurately predicting the life-cycle performance. In that context, the quality of construction is defined as meeting a structural-related target variable with minimal variance. The implementation of effective performance-based construction quality management requires a tool for determining impact of construction quality on the life-cycle performance of pavements. This process should carefully consider that relevant parameters are different for different types of pavements. What is not so obvious is that for the same type of pavement, the relevant parameters change with the relative structure of the pavement. Many parameters that are important for a thick pavement designed for an Interstate highway may be of secondary significance to a secondary road. Simply put, defining one set of parameters that can be used in all projects is not appropriate because it may not be cost-effective. A statistical-based algorithm is presented; it was developed to reconcile the results from several pavement performance models used in the state of practice with systematic process control techniques. These algorithms identify project-specific parameters that should be the focus of the construction quality management by quantifying the variability of the construction parameters. The identification of these parameters allows for transportation agencies to focus their limited funds and resources more efficiently while increasing the life of the pavement.

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