Ten Years of Traffic Speed Deflectometer Research in the United States: A Review

Abstract

This paper summarizes the research efforts into and applications of the traffic speed deflectometer (TSD) that have occurred over the last 10 years in the United States (U.S.). These are divided into three main topics which are: (1) data analysis methods including data processing, calculation of indices and structural parameters, and temperature correction; (2) evaluation efforts of TSD including repeatability and comparison with the falling weight deflectometer (FWD); and (3) applications of TSD with a focus on flexible pavement management applications, although some efforts on rigid and composite pavements are mentioned. The data analysis methods reviewed are data averaging length and reporting interval, and how deflections are calculated from the measured deflection slopes. For the calculation of indices and structural parameters the following are reviewed: deflection indices that have been proposed, the effective structural number (SN_eff), and backcalculation of layer moduli. Efforts to evaluate TSD precision (or measurement standard error) are discussed. Then, some comparisons of short-term (time frame of 1 day) and long-term (time frame of 1 year) repeatability of TSD are presented. Compared with FWD, TSD and FWD generally have good correlation, although the measurement principles of the two devices are slightly different. The focus is on network-level applications of TSD, and, more specifically, efforts to include TSD measurements in the pavement management system, especially for flexible pavements applications.