Use of a Ride Quality Index for Construction Quality Control and Acceptance Specifications

Abstract

Profilographs have traditionally been the tool of choice for measurement of newly constructed pavement roughness. Although only a modest relationship exists between profilograph output and ride quality, the construction industry has been reluctant to consider other methods of measurement. In part, this is because a well-established method exists for using a profilograph trace to pinpoint locations that require diamond grinding. In contrast, inertial profilers offer a way to obtain measurements with proven relevance to ride quality and overall pavement performance via analysis by ride quality indexes. A major drawback to using a ride quality index, as cited by the construction industry, is the lack of a method for pinpointing hot spots in pavement that should be corrected by a diamond grinder. A method for locating isolated rough spots on new pavement and a basis for prioritizing the use of a grinder to improve new pavement smoothness by using the inertial profiler output are presented. Rough spots are identified by using an adapted version of the roughness profile, called continuous reporting of ride quality. Isolated irregularities are located by reporting a ride quality index on all possible road segments of a given length. The rough spots located by this method provide a direct snapshot of where events that penalize the overall ride quality most occurred on the pavement. This snapshot provides the road builder feedback that can be used to examine the paving process. A diamond grinding simulation is used to ensure that corrective action is implemented only at locations where a grinder would actually improve ride quality.

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