NON DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION OF STRUCTURAL PAVEMENT CONDITION --HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE. PROCEEDINGS OF SEMINAR S HELD AT THE PTRC SUMMER ANNUAL MEETING, SUSSEX, ENGLAND, JULY 14-17, 1986. VOLUME P286

It is shown that non-destructive evaluation techniques enable the highway and airport authorities to determine the right moment for maintenance and to minimize maintenance costs in a rather short time and at relatively low costs. In this paper these evaluation techniques themselves will be discussed as well as practical experience of these techniques. A description of structural evaluation techniques will be given of flexible and rigid pavements. The following measurement and test techniques are described: -falling weight deflection measurements; -axle load measurements; -dynamic laboratory tests. Furthermore, interpretation techniques will be discussed. Next to the bisar computer program nowadays finite element programs are used to calculate rigid and composite pavements. A special option in this program gives the possibility to predict the rate in which cracks will propagate through overlays. The above-mentioned computer programs give the engineer the skill to evaluate all types of construction (flexible, composite and rigid). Experience with the above-mentioned interpretation will be discussed and the paper will describe how it leads to the evaluation of the pavement. This evaluation technique can also be used for the overlay and the reconstruction design.(a) for the covering abstract of the seminar see IRRD 812645.