Methodologies for calibration testing of non-destructive monitoring techniques

This paper presents statistical methodologies for calibration testing of non-destructive monitoring techniques. An example of a falling weight deflectometer (FWD), a device for non-destructive pavement testing is used here. These devices measure deflections of pavements subjected to impulse forces produced by falling weights. For the purpose of data collection, four FWDs were precisely calibration under laboratory conditions. Formal analysis based on statistical models showed marked differences among FWD readings and confirmed that the differences were statistically significant. The main tools used are an exploratory data analysis using graphical methods, and nested models with a continuous covariate and mixed effects.