Development of the Total Pavement Acceptance Device (TPAD) and Initial Pavement Studies

A new, multi-function pavement testing device has been developed by a joint effort between Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Center for Transportation Research at the University of Texas at Austin, and the Texas AM a continuously reinforced pavement on US 287 near Wichita Falls, Texas; and a hot-mix asphalt on US 290 near Houston, Texas. The multi-functions of the TPAD enable a robust evaluation of the pavement conditions in a single pass in relatively short time. With the TPAD, the pavement deflections, subsurface conditions, surface temperatures, and profiling distances are simultaneously collected and processed. Besides evaluating the pavement condition in nearly real time, the engineer can also identify additional zones that may require further testing.