COMPOSITE PAVEMENT PERFORMANCE INDEX FOR CONCRETE PAVEMENTS

Every agency responsible for the maintenance of roadway systems faces the problem of insufficient funding to perform all of the necessary repairs on all pavement sections. Therefore, highway agencies must adopt a pavement management system (PMS) to help set priorities. The PMS includes a method for evaluating pavement performance on a routine basis and identifying sections with a need for rehabilitation or maintenance. A comprehensive evaluation of a pavement section should include surface friction, structural adequacy, pavement distress and roughness. Due to the prohibitive costs, surface friction and structural adequacy are not commonly used in the United States as part of the routine inspection procedure for pavements. Many states in the U.S. use a pavement condition rating (PCR) system that is based solely on visible surface distresses, while others use an index based on ride quality alone, to perform the regular evaluation of pavements. This paper outlines the development of a new composite performance index for concrete pavements that incorporates aspects of ride comfort or quality together with surface distress. For concrete pavements, the parameters considered in the evaluation procedure are: surface deterioration, popouts, patching, pumping, faulting, settlements, transverse joint spalling, joint sealant damage, pressure damage, transverse cracking, longitudinal cracking and corner breaks. The new composite performance index is expected to result in an increase in user satisfaction with highway systems together with improved decision-making in the pavement management

• INTRODUCTION

• PAVEMENT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

• NEED FOR COMPOSITE INDEX

• CONCLUSIONS

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

• REFERENCES