Evaluating pavement performance through smart monitoring – effects of soil moisture, temperature and traffic

This paper presents the findings from a research conducted to investigate the effects of moisture and environmental conditions on the mechanical behaviour of granular pavements. Analysis was conducted on data collected from state-of-the-art instrumentation on two field pavement sites located in Sunshine Coast, Australia. The sites were monitored over three years, and daily temperature, moisture and strain values were analysed. Large tensile strains in the basecourse occurred when moisture increased and temperature decreased at the end of day. This result indicated that the change in soil pore pressure due to moisture and temperature variations was causing the strains in the pavement. Heavy traffic volume had a minor effect on basecourse strain in comparison to moisture and temperature although, it was concluded that the combined effect of soil moisture, temperature and heavy traffic loading was a cause for large vertical strains in the pavement.