Current Research
Evaluating Mechanical Properties of Earth Material during Intelligent Compaction
Compaction of earthwork is one of the most important processes in roadway construction as high quality and uniformity of pavement materials should be attained to ensure long-lasting pavement performance. With the emphasis on mechanistic-empirical pavement design (MEPDG) procedures in the last decade, significant research effort has been devoted to understanding and implementing modulus-based quality control (QC) of compacted geomaterials . However, technical and institutional complications exist for incorporating modulus-based spot testing devices into MEPD procedures. These include: (1) relating design parameters to construction QC parameters, (2) incorporating the impact of moisture content, and (3) developing field-calibrated numerical models to be used in proper evaluation and acceptance of compacted geomaterials . Another shortcoming of spot testing is the inability of evaluating the entire compacted area.
Intelligent Compaction (IC ) is a vibratory roller-based technology that can provide QC of 100% of compacted materials. Furthermore, uniformity of compaction can actually be realistically assessed with accelerometer-based IC measurement values (ICMV). The main objective of this research is to develop procedure(s) to estimate the mechanical properties with consideration of the moisture effect of geomaterials using IC technology. The developed procedures will facilitate the adoption of IC technologies for field acceptance with the purpose to produce high quality compacted layers from the ground up that lead to long, lasting pavements .