Analysis on Relationship between FWD Back-calculated Modulus and Dynamic Modulus of Asphalt Layers for Existing Asphalt Pavements

PURPOSES: The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between the FWD back-calculated modulus and dynamic modulus of asphalt layers for existing asphalt pavements. METHODS: To evaluate the dynamic modulus of the asphalt mixture in the existing and new asphalt layers, the uniaxial direct tension test was conducted on small asphalt specimens obtained from the existing asphalt-covered pavements. A dynamic modulus master curve was estimated by using the uniaxial direct tension test for each asphalt layer. The falling weight deflectometer (FWD) testing was conducted on the test sections, and the modulus values of pavement layers were back-calculated using the genetic algorithm and the finite element method based back-calculation program. The relationship between measured and back-calculated asphalt layer moduli was examined in this study. The normalized dynamic modulus was adopted to predict the stiffness characteristics of asphalt layers more accurately. RESULTS: From this study, we can conclude that there is no close relationship between dynamic modulus of first layer and back-calculated asphalt modulus. The dynamic moduli of second and third asphalt layers have some relation with asphalt stiffness. Test results also showed that the normalized dynamic modulus of the asphalt mixture is closely related to the FWD back-calculated modulus with 0.73 of R square value. CONCLUSIONS: The back-calculated modulus of asphalt layer can be used as an indicator of the stiffness characteristics of asphalt layers in the asphalt-covered pavements.