VALID RIDE QUALITY EVALUATION OF RIGID PAVEMENTS - CONSTRUCTION AND PERFORMANCE

The evaluation of ride quality and/or the measurement of roughness for rigid pavements bas become increasingly important in recent years due to the development of organized pavement management programs; and, currently, due to attempts to establish acceptance standards for ride quality of new concrete pavements in state DOT's. Attention is also given to construction controls of final roughness or ride quality of pavements. The results of this study are applicable to new construction as well as to long­ term monitoring. Considerable effort has been expended in the recent past to improve ride quality evaluation, particularly for rigid pavements. This paper summarizes these efforts and evaluates the specific details of rigid pavements which affect ride quality, particularly joints and joint faulting. The problem is analyzed and the paper outlines the results of major research efforts in Texas since 1975. The results show that root-mean-squared­ vertical-acceleration (RMSVA) can give an effective summary of rigid pavement roughness for use in evaluation.