Density Mapping of New Pavements in New Hampshire Using GPR
Infrasense performed asphalt pavement density surveys across 2 driving lanes and 2 shoulders over a 4-mile stretch of new pavement constructed using both Intelligent Compaction (IC) and conventional paving methods. The results of the GPR testing were used to locate density variations between the IC half of the section and the conventionally-paved half of the section, and to locate other spatial variations within each half. Infrasense correlated the GPR results to the pavement density using test cores from the standard QA/QC procedure, as well as additional cores selected strategically using the GPR map results.
Achieving the target density for a pavement is particularly important for long term pavement performance. Pavement density is a measure of Quality Control and Quality Assurance (QC/QA) of new pavement construction projects. Traditionally, density has been measured using cores or nuclear density gauges. However, these methods provide data at only a limited number of random locations, and working with nuclear gauges can require special licensing. The GPR-based system developed by Infrasense provides 100% coverage of the entire pavement on-site, revealing potential patterns of low density, such as along joints and at stopping points.