Using Infrared and High-Speed Ground-Penetrating Radar for Uniformity Measurements on New HMA Layers

TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report S2-R06C-RR-1: Using Infrared and High-Speed-Ground Penetrating Radar for Uniformity Measurements on New HMA Layers explores infrared imaging and ground-penetrating radar technologies as non-destructive techniques to assess hot-mix asphalt (HMA) density and degree of segregation. The report also includes suggestions for how these technologies can be incorporated into existing department of transportation specifications for verifying HMA construction quality.

Information in SHRP 2 Report S2-R06C-RR-1 was incorporated into an electronic repository for practitioners, known as the NDToolbox, which provides information regarding recommended technologies for the detection of a particular deterioration. The NDToolbox was created by SHRP 2 Renewal Project R06A, which has released SHRP 2 Report S2-R06A-RR-1: Nondestructive Testing to Identify Concrete Bridge Deck Deterioration. That report identifies nondestructive testing technologies for detecting and characterizing common forms of deterioration in concrete bridge decks.

An e-book version of this report is available for purchase at Amazon, Google, and iTunes.

Renewal Project R06C is one of seven follow-on projects to SHRP 2 Renewal Project R06. The SHRP 2 Report S2-R06-RW: A Plan for Developing High-Speed, Nondestructive Testing Procedures for Both Design Evaluation and Construction Inspection, examines existing and emerging nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technologies and their current state of implementation to satisfy the NDE needs for highway renewal.

Renewal Project R06C has also released the results of a pilot project using infrared (IR) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology and includes suggestions related to the use of IR and GPR technology to improve pavement durability.

This project also produced an informational video about infrared imaging and high-speed ground-penetrating radar technologies. 

The Texas A&M Transportation Research Institute, one of the organizations that wrote Report S2-R06C-RR-1, released an article and a video related to its work on SHRP 2 Renewal Project R06C.