4.

1 Falling Weight Deflectometer Test

A Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) machine shall be used for the measurement of
deflections. The distance settings for the geophone shall be 0mm, 300mm, 600mm, 900mm,
1200mm, 1500mm and 2100mm or as specified by Engineer. FWD measurements shall be
taken at 200m intervals on slow lane or as instructed by Engineer on site as specified in the
Scope of Works.

Figure 1: FWD test

The FWD trailer shall be towed to the starting point of testing for that day, and all relevant
information on the project shall be keyed into the database using a laptop computer. The
sequence of FWD tests shall then be started. Each sequence consisted of four drops, the first
drop consider as seating drop while the other three drops are the measurement drops. The
two measuring drops are compared with each other and the set maximum allowable difference
values in the database. If the difference values exceed the set maximum allowable, the test
shall be repeated at the same position (otherwise the data shall be accepted and stored).

This new cycle (repeat) shall consist of three drops at each position and data from all three drops
shall be recorded and reported in the same file. The load level used for flexible pavement shall
be 50 kN, which corresponds to a load pressure of approximately 700kPa.
Pavement temperature shall be taken every hour and or whenever noticeable changes in
temperature. All safety requirements shall follow safety rules and regulations. FWD deflections
profile and analysed results is shown in Appendix A.

4.2 Coring and Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) Test

Pavement coring is carried out to determine the thickness of the surfacing layers, the type and
extent of cracks and general condition of the materials. A typical coring set consists of coring
machine, core bit, power generator and water tank. The coring machine is held vertically on
the marked spot. Rotary Coring is done to a depth about 120mm (i.e. right below ACWC and
ACBC layer) or to the depth as required by the client. The Core sample then taken out to
measure the thickness of each layer and to identify the crack condition (for existing pavement).
All required and relevant will recorded in a standard Core log.

Figure 2: Coring test

The DCP test is carried out on top of the unbound road base layer immediately after coring to
determine the thickness and structural properties of the unbound layers. The TRRL DCP set
consists of 16mm diameter hardened steel rod with 8 kg hammer dropping through a height of
575mm. The rod is fitted with 60 degrees cone with 20mm larger diameter. With the rod held
vertically, the hammer is lifted up to the top of the rod and released to hit the anvil. The depth
of penetration into the unbound base is then recorded using the ruler attached to the rod. As a
rule, for hard surfaces, readings are taken every ten blows. As the cone penetrates deeper
through the softer road base, sub base and sub grade the number of blows are decreased to
5, 3 and finally 1, accordingly.

Figure 3: DCP test

The penetration (mm) of the cone is plotted against the number of blows and the slope of the
resultant curve in mm/blow is a measure of the penetration resistance and hence, strength of
the layer. The turning point of the slope indicates a change in strength and therefore a change
in material. This point can be approximately located by selecting the best straight line of the
two slopes. The point of intersection indicates the depth at which there is a change in material
strength and properties. The pavement layer thickness can be estimated by measuring the
depth of the turning points. the DCP will not penetrate the material. Under this circumstance
a hole will be drilled through the layer using an electric drill and the lower layer (s) can be
tested accordingly. The CBR of the sub grade is obtained from the relationship:
CBR = 269/DCP

Core logs are shown in Appendix B and DCP plots and raw data is shown in Appendix C.