Introduction

In 1987, Congress established the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) a five-year, $150 million nationwide research effort to improve the performance of highway pavements and bridges. Various other countries and Canadian provinces participated by constructing and monitoring test installations, and entering data in the SHRP database.

As part of their contribution to the SHRP, the Ohio Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, agreed to construct a three-mile long test pavement on U.S. 23 north of Delaware, Ohio. This project encompasses four experiments identified in the Specific Pavement Studies and includes 40 test sections of asphalt and portland cement concrete with a variety of structural parameters.

Read more about the SHRP test road on the Ohio Department of Transportation's web site.

Features

• 18 pavement sections instrumented with environmental sensors to monitor seasonal variations which severly affect highway pavements, including:
  • average temperature and temperature gradients within the pavement layer
  • moisture in the subgrade
  • depth of frost within the pavement structure
• 33 pavement sections instrumented with dynamic sensors to monitor structural response under full-scale traffic loading.
• controlled vehicle tests featuring ODOT dump trucks and a Canadian National Research Council customized research tank truck.

Scope

ORITE faculty and staff were invited to play a major role in this SHRP project by developing a comprehensive plan for instrumenting the pavement and coordinating the efforts of five other universities in implementing the plan. ORITE personnel were responsible for selecting and purchasing the proper sensors and data acquisition equipment, and developing innovative techniques for installing the sensors during construction with minimal disruption to the contractor, pavement, and sensors. The successful completion of this project resulted in the gathering of data never before available to the pavement community and positioned ORITE as a leading resource for pavement instrumentation in the country.

Data acquisition procedures were customized for this SHRP facility to permit the simultaneous monitoring of up to 18 pavement sections during controlled vehicle tests. Up to 250,000 data points were obtained each second as trucks containing various axle configurations, loads, and types of tires, and traveling over a range of speeds, passed over specific test sections. Data obtained during these tests permit researchers and engineers to assess the effect of these vehicle parameters and the numerous structural parameters contained within the pavement structures on overall performance of the pavement.

ORITE personnel obtained environmental data periodically throughout the year to better define the effect of seasonal variations on pavement structures and continuously during the controlled vehicle tests to properly interpret the response of pavement sections under actual truck loading.

The Computational Lab for Pavement Research has played a vital role in the collection and analyzation of the data obtained from the SHRP test road.

Contact Information

For further information please contact:

Dr. Shad Sargand
Associate Director, ORITE
141 Stocker Center
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701
(740) 593-2476
(740) 593-0625 Fax

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