The analysis of variability of pavement indicators: MPD, SMTD and IRI. A case study of Portugal roads

Abstract

Macrotexture is one of the main pavement quality parameters considered in Portuguese Quality Control Plans which is not specifically approached in data variability analysis studies. In this study, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) – Full factorial method was used to analyse the variability of the mean profile depth, the sensor measured texture depth and also the international roughness index. The ANOVA is appropriated to assess some sources of variation such as repeatability and reproducibility, and it allows us to investigate the contribution of several factors and interaction between them on the variability of a performance parameter. In this study, data from five profilometers running on six long road sections were used. The investigated parameters were type of surface, operator and system and run repetition. Repeatability results were different for each parameter and the analysis of factors points to the necessity to further investigate the effect of the type of surface on data variability. The development of an operational plan to assure reproducibility is required.

Keywords::

• variability
• repeatability
• reproducibility
• mean profile depth
• sensor measured texture depth
• international roughness index

Acknowledgements

This work is a part of the strategic project PEst-OE/ECI/UI4047/2011 carried out by C-TAC/UM members, a research unit (UI4047) which belongs to the ‘Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia’. The authors wish to acknowledge all the participants in the experiment and the reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.