Fuzzy cluster approach for area FWD representative basin from deflection measurement spatial variability

ABSTRACT

Pavement evaluation surveys represent the key element for efficient pavement management and for assuring pavement mission capability. In the Department of Defense (DOD), the Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 3-260-03 Airfield Pavement Evaluation provides the current guidance for pavement structural evaluations. During structural surveys, FWD tests are executed at different locations within the same section, with the objective of obtaining a full assessment of the section’s structural capability. The availability of multiple deflection measurements for the same section raises the challenge of identifying the deflection basin best representing the entire section and its use in the backcalculation routine to determine the section’s structural strength. This manuscript proposes a fuzzy-based approach for the selection of a representative basin over multiple deflection basins collected for a specific section. The approach accounted for the spatial variability enclosed within the basin membership function obtained by fuzzy c-mean partitioning. The proposed methodology showed promising results for flexible pavements by offering more robust structural assessment that can account for spatial variability and thus minimise some aspects of mission risk that had a large effect on funding allocation and mission readiness.

KEYWORDS:

• Fuzzy partitioning
• flexible pavement
• structural assessment
• representative basin
• backcalculation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Distribution statement A

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. AFCEC.

Acknowledgements

Permission to publish was granted by the Director, Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory.