Pavement Engineering

HWA offers non-destructive pavement evaluation, subgrade assessment and moduli back calculation; in addition to advanced laboratory characterization of subgrade and subbase materials. HWA provides data and engineering services for the design of PCC, HMA and permeable pavement systems for residential, industrial, and airport use.

Field services include: non-destructive pavement evaluation using our Heavy-Weight Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) to assess remaining pavement life; develop data for back calculation of in-situ layer moduli; detect voids and soft subgrade; assess the joint load transfer ability of PCC panels; and develop data for pavement management, reconstruction, and overlay design. Laboratory services include soil classifications (ASTM and AASHTO), Resilient Modulus (M_R), and CBR determinations.

HWA also uses Dropweight Cone Penetrometer (DCP) testing to evaluate the strength of pavement structure layers. HWA has in-house pavement coring equipment and can perform cores ranging from 1.5-inch to 6-inch diameter through asphalt and concrete pavements.

Typical services related to pavement engineering include:

• Non-destructive testing using FWD
• Pavement coring
• Assessment of subgrade soils through FWD Testing andcoring/handhole/DCP exploration
• New pavement design
• Overlay design
• Life-cycle cost analysis
• Permeable pavement design
• Recommendation for use of recycled or marginal soils in pavement structures
• Remaining pavement life expectancy
• Input for pavement management systems

HWA has applied these services to the following types of projects:

• Existing pavement evaluation
• New pavement design
• Overlay design
• Identification of soft subgrade conditions and voids