Using High-Speed Ground Penetrating Radar for Evaluation of Asphalt Density Measurements

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has been growing in acceptance among highway agencies and industry as a means to provide continuous pavement information nondestructively. GPR technology has been used most successfully to determine pavement layer thickness but also has been used to identify subsurface voids, assist with forensic investigations, locate utilities and reinforcement, evaluate degradation of bridge decks, and estimate volumetric properties of asphalt pavements. The objective of this project is to evaluate the capabilities and limitations of the FDOT GPR system to estimate the in-place density of asphalt pavement for construction and rehabilitation projects. Should the equipment be found suitable for estimating the in-place densities of asphalt pavements, techniques would then be developed to take measurements, with a plan to implement the methodology.