This proposal requests funding for the acquisition of a set of Non Destructive Testing instruments, which will be used for research and research related education in pavement engineering: A Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD), a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), and an infrared camera (IR camera). The instruments will be used by a research team: the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Infrasense Inc., Massachusetts Port Authority and Maine Department of Transportation. Planned application of the proposed instruments are in the area of non destructive evaluation of highway and airfield pavements, development of test protocols for determination of key properties of existing and new materials, and for determination of effective design, construction and quality control methods. The FWD is necessary for estimation of moduli of existing layers. The GPR, with IR camera, is necessary for determination of pavement layer thickness and conditions information needed for estimation of layer moduli with FWD data. The requested instruments will also be used for undergraduate and graduate education. One example of use of these instruments is in an ongoing National Science Foundation project in a full-scale instrumented facility for determination of pavement layer responses under traffic. The data obtained from this study will be used in research as well as for teaching principles of pavement analysis and design, and use of non-destructive testing. The total cost of projects is about ten times the cost of the requested instrument, and potential benefit to cost ratio is very high. The requested instruments are critical for developing Non Destructive testing capabilities of the research team for current as well as future research projects. Such capabilities will enable the researchers to make significant contributions towards the development of new knowledge in the area of highway and airfield pavements that can be used by both civil and military organizations.
Intellectual merit: The proposed project aims at practical application of principles of non-destructive testing, and will directly improve understanding of concepts and applications. Broader impacts: The work will lead to significant advances in understanding of material properties and use of non-destructive testing for material characterization. It will enable students of all groups and ethnicity to understand principles and applications of non-destructive testing right in the school, and will remove barriers for students with disabilities. Hence the proposed project will lead to generation of new knowledge and training of students, and hence will benefit society significantly. Project materials will be disseminated through reports, conferences and journal publications.
