Correlation Of Automated Field Rut Measurements With Hwtd Results

Even though the Hamburg wheel tracking device (HWTD) has been gaining popularity and wide acceptance by some state highway agencies as a fast and reliable method to evaluate the rutting potential and moisture sensitivity of asphalt concrete mixtures, previous studies that correlate laboratory test results with field performance are very limited and not well established. In this study, pavement distress surveys were conducted on twenty-five different highway sections located in the state of New Mexico. In addition, HWTD tests were conducted on collected asphalt concrete (AC) mixtures with the intent of correlating results with field-rutting performance. Based on the Pearson correlation analysis, it was found that HWTD rut depth values obtained from HWTD 5,000 wheel pass level presents a sensible relationship with field-rut values recorded from the 1st year of pavement service life for AC mixtures assessed.