EngineeringFrameworkforthe

SelfConsistentAnalysisofFWDData
(revisedmanuscript)
ThomasM.Westover
GraduateResearchAssistant
DepartmentofCivilEngineering
UniversityofMinnesota
500PillsburyDriveS.E.
Minneapolis,MN,USA55455
Tel:(612)6261538
Fax:(612)6267750
Email:west0639@umn.edu
BojanB.Guzina
AssociateProfessor
DepartmentofCivilEngineering
UniversityofMinnesota
500PillsburyDriveS.E.
Minneapolis,MN,USA55455
Tel:(612)6260789
Fax:(612)6267750
Email:guzina@wave.ce.umn.edu

November15th,2006

Totalnumberofwordsinthepaper(excludingtitlepage)=4,474+12*250=7474

SubmittedtotheTransportationResearchBoardforpublicationin
TransportationResearchRecord

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

ABSTRACT
Innondestructivetestingofflexiblepavements,theFallingWeightDeflectometer(FWD)
testisacommonmethodtoevaluatethemechanicalcharacteristicsoflayeredpavement
structures. ElastostaticbackcalculationremainsthenormintheinterpretationofFWD
data,eventhoughitsunderlying(static)analysisisinconsistentwiththedynamicnature
oftheFWDtest.Duetowavepropagationeffects,especiallyinthepresenceofastiff
layer,thepeakpavementdeflectionsinducedbytheFWDloadingcandiffersignificantly
fromtheirstaticcounterparts,thuscompromisingtheconventionalbackcalculationof
pavementmoduli.Inthisstudyafrequencydomainbased,preprocessingprocedureis
developedtoextractthestaticpavementresponsefromthetransientFWDrecords,thus
providingamoreconsistentinputfortheelastostaticrecoveryofpavementprofiles.To
ensurethefidelityoftheeducedstaticdeflections,thekeydrawbacksintypical(field)
FWD data, namely the baseline offset and the lowfrequency noise pollution, are
examined and remedied. For pavement engineering applications, the above pre
processingprocedureforextractingthestaticdeflectionsfromdynamicFWDrecordsis
implementedinauserfriendlygraphicalenvironmentGopherCalc.Bycomparingthe
methodologiesusingbothsyntheticallygenerated(elastodynamic)dataandfieldrecords,
it was found that the proposed procedure has the potential of mitigating the errors
associated with the dynamic nature of the FWD test while still retaining the
computationallyeffectiveelastostaticbackcalculationscheme.

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

INTRODUCTION
Degradationofpavementsovertimeisacrucialconcernforpavementengineers. To
decideonapropercorrectivemeasure,onemustbeabletocharacterizeandquantifythe
conditionofthepavementanditssubstructureinanefficientandnonintrusivemanner.
With the increasing need for economical nondestructive testing methods, the Falling
WeightDeflectometer(FWD)testhasemergedasaviablewaytoestimatethepavement
structural adequacy while leaving the pavement section intact and traffic largely
unaffected.
Dueinparttoitssimplicity,elastostaticbackcalculationisthemostcommonform
ofFWDdatainterpretation.Dynamicanalysesaresignificantlymorecomplexandoften
require a nearly prohibitive computational effort in the context of field applications.
Thoughsomesimplifiedelastodynamicmodels[1,2]andartificialneuralnetworks[3,4,
5] have been employed to circumvent these difficulties, elastostatic backcalculation
remains the dominant method of analysis. Consequently, the traditional methods of
backcalculation assume static deformation while interpreting the dynamic (i.e. peak)
deflections of the pavement system. In particular, since the FWD test is decidedly
dynamicinnature,phenomenasuchaswavereflectionandrefractionas wellasthe
viscoelastic response of asphalt concrete are unaccounted for in the elastostatic
backcalculation.Recently,asimpleandefficientpreprocessingprocedureinvokingthe
conceptsoftheFouriertransformandfrequencyresponsefunctionswasproposed[6]
thatcanpotentiallyelevatetheFWDbackcalculationofpavementelasticlayerswithin
theframeworkofconventionalelastostaticanalyses,especiallyinthepresenceofastiff
layer.Intheapproach,the(dynamic)peakvaluesofthepavementresponsearereplaced,
asaninputtobackcalculation,bytheirzerofrequency(i.e.static)counterpartsstemming
fromtheFourieranalysisoftransientdeflectionrecords.
DespiteitspotentialforimprovingthepavementdiagnosisfromFWDrecords,
theproposedapproachnecessitatestheuseofthecompletedeflectiontimehistoriesfor
the preprocessing procedure. In this regard, the Fourierbased extraction of static
deflectionsfacestwokeychallengescausedbymeasurementerrors,namelyi)problem
of the socalled baseline offset, and ii) poor signaltonoise ratio characterizing the
pavementresponseatlowfrequencies.Asystematictreatmentoftheseissues,together
withitsimplementationinauserfriendlyenvironment,isthemainfocusofthisstudy.
Baselineoffset.IntheFWDtest,theresponseofthepavementtotheimparted
loadismeasuredbyanarrayofverticalvelocitytransducersknownasgeophones.Asa
resultofmeasurementnoiseandpossiblesensordrift,integrationofthetemporalvelocity
recordstoobtainpavementdeflectionscanresultinanaccumulatingoffsetthatpollutes
the deflection records and compromises the accuracy of backcalculation. Such

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

accumulatingerror,manifestviaanonzerodriftattheendofthedeflectionrecord,is
known as the baseline offset [7,8]. In a conventional (peakbased) elastostatic
backcalculation such error rarely accumulates to a significant level by the time the
pavementdeflectionreachesitsmaximumvalue,typicallyoccurringearlyinthetemporal
record.InthecontextofthefeaturedFourieranalysisthatutilizestheentiredeflection
recordthiserrorbecomessignificantandmustbeaddressed.Inthisstudy,apolynomial
typecorrectionofthebaselineoffsetisimplementedandshown,throughfieldexamples,
tosignificantlysmoothenthefrequencycontentofthepavementresponseandenhance
theextractionofthezerofrequency(i.e.static)pavementdeflections.
Lowfrequencyresponse. Duetophysicallimitationsofageophone,thelow
frequencyresponseofthecapturedvelocityrecordsarecharacterizedbypoorsignalto
noiseratios,manifestintheerraticbehaviorofthepavementresponsefunctioninthe
range of 010 Hz. This very part of the response is however critical for the pre
processingprocedureandmustbedealtwithappropriately.Inthisstudy,thedeficiencies
ofthelowfrequencypavementresponseareovercomebyextrapolatingtheintermediate
frequency (1020 Hz) data through the noisepolluted region. This is achieved by
implementingasingledegreeoffreedomextrapolationprocedurethatisbothstableand
capableofcloselymimickingthephysicalcharacteristicsofthelowfrequencypavement
responseforavarietyofmultilayersystems.
Graphical user interface. The above developments are implemented as a
comprehensive preprocessing procedure for FWD backcalculation in a graphical
application,GopherCalc.Theinterfaceisequippedwithanumberofoptions,allowinga
user to i) perform automated averaging of the devicestored deflection records, ii)
visualize the temporal and frequencydomain signatures of pavement deflections, iii)
selectthetypeofbaselinecorrection,iv)viewthelowfrequencyextrapolation,andv)
comparethepeakbasedandextrapolatedstaticdeflectionbasins.Inthefuture,thispre
processing tool will be integrated with a variety of established elastostatic
backcalculationprocedures. Performanceoftheintegratedpreprocessingprocedureis
examinedusingboth(noisepolluted)syntheticandfieldrecords.
EXTRACTIONOFSTATICDEFLECTIONSFROMFWDRECORDS
Toextractthestaticdeflectionsfromthetransientpavementresponseduetoimparted
FWD loading, it is necessary to perform a frequency domain analysis. This is
accomplishedbytheapplicationofaFouriertransformtothetemporaldeflectionand
forcerecords.TheFouriertransformiscommonlyusedandwidelyimplementedasan
integraltransforminsignalprocessingwhichdecomposese.g.afunctionoftime,intoa

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

seriesofharmonics. SinceanyFWDrecord,g(t),isinherentlydigitizedandoffinite
duration,adiscreteFouriertransform
G ( f m ) = Dt

M
j =0

g ( t j )e

- i ( 2p f m ) t j

m = 0,1, 2,..., M

mustbeappliedwhereg(tj)isthevalueof g atthesamplingpoint tj=jt (j=0,1,2M)

and fm = m f=m/(Mt). Thereareseveralefficientalgorithmsforimplementingthe
discreteFouriertransform,commonlyreferredtoasFastFourierTransforms(FFT),[9]
Fortheapplicationof(1)toFWDrecordswithe.g. N geophones,let Q(fm)and Wk(fm)
denoterespectivelytheFouriertransformsofthefallingweightforce,q(t),andpavement
deflectionatthekthsensor,wk(t).Inthissetting,thefrequencyresponsefunctionofthe
pavement system at the kth sensor (k=1,2..N) is formally defined as FRFk(fm) =
Wk(fm)/Q(fm).
Whenmultiplerealizations(i =1,2,T)oftheFWDtestareavailable,thefeatured
deflectionperunitloadratiointhefrequencydomainiscomputedmorerobustlyusing
thecrossspectralSqkandautospectralSqqdensityfunctions[10]where
1
T
1
=
T

S qk ( f m ) =
Sqq ( f m )

T
i =1
T
i =1

Q* ( f m )

Wk ( f m ) i ,

m = 0,1, 2,..., M

Q* ( f m )

Q ( fm ) i ,

m = 0,1, 2,..., M

and * denotes the complex conjugate. The frequency response functions FRFk
characterizingthepavementsystemarethencomputedas
FRFk ( f m ) =

S qk ( f m )
S qq ( f m )

k = 1, 2,..., N , m = 0,1, 2,..., M

Note that FRFk are inherently complex valued, with their real and imaginary parts
representingtheinandoutofphasecomponentsofthepavementresponseatthe kth
station.Inthecontextof(4),itisimportanttonoteasin[11]thatanapplicationofthe
FouriertransformtoFWDdatarequirestheuseofthelong(1200ms)recordstoavoid
unnecessarysystematicerrorsassociatedwithprematuresignaltruncation.

BASELINEOFFSET

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

DuringanFWDtestthepavementvelocityrecordsatgeophonelocationsareinevitably
polluted with noise due e.g. to ambient vibrations. When integrated to estimate the
pavementdeflections,suchmeasurementnoiseoftenaccumulates,resultinginanonzero
deflectionvalueattheendofthetemporalrecord. Suchphenomenonisillustratedin
Figure1awherethedeflectionsexhibitanoticeabledriftattimes>0.1swhenonewould
expectthepavementsystemtoreturntotheundeformedconfiguration.Whiletheeffect
ofbaselineoffsetmaynotbecriticalinthecontextofpeakdeflections,itsimportance
cannotbeneglectedwhencomputingthefrequencyresponsefunctions FRFk asthey
depend on the entire temporal records. Figure 1b plots FRFk computed from the
baselineoffsetpolluted records in Figure 1a. As can be seen from the display, the
frequencyrecordsarehighlyoscillatorydespitecomputingFRFkusing(2)(4)fromsix
repetitionsoftheFWDtest. Clearly,suchoscillationsareunacceptableastheyoften
exceedtherespectivemeanvaluesandmustbedealtwithbeforeameaningfulfrequency
domainanalysisofFWDrecordscanbeapplied.

FIGURE1FWDfielddata:a)timehistorieswk(t)andb)frequencyresponsefunctionsFRFk(f),k=
1,29computedfrom6repeateddropsattheMn/ROADtestingfacility,TestSection33,May22nd,
2001.Nobaselinecorrectionapplied.

In seismology, the presence of even small amounts of baseline offset in ground

accelerationdatahasbeenshowntogeneratelargeerrorsindisplacementcalculations

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

[7,8].TodealwiththeprobleminthecontextofFWDrecords,abaselinecorrectionis
appliedtothetemporaldeflectionrecordssuchasthoseinFigure1aintheformof

( )

( )

wkbc t j = wk t j -

wk ( t M ) - wk ( t0 )

( t M - t0 )

(t )
j

j = 0,1, 2,...M

wherenistheorderofthepolynomialbaselinecorrection.Itisusefultonotethatinthe
caseoflinearbaselinecorrection(n=1),transformation(5)amountstoarotationofthe
temporalrecordtoachievethezerooffsetwkbc(tM)=0.
WithreferencetoFigure1,thebaselinecorrectedFWDrecords(withn=1)and
theassociatedfrequencyresponsefunctionsareplottedrespectivelyinFigures2aand2b.
From the display, it is evident that the baseline correction removes the artificial
oscillations while maintaining the overall character of the pavement response in the
frequencydomain.

FIGURE2FWDfielddata:a)timehistorieswk(t)andb)frequencyresponsefunctionsFRFk(f),k=
1,29computedfrom6repeateddropsattheMn/ROADtestingfacility,TestSection33,May22nd,
2001.Linearbaselinecorrectionapplied(n=1).

LOWFREQUENCYRESPONSE
BydefinitionthefrequencyresponsefunctionFRFk(fm)=Wk(fm)/Q(fm),whenevaluatedat
azerofrequency f0 =0,yieldsthepavementdeflectionatthe kth sensorduetoa static
forcecomponentQ(f0).Asaresult,oncethefrequencyresponsefunctionsarecomputed,

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

thestaticpavementresponseisgivenbytheirreadingsatzerofrequency.Unfortunately,
duetophysicallimitationsofgeophoneconstruction[11]thelowfrequencyportionof
eachFRFk,includingitsstaticvalue,isinherentlyassociatedwithinadequatesignalto
noiseratiosandisthusoflimitedpracticalvalue.Asanillustration,thephenomenonis
highlightedinFigure3.TheFRFsbegintoexperiencequestionablefluctuationsinthe
lowfrequencyregime(below510Hz),exemplifiedbytheunreasonablecrossingand
reversalofFRF8 andFRF9 atapproximately2.5Hz. Notehoweverthattheintegrated
geophonerecordsintheintermediateregime(1025Hz)aretypicallycharacterizedby
strong signaltonoise ratios and are thus deemed reliable. For these reasons, it is
proposed that the static values be obtained by a robust lowfrequency extrapolation
scheme,anchoredinthetrusted(intermediate)frequencyrange.

FIGURE3LowfrequencyresponseofabaselinecorrectedFWDtest.Mn/ROADtestingfacility,
TestSection33,May22nd,2001.

Indecidingthetrustedfrequencyrange,itisfurthernotedasinGuzinaand
Nintcheu[12]thatthecentroidoftheFourierspectrumofatypicalFWDloadpulseis
locatedslightlyabove20Hz. Additionally,theenergytransferredtothepavementis
primarilylimitedtofrequencieslessthan40Hz.Owingtothenecessitytofitacurveto
thereliabledataandextrapolatethroughtheunusableregion,thefitrangeischosenas
1020Hz.
Depending on the mechanical properties and physical characteristics of the
pavementsystem,itsresponsetoFWDloadingintherangeof1020Hzcanvarywidely,
frombeingsmoothandwellbehavedtofeaturingasharpresonantpeak[11].Sincethe
abilitytomimicthemechanicsoflowfrequencyresponseiscriticalforzerofrequency
extrapolation,asuitablecurvefittingmodelmustbedevelopedthatisabletocapturethe
varietyofpavementbehaviorswhileremainingstableasthefrequencytendstowardzero.

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

ItisthereforeproposedthataSingleDegreeofFreedom (SDOF)model,expressedin
the context of dynamic stiffness with units of displacementperunitforce, be
implementedforfittingandextrapolation. Thekeyadvantagesofthismodelarei)its
inherent stability manifest in the zeroslope at zero frequency, and ii) its ability to
representawiderangeofmechanicalbehaviorsrangingfromamonotonicdeflection
load variation to that exhibiting a sharp peak. The frequency response function
(representingthedeflectionperunitloadratioin the frequency domain) for aSDOF
systemwithmassm,springconstant s,anddampingratio canbewrittenas
1
ks

FRFSDOF ( w ) =
1 -

w
w0

w
+ 2x
w0

w0 =

ks
m

where =2f
denotesthecircularfrequency. ToextrapolatetheexperimentalFWD
datasafelythroughthelowfrequencyregion, isfittedtoeach FRFk, usingnonlinear
minimization, in the featured intermediate range (1020 Hz). Through numerical
simulations,itwasfoundthataproperchoiceofinitialparametersintermsof s,m,and
iscriticalforthesuccessoftheminimizationprocedureandthequalityoftheSDOF
fitingeneral.
InitialValuesforSDOFFitting
In general, it is reasonable to assume that the layered pavement system is laterally
homogeneousovertheFWDsensorarray(typicallylessthan2meters).Consequently,
geophonerecordsstemmingfromasingleFWDtestwilltypicallyhavesimilarfeatures.
Forexample,aresonantpeakwillbevisibleinallgeophonerecords,thoughmuchless
pronounced for geophones farther away from the loading plate. Nonetheless, each
geophonerecordwillhaveitsownindividualfeatures(Figure3)anditisnecessarytofit
theSDOFmodeltoeach FRFk separately asameanstoensureaccurateextrapolation
towardsthestaticpavementresponse.
InitialSpringStiffness
Withreferenceto,onemaynotethatthedenominatorofFRFSDOFapproachesunityasthe
circularfrequency 0 sothatthestaticvalueof FRFSDOF equals1/ s. Byvirtueof
thisbehavior,selectionoftheinitialvalueforthespringconstant, sinitialasthevalueof

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

10

FRFk atthelowfrequencycutoff(10Hz)providesareasonableapproximationwhile
avoidingthenoisedominatedbehaviorofthelowerfrequencies.Anexpressionforthe
initialspringconstantthenbecomes:
1
k sinitial =
.
FRFk ( 10 Hz )

FIGURE4EffectofdampingratioonthefrequencyresponsefunctionofaSDOFsystem.

InitialDamping
FromnumericalsimulationsitwasfoundthattheabilityoftheSDOFsystemtocapture
thelowfrequencypeak(ifany)inthepavementresponseisprimarilydependentuponits
dampingratio0 1.AscanbeseeninFigure4,variationsin resultinawide
variety of shapes. The variation in shape can be broken down into three primary
categoriesforthepurposeofdetermininginitialvalues,namelyi)pronouncedpeak,ii)
gentlepeak,andiii)nodiscernablepeak.Inthecasewherethepeakispronounced,the
halfpowermethod[13]providesaconvenientmeanstodeterminethepropervalue.In
thecontextofthisstudy,thehalfpowermethodcanbeadaptedtotheselectionofan
initialdampingratioasfollows.Let
FRFkmax
FRFkreduced =
2

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

11

whereFRFkmaxisthepeakvalueofthefittedfunctionFRFk,locatedatfmaxinfrequency
rangeofinterest.Next,letfLandfRbethefrequenciestotheleftandrightoffmaxwhose
valueisFRFkreduced.Theamountdampingcanthenbeapproximatedas:
f - fL
x initial = R
.
2 f max
Theabovedescribedhalfpowerapproachwasfoundtobemosteffectiveforgeophone
recordswherethevaluesofFRFkreducedcanbereasonablydeterminedonbothsidesoffmax.
Insituationswhere FRFkmax occurswithinthefrequencyintervalofinterest(1020Hz)
butisnotpronouncedenoughtoyieldreasonablevaluesforfLandfR,experiencedictates
thattakingtheinitialdampingratioof intial= 0.3issufficienttoensureconvergence.
Further,if FRFk variesmonotonicallyoverthefeaturedfrequencyinterval,experience
suggeststhat intial=0.8providesarobustinitialguess.Hereitisimportanttonotethat
theabovedescribedprocedureforchoosing intial isimplementedinafullyautomated
algorithmwithinGopherCalc.
Oncetheinitialvaluesofthespringanddampingparametershavebeenchosen,
theinitialvalueoftheSDOFmasscanbecalculateas
minitial =

k sinitial 1 - 2 x initial
2p f max

),

x initial < 2

whichensuresthatthelocationsofthepeaksoftheSDOFandfittedFRFkcurvecoincide.
For intial>2,theSDOFcurvedoesnothaveapeakandexperiencesuggestsaninitial
valueofminitial0issufficienttoprovidereasonableconvergence.
Figure 5 illustrates the performance of the MATLAB fitting procedure
(fminsearch)withtheinitialvaluesoftheSDOFparametersselectedasdescribed
above. Ascanbeseen,theSDOFsystemiscapableofaccuratelyfittingallgeophone
recordsinawaythatprovidesstableandconsistentextrapolationthroughthenoise
pollutedlowfrequencyrange.

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

12

FIGURE5LowfrequencyresponseofthepavementsystemfittedwithSDOFmodeland
extrapolatedtowardzerofrequency.

IMPLEMENTATION:GopherCalc
AnFWDtesttypicallyconsistsofmanyrepeateddropsatvariousheightsandlocations,
thusautomationoftheabovefrequencydomainandfittinganalyseswasnecessaryto
expedite computations. A graphical application, GopherCalc was developed using
MATLAB. The user interface is equipped with a number of options, allowing i)
automated averaging of multiple FWD records (by station and drop height), ii)
visualizationofthetemporalandfrequencydomainpavementresponse,iii)selectionof
theorderofpolynomialbaselinecorrection,iv)visualizationofthe(automated)SDOFfit
and lowfrequency extrapolation, and v) visual comparison of the peakbased and
extrapolatedstatic deflection basins. In the future, this preprocessing tool will be
integratedwithavarietyofestablishedelastostaticbackcalculationprocedures. Asan
illustration,ascreenshotofGopherCalcisshowninFigure6whichshowssomeofthe
availableoptions.

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

13

FIGURE6GopherCalcgraphicaluserinterface.

RESULTSANDDISCUSSION
Tovalidatethepreprocessingmethodologypresentedthusfar,analysiswasperformed
onbothsyntheticallygenerateddataandfielddatafromtheMn/ROADfacility.Inwhat
follows,syntheticFWDwaveformsaregeneratedusingtheelastodynamicFWDmodel
[12]thatmakesuseofthemethodofpropagatormatrices,theFouriertransform,andthe
Hankelintegraltransform[14].

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

14

ParametricStudywithSyntheticData
WithreferencetoTable1,sixtestprofilesconsistingofeitherthreeorfourelasticlayers
wereusedtoexaminetheeffectivenessoftheproposedpreprocessingprocedure.Using
the noisepolluted FWD time histories generated by the forward model, composite
deflectionbasinsarecomputedusingbothi)thepeaktopeak(P2P)method,andii)the
proposedfrequencyresponsefunction(FRF)technique. Asamplecomparisonofthe
deflectionbasinsisshowninFigure7wherethepeakmethodrecoversdecidedlylarger
valuesatmostgeophonelocations.

TABLE1InformationonSyntheticLayerProfiles
Case
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
Case
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6

AC
2700
2700
2700
2700
2700
2700
AC
2335
2335
2335
2335
2335
2335

Young'sModulus[MPa]
Base
Subbase
216
112
54
28
216
112
54
28
28
N/A
270
112
Mass[kg/m3]
Base
Subbase
2027
1865
2027
1865
2027
1865
2027
1865
1865
N/A
2027
1865

Stiff
N/A
N/A
1160
580
580
N/A

AC
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.15
0.1

Stiff
N/A
N/A
2160
2160
2160
N/A

AC
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35

Thickness[m]
Base
Subbase
0.3
N/A
0.3
N/A
0.3
5
0.3
5
3
N/A
0.3
N/A
Poisson'sratio
Base
Subbase
0.35
0.4
0.35
0.4
0.35
0.4
0.35
0.4
0.4
N/A
0.35
0.4

Stiff

Stiff
N/A
N/A
0.45
0.45
0.45
N/A

SPACINGFROMCENTER[cm]
NORMALIZEDDEFLECTION[um/kN]

50

100

150

200

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50

FIGURE7Comparisonofstatic(FRF)anddynamic(P2P)deflectionbasins,Case4.

FRF
P2P

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

15

TheP2PandFRFdeflectionbasinsgeneratedforeachtestlayeredprofilewereusedas
aninputtotheelastostaticbackcalculationprogramEVERCALC[15]togetherwithi)the
informationconcerninglayerthicknessesandPoissonsratios(Table1),andii)theseed
modulus values showninTable 2.The results of the elastostatic backcalculationare
showninFigure8adwherethetruemodulusvalues(Table1)arealsolistedtoprovide
apointofreference.Asshowninthefigures,theeffectofthedynamicportionofthe
pavement response, inherently embedded in the P2P analysis, is evident in the
backcalculatedmoduli.Inparticular,oneofthewellknownshortcomingsofthepeak
topeakmethodisitssensitivitytoshallowstifflayers[16].ThisisconfirmedbytheP2P
backcalculation results for Cases 3, 4, and 5 where the modulus of the AC layer is
overestimated(Figure8a)whilethestifflayerremainsvirtuallyundetected(Figure8d).
Incontrast,theelastostaticbackcalculation,whenappliedtotheFRFdeflectionbasin,
yieldsmodulusvaluesthatareconsistentwiththeirtruecounterparts.Withreferenceto
Figure8ad,theonlysituationwheretheFRFbasedbackcalculationfailstoidentifythe
pavementmoduluscorrectlydealswiththestifflayerofCase4.Thisanomaly,however,
maybecausedbyalimitationoftheFWDtestingconfigurationitselfratherthanthedata
interpretationmethodology.Indeed,MeierandRix[4]suggestthatwhenthestifflayer
islocatedatdepthsgreaterthan3meters(Case4),theFWDdeflectionbasinislargely
unaffectedbyitspresence.
TABLE2EVERCALCLimitingandSeedValues
Young'sModulus
Max.[MPa]
Min.[MPa]
Seed[MPa]

AC
10000
5
2700

Base
10000
5
200

Subgrade
10000
5
100

Stiff
10000
5
100

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

16

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

17

FIGURE8ResultsofEVERCALCbackcalculationforthea)AClayer,b)baselayer,c)subgrade
layer,d)stifflayer(ifpresent).

InitialStudywithFieldData

Mn/ROADSection31(lowvolumeroad). Tohighlightthedifferencesinelastostatic
backcalculationwhenappliedtoP2Pand(static)FRFdeflectionbasinsinthecontextof
fieldapplications,acomparisonsimilartothatpresentedearlierisperformedusingFWD
datafromSection31(lowvolumeroad)attheMn/ROADtestingfacility.Inthefirst
example,theFWDtestingwasperformedonafourlayerpavementsystemwithbaseand
subbasebutnostifflayer,seeTable3.TheresultsoftheEVERCALCbackcalculation
areshowninFigure9.DespitetheapparentdifferencesbetweentheMn/ROADsection
profile and those used in synthetic examples, the P2P backcalculation appears to
overestimatetheACmoduluswhileunderestimatingthemoduliofdeeperlayers;atrend
that is similartothoseobserved inthecontextof syntheticdata,seeFigure8. For
completeness, the comparison is also performed using an alternative backcalculation
routine, ELMOD [17]. Notwithstanding the apparent differences in the estimated
moduli,therelative(FRFversusP2P)trendagainmimicsthatinFigure8.

FIGURE9BackcalculationresultsforMn/ROADLowVolumeRoad(Testsection31,March16th,
2001).
TABLE3LayerInformationforTestSection31(Mn/ROADtestingfacility)
Layer
HotMixAsphaltSurface
Class5SpecialBase
Class3SpecialBase
ClaySubgrade

Thickness[cm] Poisson'sratio
9
0.4
10.2
0.35
30.5
0.4

0.45

Mn/ROAD Section 33 (phantom subbase layer). In the second example, the

performanceoftheP2PandFRFbasedbackcalculationiscomparedusingtheFWD
data takenatSection33attheMn/ROADfacility. Thissectionwasconstructedby
placing a 0.1m asphalt layer directly on top of the 1.2mthick layer of Class6 base
material that was used to construct the embankment [3]. The soil underlying the
embankmentwasinsituclayeymaterial. Forbackcalculationpurposes,the H B =1.2m

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

18

B
B
B
thick layer of Class6 material was artificially divided, as H = H1 + H 2 , into two
B
B
phantomlayersofthickness H1 and H 2 givenby

H1B [m] = 0.2 + 0.1k ,

H 2B [m] = 1.0 - 0.1k , k =0,1,...4

AlthoughtheexactmechanicalcharacteristicsoftheClass6materialwereunavailable,
onewouldexpectamoderateincreaseofthemoduluswithdepthwithintheembankment
layer duetoinsitustressesandapressuredependentbehaviorofgranularmaterials.
Accordingly,thebackcalculationanalysisisexpectedtoyieldsomewhathighermodulus
B
forthelowersublayer(thickness H 2 )comparedtothatoftheuppersublayer(thickness
H1B ).OnperformingtheFRFbasedbackcalculationwithvariablethicknesses H1B and
H 2B ofthebaseandsubbaseaccordingto(11),theirrespectivemoduliwereobtainedas
E1B =8317MPa and E2B =20729MPa. On the other hand, the P2Pbased method
B
B
producedthemodulivaluesas E1 =3613MPa and E2 =946498MPa ,whicharefar

lessreasonable.Onthebasisoftheseinitialfieldcomparisons,itappearsthattheFRF
basedbackcalculationproducesmoreconsistentresultswhenthesubsurfaceconditions
(i.e.layerthicknesses)arenotpreciselyknown.

CONCLUSION
Inthisstudy,anautomatedpreprocessingprocedurewasdevelopedtoextractthestatic
deflectionsfromtheFWDtest.UsingasimplepreprocessingmodificationoftheFWD
timehistories,thekeyinconsistencyassociatedwithanelastostaticbackcalculationofthe
peak(i.e.dynamic)FWDdataisremovedbymeansofafrequencydomainanalysisof
the FWDdeflectionrecords. ThroughtheuseofaFouriertransformandfrequency
responsefunctions,thestaticpavementresponseisextractedfromthetransientFWD
data records, thus eliminating the dynamic effects that undermine the conventional
elastostatic backcalculation. This alternative method of analysis canbe applied to a
conventionalFWDtest,althoughitrequirestheuseofthefull,1200mstemporalrecord
toavoidtruncationerrorsassociatedwithshortertimehistories[11]. Whencombined
withapropertreatmentoftheexperimentalerrorsinFWDdata,namelyi)applicationof
asuitablebaselinecorrection,andii)extrapolationofthefrequencyresponsefunctions
fromthe(stable)intermediatefrequencyrangethroughthenoisepollutedlowfrequency
region, theproposedpreprocessingprocedureis shown,throughnumericalandfield
examples,toelevatetheperformanceoftheconventionalelastostaticbackanalyses.For

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

19

pavementengineeringapplications,thedevelopmentsareimplementedinauserfriendly
graphicalenvironmentGopherCalc.

REFERENCES
1. Uzan,J.DynamicLinearBackCalculationofPavementMaterialParameters.ASCE
JournalofTransportationEngineering,Vol.120,No.1,1994,pp.109126
2. Magnuson,A.H.,R.L.Lytton,andR.C.Briggs.ComparisonofComputer
PredictionsandFieldDataforDynamicAnalysisofFallingWeightDeflectometer
Data.TransportationResearchRecord1293,1991,pp.6171.
3. Cao,D.DelinationofSubgradeSoilsfromFallingWeightDeflectometer
Measurements.M.S.Thesis,UniversityofMinnesota,November2001.
4. Meier,R.W.andG.J.Rix.BackcalculationofFlexiblePavementModuliFrom
DynamicDeflectionBasinsUsingArtificialNeuralNetworks.Transportation
ResearchRecord1473,1995,pp.7281
5. Kim,Y.,andY.R.Kim.PredictionofLayerModulifromFallingWeight
DeflectometerandSurfaceWaveMeasurementsUsingArtificialNeuralNetwork.
TransportationResearchRecord1639,1998,pp.5361.
6. Guzina,B.B.andR.H.Osburn.AnEffectiveToolforEnhancingtheElastostatic
PavementDiagnosis.TransportationResearchRecord1806,2002,pp.3037.
7. Chiu,H.C.,StableBaselineCorrectionofDigitalStrongMotionData,Bulletinof
theSeismologicalSocietyofAmerica,Vol.87,No.4,1997,pp.932944.
8. Boore,D.M.,EffectofBaselineCorrectionsonDisplacementsandResponseSpectra
forSeveralRecordingsofthe1999ChiChi,Taiwan,Earthquake,Bulletinofthe
SeismologicalSocietyofAmerica,Vol.91,No.5,2001,pp.11991211.
9. Cooley,J.WandJ.W.Tukey,AnAlgorithmfortheMachineCalculationofComplex
FourierSeries,MathematicsofComputation,Vol.19,No.90,1965,pp297301.

Westover,T.M.andGuzina,B.B.

20

10. Bendat,J.S.,andA.G.Piersol,RandomData:AnalysisandMeasurement
Procedures,JohnWileyandSons,Inc.,NewYork,2000.
11. Osburn,R.H.OntheEnhancementofElastostaticPavementDiagnosis.M.S.Thesis,
UniversityofMinnesota,July2004.
12. Guzina,B.B.andS.Nintcheu,AStudyofGroundStructureInteractioninDynamic
PlateLoadTesting,InternationalJournalforNumericalandAnalyticalMethodsin
Geomechanics,Vol.26,2002,pp.11471166.
13. Meirovitch,L.PrinciplesandTechniquesofVibrations.PrenticeHall,1997.
14. Guzina,B.B.andR.Y.S.Pak,OntheAnalysisofWaveMotionsinaMultiLayered
Solid,QuarterlyJournalofMechanicsandAppliedMathematics,Vol.40,2001,pp.
1337.
15. WSDOTPavementGuide:EVERCALC,WashingtonStateDepartmentof
Transportation,Seattle,1995.
16. Davis,T.G.andM.S.Mamlouk,TheoreticalresponseofMultilayerPavement
SystemstoDynamicNondestructiveTesting,TransportationResearchRecord1022,
1985,pp.17.
18.ELMOD:PavementEvaluationManual.DynatestInternational.California,April
2001.