Revised approach to assessing traffic speed deflectometer data and field validation of deflection bowl predictions

This study presents a revised approach to conceptualising and analysing data from the traffic speed deflectometer (TSD) which enables full deflection bowl predictions. The approach was successfully applied to TSD surface velocity measurements collected at seven test sites as part of recent Australian trials. More than 1500 deflection bowls produced from the TSD data were validated against approximately 600 40- and 50-kN falling weight deflectometer (FWD) deflection bowl profiles. Overall, the results showed a clear correlation between the shape and magnitude of deflection bowls predicted by both methods. Estimates of maximum deflection (d(0)) and structural curvature index (SCI300) from both methods were also compared, showing a strong correlation. The results suggest that the TSD device has significant potential to be used to collect measurements of pavement deflection bowls at highway speeds which are comparable with FWD deflection bowl measurements.