Master of Science / Department of Civil Engineering / Mustaque A. Hossain / The objective of this research project was to assess the condition of general aviation airport pavements in Kansas. The study was also intended to form the basis for a pavement management system (PMS). A total of 137 runways from 107 airports across the state were surveyed. MicroPAVER, a PMS system developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was selected as the platform for the PMS. An inventory database was developed for all runways in the network. Information about the construction and maintenance history was entered into the MicroPAVER database. On-site surveys were conducted between the months of May and July of 2008 to assess pavement conditions in terms of the Pavement Condition Index (PCI), following the methodology outlined by ASTM D 5340-04 and adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Approximately 68% of the sections surveyed were in “good” to “satisfactory” condition. Almost one-third of the network can be rated as “good.” About 21% of the sections studied were in “fair” condition. Overall, the condition of the network can be rated as “satisfactory.” A condition prediction curve was developed for each of the two different types of surfaces. From the prediction curves created using MicroPAVER, it was estimated that the number of branches rated as “good” could decrease by 50% by 2010. As much as 44% of the network could have a rating of “fair” by 2013 if the sections receive only routine maintenance. Two budget scenario comparison reports developed show that the 108 runways of the 78 general aviation airports eligible for FAA funding in Kansas could be brought to a “satisfactory” rating or above (i.e. average PCI ≥ 70) by spending approximately $15 million on average per year for the next five years.

Automated technologies can be beneficial for collecting data on the condition of pavements. As opposed to a traditional manual survey of the road, automated data collection can provide a safer alternative that is objective, repeatable, and consistent, while traveling at highway speeds. Though the automated method is preferred, it still needs to be reliable enough to accurately model the current pavement performance. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) initiated a project to allow an independent assessment of the accuracy and repeatability of new automated distress data measurements. In this study, 20 550-ft. pavement sections were tested with automated data collection technologies. The sections were located in Austin and Waco Districts. The accuracy and repeatability was evaluated for cracking and other distress measurements, cross slope measurements, and texture measurements. Known manual methods were used as a reference, and a 3D system developed by TxDOT was compared with three systems of other vendors (Dynatest, Fugro, and Waylink-OSU). With the data provided for the texture and cross slope, an additional investigation was done to evaluate hydroplaning potential. This thesis reports in the latter investigation. / text

A presente dissertação teve como objetivos principais delinear um procedimento de análise de sensibilidade que possa ser utilizado de forma ampla por usuários do programa computacional de gerência de pavimentos HDM-4 e analisar a influência de modificações no cenário pré-definido no estudo de caso, notadamente considerações de projeto e de tráfego. A escolha do Método dos Efeitos Elementares foi precedida por uma revisão bibliográfica sobre análise de sensibilidade, sendo que o procedimento foi delineado com um estudo de caso que partiu de um cenário pré-definido (rodovia de pista simples e pavimento asfáltico sobre base granular) e fez a análise da variação de 61 fatores, em 300 trajetórias, totalizando 18.600 simulações no programa HDM-4. Os resultados deste estudo indicaram que a utilização de uma amostra com 30 trajetórias é adequada, pois aumentar este número não acarreta ganhos significativos e a sua diminuição ocasiona prejuízos. Com o procedimento delineado, passou-se à verificação de impactos que a modificação dos cenários pré-definidos para a análise gerariam, ou seja, se a modificação de fatores que não estão no grupo de 61 fatores em estudo interferiria no resultado final do procedimento. Foram estudadas modificações nas considerações de projeto (Taxa de Desconto Monetário Anual e Período de Análise) e nas considerações de tráfego (Percentual de Veículos Comerciais e da Taxa de Crescimento Anual do Tráfego), com os resultados evidenciando que ambas as modificações influem no resultado final da análise de sensibilidade, sendo que as modificações nas considerações de tráfego se mostraram mais influentes que as modificações nas considerações de projeto. Complementarmente, foi feita uma análise de sensibilidade pelo Método dos Efeitos Elementares, com 250 trajetórias, que identificou como os três fatores mais influentes na análise econômica do programa HDM-4, dentro do universo estudado, o Volume Diário Médio Anual de Veículos Motorizados, o Fator de Calibração para a Progressão da Irregularidade Longitudinal e o Fator de Calibração para a Razão do Número Estrutural Ajustado das Estações Úmida e Seca. / This Master of Science Dissertation aimed to outline a procedure for sensitivity analysis that can be widely used by computer program of pavement management HDM-4 users. It also aimed to analyze the influence of changes in the pre-defined scenario of the case study, especially design and traffic considerations. The choice of the Elementary Effects Method was preceded by a literature review on sensitivity analysis, and the procedure was outlined with a case study that came from a pre-defined scenario (two lane standard and asphalt pavement on granular base) and variations of 61 factors, considering 300 trajectories, in a total of 18,600 simulations in HDM-4 program. The results indicated that the use of a sample with 30 trajectories is appropriate, because increasing this number does not cause significant gains and reducing it can harm the analysis. With the procedure outlined, it was checked if changes in factors that are not in the group of 61 studied factors can interfere with the end result. Thus, changes in design (Discount Rate and Period Annual Monetary Analysis) and traffic (Percentage of Commercial Vehicle and Annual Growth Rate of Traffic) considerations affected the final result the sensitivity analysis, and the changes in traffic considerations were more influential than changes in design considerations. In addition, it was conducted a sensitivity analysis by the Elementary Effects Method, with 250 trajectories, which identified as the three most influential factors in the economic analysis of HDM-4 program, within the universe studied, the Annual Average Daily Traffic of Automobiles, the Calibration Factor for the Progression of Longitudinal Roughness and the Calibration Factor for the Ratio of Adjusted Structural Number Wet and Dry Seasons.

Este trabalho apresenta considerações sobre os custos de pavimentos rígidos, abordando os custos de construção, os custos de manutenção e reabilitação e os custos de operação dos veículos. Apresenta, inicialmente, uma revisão dos fatores intervenientes no dimensionamento de pavimentos rígidos, particularmente os métodos adotados pela Associação Brasileira de Cimento Portland (ABCP) e pela American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), e os procedimentos construtivos mais utilizados no Brasil. As atividades de manutenção e reabilitação são associadas às principais formas de deterioração dos pavimentos rígidos, tomando-se como referência, neste trabalho, o Manual de Identificação de Defeitos do Programa SHRP. Quanto aos custos que incidem sobre os usuários e que dependem, principalmente, da condição da superfície de rolamento, são analisadas a influência da curva de desempenho e a estimativa elos custos ele operação dos veículos a partir ela irregularidade longitudinal dos pavimentos. Desenvolve-se uma programação fatorial de simulações que tem como fatores o método ele dimensionamento, o módulo de reação do subleito e o volume de tráfego. Analisam-se, ao final, a importância relativa desses fatores sobre cada urna das parcelas que compõem o custo total de um pavimento rígido. / This work analyses the costs of rigid pavements, that are compound by construction, maintenance and rehabilitation, and user costs. It is presented the basic concepts of rigid pavement design, mainiy the Brazilian Association of Portland Cement (ABCP) and the American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) methods, and the construction procedures most used in Brazil. The maintenance and rehabilitation activities are related to rigid pavement distresses, and in this work the reference is the Distress Identification Manual developed by the SHRP Program. In terms of user costs, which are due to pavement rolling condition, it is analyzed the importance of performance trends and the estimation of user costs from pavement roughness. It is developed a factorial simulation program considering the following factors: rigid pavement design method, modulus of subgrade reaction, and traffic volume. It is analyzed the relative effects of each factor on the rigid pavements total cost.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo estudar todas as parcelas de custos que envolvem os pavimentos flexíveis e rígidos durante sua vida em serviço, abordando os custos de construção, de manutenção e reabilitação e os custos de operação dos veículos. Inicialmente, tem-se a análise dos métodos utilizados para o dimensionamento dos pavimentos flexíveis e rígidos, bem como dos custos associados a diferentes procedimentos construtivos utilizados no Brasil, visando o estabelecimento dos custos de construção. Os custos de manutenção e reabilitação são determinados a partir da identificação das principais formas de deterioração dos pavimentos. Os custos de operação dos veículos, que incidem diretamente sobre os usuários e dependem, principalmente, da condição da superfície de rolamento, são calculados com base em modelos de desempenho de programas de gerência de pavimentos utilizados por organismos rodoviários brasileiros. Para uma maior abrangência da análise comparativa de pavimentos flexíveis e rígidos foi elaborada uma programação fatorial de simulações. A comparação dos custos dos pavimentos flexíveis e rígidos é proveniente da análise dos custos totais obtidos para todas as combinações de fatores intervenientes (células da matriz fatorial). Os fatores utilizados são: tipo de subleito, materiais e espessuras das camadas (métodos de dimensionamento), solicitações e volume de tráfego e estratégia de manutenção e reabilitação dos pavimentos. / This research work aims to determine and compare the total cost for both, rigid and flexible pavements. Thus, it analyzes all components of costs related to flexible and rigid pavements during their service lives, i.e., construction cost, maintenance and rehabilitation cost and users cost. For the determination of the construction cost it is considered the most used pavement design methods, as well construction procedures used in Brazil. The maintenance and rehabilitation cost is calculated based on the identification of the main distress types for both flexible and rigid pavements that occur in Brazil. The users cost, function of the pavement surface condition, is calculated from performance models used by Brazilian highway agencies. For a broader comparison of rigid and flexible pavements it is performed a factorial analysis. The main factors to be considered are: subgrade type, pavement layer material and thickness, traffic load and volume, maintenance and rehabilitation strategy. The simulations for the determination of total cost will be done for each cell of the factorial matrix, i.e., for each combination of factors.

O patrimônio de infraestrutura rodoviária brasileira através dos tempos está sobrevivendo com investimentos com grandeza de valor bem abaixo do que muitos outros países estão alocando. A questão de quanto investir em infraestrutura de transportes depende de múltiplas variáveis como a situação política e econômica do país, a característica da frota, sua dimensão territorial, sua matriz, os tipos de pavimentos utilizados e as condições climáticas. Portanto, estimar um valor a ser empregado em manutenção rodoviária de forma recomendável, deve ser resultado dos estudos que envolvam essas variáveis, como elas interagem entre si e como esse investimento retorna para a sociedade. Diante de tantas áreas precárias, administrar recursos para a infraestrutura de transportes é um desafio a ser ainda vencido no Brasil. É engajada nesse desafio, que essa dissertação é composta por três artigos que abordam os principais assuntos: (i) avaliação da gestão da manutenção rodoviária no Brasil, quanto a sua abrangência, investimentos e as experiências internacionais; (ii) os conceitos e etapas de um SGP (Sistema de Gerência de Pavimentos) e a sua importância no planejamento das intervenções de manutenção; (iii) aplicação prática com o software Highway Development and Management (HDM-4), avaliando os resultados econômicos com as variáveis International Roughness Index (IRI) e Volume Médio Diário (VDM) do tráfego iniciais de segmentos de uma rodovia federal, utilizando como alternativas de projeto programas usuais adotados pelos gestores da rodovia. A terceirização dos serviços de manutenção pelos departamentos rodoviários exige que tenham que planejar e administrar contratos de manutenção por pouco ou longo período. A aplicação prática do HDM-4 demonstra que, o planejamento, um componente de um SGP, deve ser considerado permanentemente pelos administradores públicos ou privados. A questão de quanto investir em manutenção nesse contexto depende de como se investiu em momento antecedente, tanto com os serviços de infraestrutura como nas etapas de inventário da malha, planejamento e elaboração de projetos. O sistema HDM-4 necessita de dados de entrada, tais como: características geométricas, mecânicas, dados históricos e de tráfego dos segmentos rodoviários; que devem ser preservados pelos gestores do sistema, de maneira que permita prever o desempenho do pavimento, os custos e benefícios para um período planejado. Durante a análise dos resultados de Valor Presente Líquido (VPL) com os IRI e VDM iniciais, verificouse que as maiores diferenças se encontravam nos segmentos com mesmo intervalo de IRI inicial mas com tráfego superior. As características da frota, seus custos operacionais bem como seus coeficientes de calibração devem ser considerados nas análises com o software HDM-4, visando uma boa gestão na manutenção rodoviária. Tendo em vista o fato do tráfego influenciar nos resultados e podendo alterar o planejamento da manutenção, se percebe como é importante o controle do gestor da rodovia nas cargas efetivas que estão sendo transportadas. / The patrimony of Brazilian highway infrastructure through the ages is surviving with investments of magnitude value well below of what many other countries are allocating. The question of how much to invest in transport infrastructure depends on multiple variables such as the political and economic situation of the country, the characteristic of the fleet, its territorial dimension, its matrix, the types of used pavements and weather conditions. Therefore, to estimate a value to be used in road maintenance of a recommended way should be the result of the studies involving these variables, how they interact and how this investment returns to society. In face of so many precarious areas, managing resources for transport infrastructure is a challenge yet to be overcome in Brazil. It is engaged in this challenge, that this thesis consists of three articles that discuss the main issues: (i) assess the management of road maintenance in Brazil, as its scope, investment and international experiences; (ii) the concepts and steps of a Pavement Management System (PMS) and its importance in the planning of maintenance operations; (iii) practical application with the software Highway Development and Management (HDM-4), evaluating the economic results with the variables International Roughness Index (IRI) and Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) of the initial traffic segments of a federal motorway, using as alternative project usual programs adopted by the highway managers. The outsourcing of the maintenance services by road departments requires that they have to plan and manage maintenance contracts for little or long period. The practical application of the HDM-4 shows that the planning, a component of the PMS should be considered permanently by public or private administrators. The question of how much to invest in maintenance in this context depends on how you invested in previous time, both with infrastructure services as with the inventory stages of the motorway network, planning and preparation of projects. The HDM-4 system requires input data, such as geometric and mechanical characteristics, historical data and traffic of road segments that should be preserved by system managers, in order to foresee the pavement performance, costs and benefits to a planned period. During the analysis of the results of Net Present Value (NPV) with the initial IRI and AADT, it was found that the greatest differences were in the same initial IRI segments range but with higher traffic. The fleet characteristics, their operating costs and their calibration coefficients should be considered in the analysis with the HDM-4 software, aiming at a good management in road maintenance. In view of the fact that traffic influences the results and can change the maintenance planning, one can perceive that the road manager control on actual loads being transported is important.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo estudar todas as parcelas de custos que envolvem os pavimentos flexíveis e rígidos durante sua vida em serviço, abordando os custos de construção, de manutenção e reabilitação e os custos de operação dos veículos. Inicialmente, tem-se a análise dos métodos utilizados para o dimensionamento dos pavimentos flexíveis e rígidos, bem como dos custos associados a diferentes procedimentos construtivos utilizados no Brasil, visando o estabelecimento dos custos de construção. Os custos de manutenção e reabilitação são determinados a partir da identificação das principais formas de deterioração dos pavimentos. Os custos de operação dos veículos, que incidem diretamente sobre os usuários e dependem, principalmente, da condição da superfície de rolamento, são calculados com base em modelos de desempenho de programas de gerência de pavimentos utilizados por organismos rodoviários brasileiros. Para uma maior abrangência da análise comparativa de pavimentos flexíveis e rígidos foi elaborada uma programação fatorial de simulações. A comparação dos custos dos pavimentos flexíveis e rígidos é proveniente da análise dos custos totais obtidos para todas as combinações de fatores intervenientes (células da matriz fatorial). Os fatores utilizados são: tipo de subleito, materiais e espessuras das camadas (métodos de dimensionamento), solicitações e volume de tráfego e estratégia de manutenção e reabilitação dos pavimentos. / This research work aims to determine and compare the total cost for both, rigid and flexible pavements. Thus, it analyzes all components of costs related to flexible and rigid pavements during their service lives, i.e., construction cost, maintenance and rehabilitation cost and users cost. For the determination of the construction cost it is considered the most used pavement design methods, as well construction procedures used in Brazil. The maintenance and rehabilitation cost is calculated based on the identification of the main distress types for both flexible and rigid pavements that occur in Brazil. The users cost, function of the pavement surface condition, is calculated from performance models used by Brazilian highway agencies. For a broader comparison of rigid and flexible pavements it is performed a factorial analysis. The main factors to be considered are: subgrade type, pavement layer material and thickness, traffic load and volume, maintenance and rehabilitation strategy. The simulations for the determination of total cost will be done for each cell of the factorial matrix, i.e., for each combination of factors.

Este trabalho apresenta considerações sobre os custos de pavimentos rígidos, abordando os custos de construção, os custos de manutenção e reabilitação e os custos de operação dos veículos. Apresenta, inicialmente, uma revisão dos fatores intervenientes no dimensionamento de pavimentos rígidos, particularmente os métodos adotados pela Associação Brasileira de Cimento Portland (ABCP) e pela American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), e os procedimentos construtivos mais utilizados no Brasil. As atividades de manutenção e reabilitação são associadas às principais formas de deterioração dos pavimentos rígidos, tomando-se como referência, neste trabalho, o Manual de Identificação de Defeitos do Programa SHRP. Quanto aos custos que incidem sobre os usuários e que dependem, principalmente, da condição da superfície de rolamento, são analisadas a influência da curva de desempenho e a estimativa elos custos ele operação dos veículos a partir ela irregularidade longitudinal dos pavimentos. Desenvolve-se uma programação fatorial de simulações que tem como fatores o método ele dimensionamento, o módulo de reação do subleito e o volume de tráfego. Analisam-se, ao final, a importância relativa desses fatores sobre cada urna das parcelas que compõem o custo total de um pavimento rígido. / This work analyses the costs of rigid pavements, that are compound by construction, maintenance and rehabilitation, and user costs. It is presented the basic concepts of rigid pavement design, mainiy the Brazilian Association of Portland Cement (ABCP) and the American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) methods, and the construction procedures most used in Brazil. The maintenance and rehabilitation activities are related to rigid pavement distresses, and in this work the reference is the Distress Identification Manual developed by the SHRP Program. In terms of user costs, which are due to pavement rolling condition, it is analyzed the importance of performance trends and the estimation of user costs from pavement roughness. It is developed a factorial simulation program considering the following factors: rigid pavement design method, modulus of subgrade reaction, and traffic volume. It is analyzed the relative effects of each factor on the rigid pavements total cost.

Pavement Management Systems (PMS) are widely used by transportation agencies to maintain safe, durable and economic road networks. PMS prioritize the maintenance and rehabilitation of pavement sections by evaluating pavement performance at the network level. There are many PMS software packages that have been developed over the past decades for provincial/state road agencies. However, sometimes due to lack of budget and experience, adopting the existing PMS for a road agency is not cost effective. Thus, it is important to introduce a simple, effective, and affordable PMS for a local agency and municipality. This research is carried out in partnership between the City of Markham and the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) located at the University of Waterloo. For the purpose of developing a PMS for local agencies, an extensive literature review on PMS components was carried out, with emphasizing data inventory, data collection, and performance evaluation. In addition, the literature review also concentrated on the overall pavement condition assessment. In July 2011, a study on “Evaluation of Pavement Distress Measurement Survey” was conducted as a part of this research and was distributed to cities and municipalities across Canada. The study focused on the current state-of-the-practice in pavement distress and condition evaluation methods used by local agencies to compare the results from the literature review. The components of the proposed PMS framework are also developed based on the literature review with some modifications and technical requirements. The City of Markham is selected as a case study, since it represents a local agency and provides all the data, to illustrate the validation of the proposed PMS framework.

Multiple objectives are often used by agencies trying to manage pavement networks. Often alternative investment strategies can accomplish the agencies’ target objectives. If the goal is to achieve the target objectives at the minimum cost, an approach is needed to assist agencies in identifying investment strategies capable of meeting the targets while minimizing costs. The approach used by the agency should not be limited to an analytical method to mathematically solve the funding allocation problem. Finding mechanisms to ensure the sustainability and efficiency of the investment strategy over time is a great challenge that needs to be addressed by the approach. The challenge is even greater for local agencies where resources are usually limited. This research develops a multi-objective strategic management approach oriented to improving decisions for pavement management practices in local agencies. In this approach, target objectives are tied to key pavement network parameters in the management process. A methodology to identify the best combination of projects to meet target objectives at the minimum cost while maximizing treatment effectiveness is provided as a result of the research. Concepts from the pavement management program (PMP) of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) of the San Francisco Bay Area were used as a basis for developing the methodology. Four pavement network parameters are considered for setting the target objectives over the agency’s planning horizon: the average network pavement condition index (PCI), average network remaining life, percent of the pavement network in good condition, and percent of the pavement network in poor and very poor condition. Results from a case study show that funding allocation methods influence the allocation of preservation and rehabilitation funds among pavement network groups, affecting budget estimates and future condition of the pavement network. It is also concluded that the use of mechanisms that facilitate data integration and the flow of knowledge across management levels can contribute to making better informed decisions. Hence, the adoption of the multi-objective strategic pavement management approach developed in this dissertation should lead to identifying more efficient investment strategies for achieving the pavement network state desired by a local agency at a minimum cost.