Master of Science / Department of Civil Engineering / Sunanda Dissanayake / Motorists generally follow the guidance provided by the pavement markings while traveling on roads. Under certain circumstances, construction joints may be necessary in concrete pavements, which are generally designed to be coincident with the pavement markings. At some locations, however, the construction joints may not exactly match the pavement markings. These situations may create confusion in the minds of drivers, which may lead them to follow joints instead of the markings. In the absence of detailed studies on this topic, an effort was made in the present study to evaluate the effects of unmatched longitudinal construction joints and pavement markings on the lateral position of vehicles. Sites having the characteristics of unmatched longitudinal construction joints and pavement markings were identified, and detailed data were collected at one of the sites. Video camera technique was used for capturing the movements of vehicles along the test site for longer durations. The video tapes were later reduced in the laboratory to extract necessary information. The distance to the right side of the vehicles from right curb of the road, the type of vehicle, presence of vehicles in the adjacent lane, weather and light conditions, and the movement of the vehicles immediately after traversing the section of the road having unmatched longitudinal construction joints and pavement markings were the main parameters observed while reducing the data. Two surveys were also conducted for gathering the opinions of some practitioners and engineers on the issue. Statistical analyses were carried out using t-tests to evaluate if there were differences. Several comparisons were made for different types of vehicles based on various conditions. The analysis results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the actual and expected distances to the center-line of vehicles, implying that the lateral position of vehicles may have been affected by the joints. A model was also developed to determine the lateral position of the vehicles by considering the parameters used in the analysis. Based on the survey results and analysis of field data, it was found that the lateral position of vehicles may have been affected by the unmatched joints and pavement markings.

The failure of longitudinal construction joints is one of the critical factors causing accelerated pavement deterioration. Poor-quality longitudinal construction joints are often characterized by a difference in elevation between adjacent lanes or by unraveling of the hot mix asphalt (HMA). Current wave-based non-destructive testing (NDT) methods are efficient and economical for the evaluation of material properties. In this thesis, an innovative surface wave testing technique for condition assessment of longitudinal construction joints in asphalt pavements is presented. This method enables reduction of the number of cores required for large-strain testing and provision of a more uniform quality assessment of longitudinal joints as well as the relative condition of the asphalt pavements. The technical development is based on a theoretical study of the wave attenuation mechanisms and on the reported deficiencies in current seismic wave-based methods. Traditionally, the use of ultrasonic testing to determine small-strain elastic property for asphalt concrete was uniquely based on the measurement of wave velocity. However, isolated use of wave velocity does not provide complete information of the materials strength because of the different variables that affect the strength-velocity relationship. Therefore, it is necessary to complement velocity data with independent information such as the change in attenuation and frequency content of the propagating pulse. The existing deficiencies in current seismic wave-based methods were addressed to improve reliability, accuracy and consistency for asphalt concrete material characterization in the laboratory and in the field. Refined and improved signal processing techniques were used to overcome the shortcomings in the existing wave-based methods that contribute to uncertainties in the interpretation of test results. To capture more information from a wave, the signal was analyzed in the time and frequency domains. The basic analyses included a simple method such as peak to peak amplitude of the first cycle of arriving wave, and complex methods such as maximum magnitude and area of corresponding frequency spectrum through Fourier transform. A novel approach based on wavelet transform of the signal was presented, which provides an alternative method to determine wave characteristics. Material characterization tests (experiment Phase I) were carried out to study the relationship between the wave characteristics obtained from UPV test and the quality of the asphalt concrete specimens prepared in the laboratory. The specimens were identical in terms of aggregate and asphalt binder ratio, but varying in volumetric properties produced by different compaction efforts. The specimen quality was determined using two methods: 1) the traditional method using density measurement and 2) an innovative approach using dynamic modulus which is recommended by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for use as a fundamental material property for characterizing Superpave mixes (Witczak, et al., 2002; Bonaquist et al., 2003; Christensen et al., 2004). The measured wave characteristics showed excellent correlations (R2 > 0.9) with the fundamental properties of the mix. The results revealed that the wave amplitude parameters as the condition index have the potential to provide a reliable assessment of the quality of HMA mixtures. The finding is very critical to moving the technology forward in the right direction, and form an important basis for the experiment Phase II. Experiment Phase II investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of using the wave characteristics identified in experiment Phase I to assess the condition of longitudinal construction joints. Particular attention was given to examining the sensitivity of the wave-based technique to different types of construction joints. For this purpose, three types of construction joints (good, fair and poor) were fabricated in the laboratory and identified using the wave-based technique. The research was intended to develop a suitable test procedure for condition assessment the longitudinal joints in asphalt pavement in the field. The data from experiment Phase II revealed that the wave-based technique enables assessment of not only the quality of different types of longitudinal construction joints but also the relative condition of asphalt pavements.

The failure of longitudinal construction joints is one of the critical factors causing accelerated pavement deterioration. Poor-quality longitudinal construction joints are often characterized by a difference in elevation between adjacent lanes or by unraveling of the hot mix asphalt (HMA). Current wave-based non-destructive testing (NDT) methods are efficient and economical for the evaluation of material properties. In this thesis, an innovative surface wave testing technique for condition assessment of longitudinal construction joints in asphalt pavements is presented. This method enables reduction of the number of cores required for large-strain testing and provision of a more uniform quality assessment of longitudinal joints as well as the relative condition of the asphalt pavements. The technical development is based on a theoretical study of the wave attenuation mechanisms and on the reported deficiencies in current seismic wave-based methods. Traditionally, the use of ultrasonic testing to determine small-strain elastic property for asphalt concrete was uniquely based on the measurement of wave velocity. However, isolated use of wave velocity does not provide complete information of the materials strength because of the different variables that affect the strength-velocity relationship. Therefore, it is necessary to complement velocity data with independent information such as the change in attenuation and frequency content of the propagating pulse. The existing deficiencies in current seismic wave-based methods were addressed to improve reliability, accuracy and consistency for asphalt concrete material characterization in the laboratory and in the field. Refined and improved signal processing techniques were used to overcome the shortcomings in the existing wave-based methods that contribute to uncertainties in the interpretation of test results. To capture more information from a wave, the signal was analyzed in the time and frequency domains. The basic analyses included a simple method such as peak to peak amplitude of the first cycle of arriving wave, and complex methods such as maximum magnitude and area of corresponding frequency spectrum through Fourier transform. A novel approach based on wavelet transform of the signal was presented, which provides an alternative method to determine wave characteristics. Material characterization tests (experiment Phase I) were carried out to study the relationship between the wave characteristics obtained from UPV test and the quality of the asphalt concrete specimens prepared in the laboratory. The specimens were identical in terms of aggregate and asphalt binder ratio, but varying in volumetric properties produced by different compaction efforts. The specimen quality was determined using two methods: 1) the traditional method using density measurement and 2) an innovative approach using dynamic modulus which is recommended by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for use as a fundamental material property for characterizing Superpave mixes (Witczak, et al., 2002; Bonaquist et al., 2003; Christensen et al., 2004). The measured wave characteristics showed excellent correlations (R2 > 0.9) with the fundamental properties of the mix. The results revealed that the wave amplitude parameters as the condition index have the potential to provide a reliable assessment of the quality of HMA mixtures. The finding is very critical to moving the technology forward in the right direction, and form an important basis for the experiment Phase II. Experiment Phase II investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of using the wave characteristics identified in experiment Phase I to assess the condition of longitudinal construction joints. Particular attention was given to examining the sensitivity of the wave-based technique to different types of construction joints. For this purpose, three types of construction joints (good, fair and poor) were fabricated in the laboratory and identified using the wave-based technique. The research was intended to develop a suitable test procedure for condition assessment the longitudinal joints in asphalt pavement in the field. The data from experiment Phase II revealed that the wave-based technique enables assessment of not only the quality of different types of longitudinal construction joints but also the relative condition of asphalt pavements.

Submitted by Claudia Rocha (claudia.rocha@udesc.br) on 2017-12-15T11:25:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PGEF17MA082.pdf: 2704849 bytes, checksum: 402c8ed2d802138ba830b989401226b5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-15T11:25:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PGEF17MA082.pdf: 2704849 bytes, checksum: 402c8ed2d802138ba830b989401226b5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-04-28 / FAPESC / The use of the fiber reinforcement in structural elements of Glued Laminated Timber (Glulam) is advantageous because of increase its strength and stiffness. However, few studies have evaluated the performance of reinforcement on finger joints, which, even under excellent manufacturing conditions, shows less strength than solid wood, making this kind of joint one of the main weaknesses of Glulam. In this context, the present dissertation aims to evaluate the performance of reinforcement with fibers in finger-joints for use in Glulam. The performance analysis was developed under two aspects: (i) the tensile strength parallel to grain performance in two geometries, "A" and "B", on joints, with three reinforcement compositions, "Glass", "Glass2" and "Carbon", in two species of wood, Pinus taeda and Eucalyptus spp. and (ii) the performance of Glulam beams of Eucalyptus spp. with three reinforcement compositions, "Glass", "Glass2" and "Carbon", in tensile strength parallel to grain, normal tensile, strength to shear and three points bending test. All tests were performed according to the guidelines of NBR 7190/1997, using the Scott-Knott and Tukey tests for statistical analysis with 95% of confidence interval. The results show that the finger-joints, even within normative requirements, significantly reduces (up to 43%) the tensile strength parallel to grain, regardless of geometry or species. For the samples of Eucalyptus spp., the treatments "B-Glass2", "B-Carbon" and "A-Glass2" presented average strength equivalent to solid wood. For specimens of P. taeda, the treatments with the same performance as solid wood were "A-Glass2", "A-Carbon", "B-Glass2", "B-Carbon" and "B-Glass". It can be concluded that the application of two layers of reinforcement of glass fibers or one layer of carbon, concentrated in the region of the finger-joints with the geometry B, increases significantly (in up to 71% for P. taeda and 25% for Eucalyptus spp. in the treatments with better performance) the tensile strength parallel to grain in both species evaluated. It was also concluded that the apparent densities (Pinus taeda ρap,m= 0.49 and Eucalyptus spp. ρap,m= 0.60) show poor correlation with the tensile strength parallel to the fibers. The performance of the glulam beams of Eucalyptus spp. did not present significant differences for the evaluation of the bonding lines. However, in the flexural strength, the treatments "Glass 2" and "Carbon" were significantly superior to the glulam beams without reinforcement, reaching at increments of 37.8% and 40.5%, respectively, in the bending strength. The modulus of elasticity did not differ significantly among. It was observed that the mode of rupture was by tensile in the finger-joints region in all the beams evaluated in bending test, however, the bending strengths were higher than tensile strengths parallel to grain, indicating influence of the thickness of the blades and thickness of the reinforcements in the performance of the reinforced finger-joints. In this way, it is possible to conclude that the application of concentrated reinforcement in finger-joints significantly improves the performance of glulam beams of Eucalyptus spp. to bending, as well as the tensile strength parallel to grain for P. taeda / A aplicação de reforço com fibras em elementos estruturais de Madeira Laminada Colada (MLC), na linha de colagem de maior esforço, se apresenta de maneira vantajosa por aumentar sua resistência mecânica e sua rigidez. Todavia, poucos estudos avaliam o desempenho do reforço sobre as emendas longitudinais, que, mesmo em condições excelentes de manufatura, têm resistência menor que a da madeira maciça, tornando as emendas um dos principais pontos de fragilidade da MLC. Nesse contexto, a presente dissertação tem por objetivo avaliar o desempenho do reforço com fibras em emendas por entalhes múltiplos (finger-joints) para utilização em MLC. A análise de desempenho foi desenvolvida sob dois aspectos: (i) desempenho à tração paralela às fibras de duas geometrias, “A” e “B”, para emendas, com três composições de reforço, “Vidro”, “Vidro2” e “Carbono”, em duas espécies de madeira, o Pinus taeda e o Eucalyptus spp. e (ii) o desempenho de vigas em MLC de Eucalyptus spp.com três composições de reforço, “Vidro”, “Vidro2” e “Carbono” quanto à resistência à tração paralela às fibras, tração perpendicular às fibras, cisalhamento e flexão estática. Todos os ensaios foram executados de acordo com as diretrizes da NBR 7190/1997, sendo empregados os testes de Scott-Knott e Tukey para as análises estatísticas com 95% de confiabilidade. Os resultados mostram que as emendas por entalhes múltiplos, mesmo dentro dos referenciais normativos, diminuem significativamente (em até 43%) a resistência à tração paralela às fibras, independentemente da geometria ou da espécie utilizada. Para as amostras de Eucalyptus spp., os tratamentos “B-Vidro2”, “B-Carbono” e “A-Vidro2” apresentaram resistência mecânica média equivalente à madeira maciça. Para as amostras de P. taeda, os tratamentos com desempenho mecânico similar à madeira maciça foram “A-Vidro2”, “A-Carbono”, “B-Vidro2”, “B-Carbono” e “B-Vidro”. Pode-se concluir que a aplicação em duas camadas de reforço de fibras de vidro ou uma camada de carbono, ambos concentrados na região das emendas por entalhes múltiplos com a geometria B, aumenta significativamente (em até 71% para o P. taeda e 25% para o Eucalyptus spp. nos tratamentos com melhor desempenho) a resistência à tração paralela às fibras em ambas espécies avaliadas. Conclui-se ainda que a densidade aparente (P. taeda ρap,m= 0,49 e Eucalyptus spp. ρap,m =0,60 ) apresenta fraca correlação com a resistência à tração paralela às fibras. O desempenho mecânico das vigas MLC de Eucalyptus spp. não apresentou diferenças significativas para a avaliação das linhas de colagem. Entretanto, na resistência à flexão estática, os tratamentos “Vidro 2” e “Carbono” foram significativamente superiores às vigas MLC sem reforço, chegando a incrementos de 37,8% e 40,5%, respectivamente, à flexão estática. Os módulos de elasticidade não diferiram significativamente entre si. Foi constatada ruptura por tração na região das emendas em todas as vigas avaliadas à flexão estática, entretanto as resistências à flexão foram superiores às resistências à tração paralela às fibras, indicando influência da espessura das lâminas e da espessura dos reforços no desempenho mecânico das emendas reforçadas. Desta forma, é possível concluir que a aplicação de reforço concentrado na região das emendas por entalhes múltiplos melhora, significativamente, o desempenho de vigas MLC de Eucalyptus spp. à flexão, bem como a resistência à tração paralela às fibras para o P. taeda