Construction Quality Monitoring of Asphalt Pavement using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Construction Perspective of Asphalt Pavements

Achieving optimal in-place density is crucial for the long-term performance of asphalt pavements. However, current quality assurance methods often face limitations in fully capturing critical construction parameters. Existing pavement thermal profilers (PMTPs) are typically confined to monitoring immediately behind the paver, potentially missing thermal variations during compaction. Similarly, some intelligent compactors (ICs) exhibit inconsistent correlation to final density. To address these challenges, an innovative protocol was developed for comprehensively capturing the mat’s thermal signature and compaction patterns, providing valuable insights for improved construction quality.

Protocol for Capturing Mat Thermal Differentials

The developed thermal protocol utilizes an infrared (IR) sensor-equipped Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to capture detailed thermal images of asphalt pavement during construction. This UAV-assisted approach provides a comprehensive view of temperature distribution across the freshly placed mat. Differential matrices are created from the collected IR images to precisely identify and quantify various thermal anomalies, such as longitudinal streaks or V-shaped patterns caused by material differences.

Updated thermal analysis yielded a significant advantage in identifying segregation within the crucial compaction window, allowing for timely adjustments. Our protocol is tuned to capture Differential Range Statistic (DRS) and Thermal Segregation Index (TSI) as per AASHTO R110 standards and develop Mat Temperature Differential Matrices (MDM). This analysis provided an understanding of the extent of localized thermal segregation severity.

Protocol for Capturing Roller Movement

To complement thermal monitoring, a sophisticated compaction protocol is also developed that detects and tracks roller movements using advanced object detection algorithms. This involved processing aerial thermal images captured at close intervals to precisely locate rollers on the paved mats. Tracking roller movements, using this protocol, provided insights into compaction efficiency and its uniformity across the mat. The UAV-protocol quantified critical metrics such as roller speed, total roller pass-counts, and identified areas that may have received insufficient passes.

Patent Disclosure

The authors – H. Ozer, N. V. Vedula, and M. Beheshti, have filed a patent for the developed protocol with the title of invention “Systems and Methods for Thermal Profiling of Asphalt Pavement Construction using Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles” with United States Patent Application no. 19/182,133 filed with Skysong Innovations at Arizona State University