Prediction of Time-Dependent Temperature Distribution within the Pavement Surface Layer during FWD Testing

AbstractThis paper presents an infinite series solution to predict the time-dependent temperature profile within the pavement surface layer on the basis of measured pavement surface temperature data during falling weight deflectometer (FWD) testing. The infinite series solution was derived using the method of eigenfunction expansions. The model validation was conducted based on the long-term pavement performance (LTPP) program FWD temperature data. The interpolatory trigonometric polynomials were used to approximate a pavement surface temperature history by using temperatures measured at different times during FWD testing. Total of 2,066 and 1,968 pavement subsurface temperatures within surface layers were predicted by using the derived infinite series solution for flexible and rigid pavements, respectively. These temperature profile predictions were compared with the measured pavement subsurface temperatures, showing that the proposed solution can rapidly and accurately predict the transient temperature ...