Análisis de la respuesta estructural de pavimentos mediante deflectometría de impacto (FWD) en diferentes épocas del año en Costa Rica

Abstract

Every two years, the Laboratorio Nacional de Materiales y Modelos Estructurales (LanammeUCR) of the Universidad de Costa Rica carries out an Evaluation of the Paved National Road Network which is a tool to the Asset Management. The Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) can be used on different times of the year. Consequently, it is necessary to quantify the variation of results due to changes in humidity on granular layers or soils associated with the seasonal variation. In order to test the existence of structural response variations reflected in the value of the first sensor's FWD associated with the climatic season (dry and rainy), a statistical analysis of the FDW results database was made in thirty two different points located in six geographic zones around the country. For each point measurements were made in different times between 2003 and 2006. The result shows that pavements with significant changes of content of humidity have significant variations of structural response. On the other hand, the zones with insignificant changes of content of humidity (more than 180 rainy days on the year) don’t show significant changes in results.