Next-Generation Subsurface Sensor For Complete and Accurate Assessment of Pavements

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PI's Name: Cam NguyenInstitution: Texas A&M UniversityProposal Number: 0002912Proposal Title: Next-Generation Subsurface Sensor for Complete and Accurate Assessment of PavementsProject Abstract:This project aims to research an innovative subsurface sensor capable of simultaneously deep penetration and excellent range and azimuth resolutions for fast, reliable, and accurate assessment of pavement structures, such as measuring layer thickness and depth of bedrock, detecting voids and foreign objects, and inspection of thick concrete pavements. The new sensor will be based on the principles of pulse compression and synthetic array antenna, a unique combination for achieving both deep penetration and fine resolutions. The sensor will be realized using microwave integrated circuits for small size, low cost, and high performance. Three major tasks will be conducted: research and development of an innovative subsurface sensor, fabrication of laboratory test specimens and field test sites, and test and evaluation of the new sensor. Currently, there is no system available to civil engineers that can simultaneously provide very deep penetration and excellent range and azimuth resolution capabilities needed for complete and accurate nondestructive evaluation of pavement structures. The proposed sensor has these capabilities, and hence will provide unprecedented solutions to pavement problems that currently cannot be solved with existing sensors. It will therefore lead to significant performance improvements in the evaluation of pavements - not to mention important cost reduction in pavement monitoring, maintenance, and rehabilitation activities. This research will also pave the way for future research and developments of further advanced sensor technologies for civil engineering research. The research proposed will therefore have a strong impact on a number of current and future applications of civil engineering using sensor technologies.