Use of Non-destructive Assessment Methods to Evaluate Condition of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Pavement

The safety and comfort of those who utilize the roads will be impacted by the frequent pavement degradation. One of the main problems with road pavement that can accelerate its degradation is top-down cracking in the longitudinal wheel path. An effective technique to ascertain the characteristics of the existing road pavements and to detect any cracking and delamination is non-destructive testing. In this paper, the mechanical and durability characteristics of two concrete bus pavements—one reinforced with carbon fiber and the other with plain concrete—located in Victoria, Canada, were evaluated using the most up-to-date and efficient NDT techniques. To evaluate the surface and subsurface conditions of two concrete bus pavements, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) along with additional NDTs, including ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), Schmidt hammer (SH), infrared thermography (IR) and electrical resistivity (ER) have been used. The relationships between the NDTs and the impact of adding carbon fiber to concrete pavements were determined by a comparative analysis.