RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT
I. PROBLEM TITLE
Development and Integration of Wireless Sensors with PMS
II. RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT
Technology for the monitoring of pavement condition does not appear to have kept pace with
other technological improvements over the past several years. Research and development are
underway to advance the monitoring of pavement condition to provide better relationships
among distresses, performance, traffic, maintenance, and other significant variables. Presently,
two approaches are typically taken to monitor the condition of pavements: manual distress
surveys and automated condition surveys using specially equipped vehicles (e.g., imaging
technology for distress survey and transverse profiling for the wheel path rutting). However,
these monitoring approaches remain rather more reactive than proactive in terms of detecting
damage, since they merely record the distress that has already appeared. Other testing
approaches are also used (e.g. deflection testing); however, most of these methods either require
significant personnel time or the use of costly equipment. Thus, they can only be used cost
effectively on a periodic and/or localized basis. Currently, pavement instrumentation for
condition monitoring is done on a localized and short-term basis. The current technology does
not allow for continuous long-term monitoring, and the deployment of existing systems on a
network level remains unfeasible due to cost, unease of installation, and data collection
techniques. Long-term monitoring of mechanical loading for pavement structures could reduce
maintenance cost, improve longevity, enhance safety, and advance research in pavement design
and construction operation.
There is ongoing research to develop a self-contained smart pavement monitoring system
consisting of wireless integrated circuit sensor that consumes less than one microwatt of power
and interfaces directly with and draws its operational power from a piezoelectric transducer. By
combining floating-gate transistors with piezoelectric transducer, the sensor is able to achieve
operational limits wirelessly. The miniaturized sensor will enable continuous battery-less
monitoring of integrity of pavement structures over long periods (i.e., detect damage, monitor
loading history, and predict fatigue life of the monitoring pavement). The envisioned system
would consist of a network of low cost sensors distributed along the pavement during new
construction, reconstruction, or resurfacing of both asphalt and concrete pavements. Each sensor
node would be self-powered and capable of continuously monitoring and storing the dynamic
strain levels in host pavement structure. The data from all the sensors would be periodically
uploaded wirelessly to a central database, either through radio-frequency transmission using a
radio-frequency reader either manually operated or mounted on a moving vehicle. It is possible
that this update can be accomplished during the pavement management condition surveys by
adding receivers to the same automated data collection vehicle enabling the collection and
population of the sensor data to the pavement management system in a timely and consistent
manner. The data will help facilitate a more effective pavement maintenance and
rehabilitation/preservation schedule.