Field investigation of novel self-sensing asphalt pavement for weigh-in-motion sensing

Abstract

The integration of weigh-in-motion (WIM) sensors within highways or bridge structural health monitoring systems is becoming increasingly popular to ensure structural integrity and users safety. Compared to standard technologies, smart self-sensing materials and systems present a simpler sensing setup, a longer service life, and increased durability against environmental effects. Field deployment of such technologies requires characterization and design optimization for realistic scales. This paper presents a field investigation of the vehicle load-sensing capabilities of a newly developed low-cost, eco-friendly and high durability smart composite paving material. The novel contributions of the work include the design and installation of a full-scale sensing pavement section and of the sensing hardware and software using tailored low-cost electronics and a learning algorithm for vehicle load estimation. The outcomes of the research demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system for traffic monitoring of infrastructures and WIM sensing by estimating the gross weight of passing trucks within a 20% error during an autonomous sensing period of two months.

Performance of Self-Sensing Cement-Stabilized Sand under Various Loading Conditions

“…Therefore, when self-sensing cement-stabilized sand is used in bulk form, the distance and number of electrodes used to collect electrical resistance data play crucial roles in successfully applying this intelligent material for stress-sensing purposes. Given this issue, the sensitivity of self-sensing cementitious composites has been widely investigated in the literature by installing electrodes directly under stress regions in the laboratory [ 47 , 49 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 ] and at field scales [ 20 , 88 , 89 , 90 ]. The results obtained from the current study regarding the influence of loading position on the piezoresistive performance of self-sensing cementitious composites have been neglected in previous studies; thus, the outputs presented in this study are novel [ 12 , 53 , 91 ].…”

Development of Self-Sensing Asphalt Pavements: Review and Perspectives

“…From a construction standpoint, this configuration appears to be the most practical [22]. As shown in Figure 13a, Birgin et al [113] used a wooden frame to install 3 m long Various self-sensing configurations can be employed, such as bulk or array arrangements [31]. In the bulk configuration, the entire section is constructed using self-sensing materials, requiring the placement of wire electrodes before the fabrication of the pavement.…”

“…From a construction standpoint, this configuration appears to be the most practical [22]. As shown in Figure 13a, Birgin et al [113] used a wooden frame to install 3 m long copper wires with a 1 mm diameter in a road section. The electrodes were embedded into a self-sensing smart composite material composed of a thermoplastic binder, short carbon microfibers, and natural aggregates.…”

Self-powered weigh-in-motion system combining vibration energy harvesting and self-sensing composite pavements

“…Later, the potential of this composite asphalt as a low-cost sensor for WIM was investigated in Ref. [42]. The analyses covered the identification of 82 factory trucks over two months, achieving errors below 20% and compliant with most international standards.…”

“…In particular, the development and characterization of a new self-sensing asphalt made of non-bituminous thermoplastic binder doped with natural aggregates and carbon microfibers were reported in reference [41]. Later, the potential of this composite asphalt as a low-cost sensor for WIM was investigated in reference [42]. The analyses covered the identification of 82 factory trucks over two months, achieving errors below 20% and compliant with most international standards.…”