Evaluación estructural del pavimento de la vía Cuenca - Azogues, tramo El Salado - Guangarcucho (20 km), con el método no destructivo FWD (Falling Weight Deflectometer) y diseño de su rehabilitación

Abstract

The present work consists of evaluating the pavement structure of the El Salado - Guangarcucho section of the Cuenca - Azogues E35 road, with a length of approximately 20 kilometers. The quantification of the structural capacity is carried out according to the nondestructive method (Non-Destructive Test, NDT) and the deformations are obtained with the dynamic load impact deflectometer FWD (Falling Weight Deflectometer) owned by the MTOP; Then, the correction was made by normalization by load and 4 homogeneous sections per roadway were determined. In each of them, the inverse calculation (backcalculation) was carried out to obtain the resilient modulus of the subgrade with the YONAPAVE, AASHTO methods and the EVERCALC software. The ELLEA1 software was also used to calculate the elastic modules of the pavement structure, the results of the modules for the subgrade are between 40 and 79 MPa, for the improvement layer with values between 82 and 271 MPa, for the layer subbase with values between 360 and 549 MPa; and for values of the modules of the asphalt binder between 3900 and 4900 MPa. There is a very good correlation between methods and programs mentioned, with R² values between 0.93 and 1.00. The structural number SNef was determined with the YONAPAVE method with values between 5 and 6, and with the AASHTO method with values between 7 and 8. The MTOP provided all the necessary traffic data for the rehabilitation analysis, in this sense, four subsections were obtained, two per direction of vehicular traffic, which have different structural qualities and different volumes of trucks. The rehabilitation proposal was analyzed with the help of the AASHTO Empirical – Mechanistic program, MEPDG 2008. This software is a powerful, versatile and dynamic tool that accepts the mechanical qualities of materials and predicts pavement deterioration. It is of great importance for the management of pavements, it helps for timely maintenance and guarantees the comfort of road users. The design life period for the rehabilitation was established at 20 years, resulting in a reinforcement of 7 inches (17.78 cm) for the three subsections and 8 inches (20.32 cm) for the last. It is considered that before coloring the reinforcement, 2 inches of asphalt will have to be scarified, to gain adherence and remove material that is damaged.