A sustainable and cost-effective pavement preservation method: Micro-milling and thin overlay, performance studies with 3d sensing

Abstract

This thesis quantifies the performance of a pavement preservation treatment entitled micro-milling and thin overlay and improves rapid 3D data collection for the associated quality control measure, RVD. This is accomplished through performance analysis using both GDOT manual survey data and 3D data. The analysis showed that micro-milling and thin overlay has a similar performance to its comparable treatment, conventional milling. A life cycle cost analysis considering the construction and materials costs was also performed which showed that micro-milling could save over $500 million per year on the interstate system in Georgia when chosen instead of conventional milling. The life cycle assessment showed that it can also reduce energy usage by 61.9%, water usage by 61.8%, and carbon dioxide emissions by 61.7% as compared to conventional milling. A code for calculating RVD was refined and initial assessments of the effectiveness of the quality control measure showed that it was effective based on the existing data and that high RVD may be associated with raveling. The contributions of this thesis include quantifications of the performance of the method and improvement of the 3D data collection of the quality control measure. Together these can aid decision makers in making more effective and sustainable decisions for their pavement maintenance needs.