Analyses of the Response of Pavements Containing Ceramic Plugs for Vehicle Guidance

In studies undertaken by staff of the PATH Program concerned with automatic vehicle control (AVC) ceramic sensors (magnets) have been placed at or near the surface of both asphalt concrete (AC) and portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements. Thus far sensors have been installed at three locations: 1) AC pavement at the Richmond Field Station (RFS); 2) AC and PCC pavement on Interstate 15 in San Diego, CA; and 3) AC and PCC pavement on Interstate 80 near Donner Summit, CA. The installations at Donner Summit have been used for the guidance of snow plows during the winter months. With increased interest in dedicated truck lanes for goods movement where vehicle guidance could have significant economic influence (1,2,3,4) as well as for uses like those at Donner Summit noted above, the question arises relative to the long-term effects of these sensors on the satisfactory performance of the pavement/sensor system. Potential reductions in pavement and/or sensor performance could result from interactions between the vehicle, the sensor and the pavement as well as from environmental effects because of the embedment of a material with dissimilar thermal characteristics to that of the pavement.