Dynamic Deflection Measurement on Rigid Payements Using the Falling Weight Deflectometer

Deflection caused by a load is an important measure for the bearing capacity of rigid pavements, too. For this reason the deflection on a variety of sections with different constructions has been measured in the Federal Republic of Germany. For these measurements the «Falling Weight Deflectometen> was used, developed by Dynatest, Denmark. This instrument allows a quick measurement of a lot of points at an excellent reproducibility of the results. The report describes at first the system and the measurement procedure of the FWD. Subsequently the system is compared with a modified Benkelman-Beam. After dealing with general problems of measuring deflections on rigid pavements the dependence of the deflection values on parameters like temperature, construction thickness, use of geotextiles as interlayer between cement concrete slab and base, and joints sealing are reported.