Expertise»Pavement»Heavy Falling Weight Deflectometer (HWD) Testing

Heavy Falling Weight Deflectometer Testing

Heavy Falling Weight Deflectometer (HWD) contributes to your pavement’s longevity without tearing up the road.

SME uses HWD to simulate moving vehicle loads on the pavement. We fine-tune the simulation to your pavement’s location and usage.

Each test simulates project-specific loads, from light car traffic all the way to 72,000 pounds of heavy aircraft loads. The HWD produces fast, accurate results – whether you need to test a handful of locations or hundreds, regardless of pavement type or underlying soil conditions.

Using HWD, SME is able to discover unknowns that a typical boring sampling plan can overlook. Faster and more accurate than conventional testing, this nondestructive testing method provides a unique understanding of pavement and subgrade conditions and identifies issues that can cause delays and increased costs later in the process – all without physically affecting pavement.

Through HWD nondestructive testing, you’ll receive an evaluation on:

  • Consistency and anomalies of the pavement
  • Pavement and underlying soil strength
  • Data-driven strategic core and boring locations for further testing
  • Your pavement’s structural adequacy and remaining life
  • Specifications for overlay design
  • Void locations under concrete
  • Load-bearing ability for joints/cracks between slabs