A New Way of the Future?

A real challenge faced on the Keep River Plains Road Upgrade project, besides being so remote, is the timeliness of results.

HiQA Geotechnical in partnership with the Northern Territory Government are conducting a research project to improve the effectiveness and timeliness of conformance testing onsite. HiQA are undertaking research on the Light Falling Weight Deflectometer (LFWD) to compare to density test results.

The project will use the LFWD to assess the deflection/elastic modulas of the material to compare against density and moisture testing.  The LFWD results are available instantly on site and can be provided to the contractor and/or client before leaving.

This type of approach shows great promise in using new and innovative techniques.  It provides on-site certainty to contractor and client ensuring they have met the conformance criteria. This leads to the project being able to proceed instantly and at a reduced waiting time for traditional testing methods.  Because the LFWD approach is quick and easy to do on site, more tests can be conducted on the area to indicate better performance over the long term.