Abstract:
Regular periodic calibration is important to ensure the accuracy of
measurements of British pendulum test (BPT). The current standard calibration
procedures of BS EN 13036 and ASTM E303 are widely adopted by pavement
engineering community. Studies by different research groups have shown that test
results of BPT devices complying with standard calibration requirements have good
repeatability, but could have deviations of 10%or more. The present research presents
a detailed examination of the impact of the limiting values of the main calibration
parameters of BPT devices. Since it is difficult to study by means experimental
measurements the impact of any pendulum parameter value within the allowable
range on BPN (British pendulum number), a finite element model was adopted in
this research based on the mechanics of the BPT test process. The simulation results
showed that BPT devices satisfying the calibration requirements of any standard
could produce measurements with uncertainty of more than 23% of their mean test
value. By tightening the calibration parameter range according to the actual needs
of the user, this study shows that the uncertainty of the BPT measurements can be
controlled within an acceptable range.
