This paper documents the procedures and experiences of the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) with the use of falling weight deflectometer (FWD) testing and backcalculation techniques. NDOT has been actively using these technologies for the past several years. As a result of their active involvement NDOT's pavement engineers have established a great amount of knowledge regarding the collection and analysis processes of FWD data. The paper presents standard field testing protocols and data analyses procedures that have been developed by NDOT's engineers to guide the design and analysis processes.

In addition to the traditional use of FWD data, NDOT has experimented with the application of FWD testing and backcalculation technique in other specialized area such as the assessment of fractured portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements and cold in place recycled (CIR) pavements. The NDOT's experience indicated that even though the FWD technology may not be fully successful in directly assessing the in situ properties of such materials, the technology can be successfully used to evaluate the structural coefficient of these layers. The paper presents the process used to establish these coefficients and documents the values currently used by NDOT.