Abstract
The present study develops a 3D numerical model of the concrete pavement system of aerodromes in contact with the main landing gear of aircrafts using Finite Element Method (FEM). The pavement system used in the analysis consisted of six concrete slabs overlaying a subgrade medium with stiffness k. Doweled bars are considered for the pavement transverse joints while aggregate interlocks are considered for longitudinal joints. A parametric study was conducted to validate the model numerically, as well as to investigate the influence of the doweled bars, aggregate interlocks and subgrade stiffness on the pavement deflections when it is subjected to a dynamic load. About 77% decrease in deflection was attained due to the presence of doweled bars. This study additionally presents a methodology for designing the pavement thickness and the compressive strength of concrete based upon the Mohr-Coulomb’s failure criterion. It is found that for a pavement thickness of 0.305m the minimum compressive strength of concrete should be 28 MPa.
Highlights
Rigid pavements of aerodromes are subjected to loads of considerably higher magnitudes compared to those from highway networks or bus corridors, involving less repetitive cycles
The Portland Cement Association (PCA), American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) and Layered Elastic Design Federal Aviation Administration (LEDFAA) methods employ the concepts from the Elasticity Theory rather than the traditional Westergaard Theory employed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Several Finite Element Method (FEM) software are built based on the guidelines from the aforementioned associations, e.g. the FAARFIELD and ACPA AirPave software based on the procedures from LEDFAA and PCA, respectively (DELATTE, 2008)
Summary
Rigid pavements of aerodromes are subjected to loads of considerably higher magnitudes compared to those from highway networks or bus corridors, involving less repetitive cycles. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the Layered Elastic Design Federal Aviation Administration (LEDFAA) (BALBO, 2009; DELATTE, 2008). Kim et al (2014) employed the FAARFIELD software to analyze the distribution of stresses on the concrete pavement due to temperature-induced loads from different aircrafts. They found that the results were in good agreement with stresses observed in the field
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