Rating the Aircraft Load and Reporting the Bearing Capacity of Rigid Airport Pavements

Abstract

ABSTRACT Successful management of airport pavements presumes the existence of a suitable procedure for the structural classification and the continuous monitoring of their bearing capacity. According to the modern trend, it is necessary to utilise a pavement to the maximum extend without risking not only the safety of the flights but also the cost of economic penalties which might arise from busy airports' closures for extensive repairs. Practical applications have shown that the worldwide used classification procedure, the ACN-PCN of ICAO, is inadequate for this; consequently an alternative proposal is introduced and presented in this paper aiming to provide the basis of a methodology for classifying rigid airport pavements and checking their structural adequacy. Investigation of the proposed approach showed that it can be more effective than ACN-PCN since it is compatible with the majority of methods currently used for airport pavement design, evaluation and maintenance. Preliminary application using field data indicates that the proposed approach has several advantages and can be a useful tool for pavement managers and engineers.