Restoration of Data Collection System at Denver International Airport

Abstract

The Federal Aviation Administration initiated a runway instrumentation project in 1992 by installing 460 static and dynamic sensors in sixteen slabs in the take-off area of Runway 34R-16L at Denver International Airport. Static sensors such as embedded temperature and moisture gauges and dynamic sensors such as H-bar strain gauges, LVDTs, and position strain gauges were installed. The investigation was focused on measuring pavement response to aircraft loading and environmental conditions. Currently, the data collection system is severely damaged due to water infiltration and is not operational. Data was collected from 1995 through 1999 which included real-time pavement strains and deflections resulting from aircraft traffic. The slab strain and vertical deflection data was analyzed and compared to three-dimensional finite element model predictions. Overall, good agreement between measured and predicted strains and vertical deflections was observed. This information was used for, among other things, validating and calibrating the structural model in FAARFIELD. An important parameter missing in FAARFIELD is the effect of curling on pavement thickness design. Severe curling can cause premature cracking and incur high maintenance costs. The primary objective of this project is to restore the data collection system to at least measure slab deflections and strains. The future emphasis will be on characterizing slab curling under varying environmental conditions and incorporating it into FAARFIELD. Efforts are underway to restore the data collection system. The entire project is expected to be completed by September 2010. Once resurrected, the instrumentation project will provide valuable slab curling data for updating structural models in FAARFIELD. This paper describes in detail the restoration of the Denver International Airport instrumentation project and the ways in which the FAA plans to make use of the collected data.