Study on distress of airport pavement foundation and solution applied to Noi Bai international airport

Abstract

The service quality and life of the runway, taxiway and apron pavement system heavily depends on the condition of its foundation, including base and/or subbase layers and subgrade. In the state of water-saturated condition, the strength of foundation would decline significantly, then inducing the downgrade of overall strength of the pavement. In the long term, the impacts from adverse environmental conditions and aircraft wheel loading will mix-up the materials of foundation layers, leading to the degradation of the original physical and mechanical properties of the original designed material. Furthermore, the accumulation of residual deformation and appearance of voids in the granular material can formulate the large holes beneath cement concrete slab. That, in turn, changes the load bearing model of the slab compared to the original design and causes the structural damage of the slab and threatens flight safety. Due to the complication of pavement foundation, the traditional treatment countermeasures usually need a long time for completion, while the airfield system often requires short and high-quality repair time. Therefore, there should be special solutions to satisfy the practical application. The article analyzes the cause, proposes the solutions for pavement foundation treatment and presents an initial application to Noi Bai International Airport. The findings of this study could be critical and significance basis for both academic and practical applications to maintain the service quality of airport construction infrastructure in Vietnam.