Analysis of Runway Deflectometer Campaign for Implementation on Airport Pavement Management System

Abstract

The load-carrying capacity, is one of the indicators used to assess airfield pavement conditions. It could be estimated by evaluating the response of stationary dynamic loads, using a deflectometric device that simulates the stress inducted by an aircraft moving at moderate speed. This device is widely used because tests are nondestructive and rapid to execute and can be conducted for cyclic investigations, providing valuable support to maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) decision makers through pavement management system (PMS). Pavement response is evaluated as a function of the deflection basin induced by the deflectometric device. It is well known that deflectometric measurements are influenced by external parameters such as weather conditions, especially temperature of upper layers or the percentage of water contained on unbounded layers. In this study the deflections basin response obtained for different load and weather conditions has been analyzed through the application of benchmarking values for immediately structural assessments. Tests were performed using the Heavy Weight Deflectometer (HWD) on 9 points along five longitudinal alignments from the centerline, 0.00 m, ± 3.00 m, and ± 5.20 m. The benchmarking methodology was used to evaluate and compare runway pavement performance under different weather conditions and testing loads. The applied benchmarking methodology resulted an easy and rapid assessment tool of pavement conditions at network-level.

A Review of PCN Determination of Airport Pavements Using FWD/HWD Test

“…The improvement of new optimized tools, which could be easily applied to assess the pavement conditions subjected to aircraft loads without extreme costs, has become a critical objective of airport owners. The gathered data by in situ tests and often collected without comparable conditions, such as the temperature of the asphalt surface and moisture content of subgrades, can be used to estimate structural conditions of airport pavements for the conduction on budgeting, planning, programming, and prioritization of Airport Pavement Management System (APMS) and the selection about the appropriate actions of Maintenance and Rehabilitation (M&R) [14,19]. The load-carrying capacity is the most important indicator adopted to assess airport pavement conditions using the in situ tests to estimate the structural response of stationary dynamic loads [6].…”

“…The load-carrying capacity is the most important indicator adopted to assess airport pavement conditions using the in situ tests to estimate the structural response of stationary dynamic loads [6]. To evaluate the structural capacity of pavement, the deflectometer devices, such as the Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) and the Heavy Weight Deflectometer (HWD), have been widely employed to simulate the impact on pavement structures induced by an aircraft moving at moderate speed because these tests are nondestructive and rapid to execute for cyclic investigations [19]. The FWD test has been widely used to test the material properties of road and airport pavements [3].…”

Obtenção De Módulos De Elasticidade Retroanalisados De Pavimento Aeroportuário Por Meio Dos Softwares Backcap E Bakfaa

“…Framework para análise visual de módulos de elasticidade Pigozzi et al (2014) propõem um framework para avaliar a capacidade estrutural de pavimentos aeroportuários usando dados de deflexão coletados por HWD. Os dados são coletados e analisados de forma padronizada e, então, é realizada a representação por mapas de calor da distribuição dos valores ao longo da pista.…”

“…Um mapeamento simples de acordo com a região da medição é realizado e então colorido para que haja uma representação visual que auxilie a tomada de decisão quanto às áreas de interesse. Pigozzi et al (2014), no entanto, ampliaram a proposta a um framework que mapeia detalhadamente no pavimento as regiões classificadas pelos dados.…”

Quantification of airfield pavement condition using soft-computing technique

“…Falling-weight deflectometer (FWD) works on the principle of application of transient impulse-type load on the surface of the pavement to measure the deflection response of its layers (IRC -Indian Road Congress, 2014. HWD, which is similar in principle to FWD, is suitable for airfield pavements, as its evaluation necessitates the application of heavier loads to simulate aircraft loading (Pigozzi et al, 2014;Turner et al, 2003). Researchers in the previous studies have reported useful findings from the varied applications of these devices.…”