CONSIDERATIONS IN AIRPORT PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT

The state of the art of airport pavement management systems is discussed. Flow diagrams of several complementary management subsystems are presented. The input of information needed for these subsystems includes traffic (load), environment effects, available materials and layer thicknesses, construction effects, and maintenance and rehabilitation considerations. A physical description of a pavement system (i.e. materials characteristics and dimensions of the various layers--such as those of the procedures developed at Shell, the Asphalt Institute, & the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station) serves as an introduction to a discussion of the various pavement models available (i.e., the experimental--such as the California bearing Ration--and the mathematical--such as multilayer elastic and viscoelastic systems). The forms of distress (fatigue, distortion, and fracture) are analyzed, and the structural design procedures (conventional and based on elastic layer theory) that can be used to minimize it are evaluated. The relations among performance evaluation, pavement overlay design, and maintenance management are considered. /Author/