RUTTING OF AIRPORT PAVEMENT GRANULAR LAYERS. IN: AIRFIELD PAVEMENTS. CHALLENGES AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the prediction of rutting performances of airport pavement granular layers from laboratory testing. Through finite element analysis, the typical field test states found in the granular layers of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) National Airport Test Facility (NATF) flexible pavement sections were assessed. The test results presented in this paper show that an increase in the applied stress levels/ratios, or a decrease in the confinement, mostly resulted in a higher rate of permanent deformation accumulation. Such high stress levels/ratios and the rotating nature of applied principle stresses under a moving aircraft wheel are the highest contributing factors to significant rutting in airport pavement granular layers. Models were developed from the test results to predict the accumulation of permanent deformation.