DESIGN, MAINTENANCE AND PERFORMANCE OF RESURFACED PAVEMENTS AT WILLOW RUN AIRFIELD

A BRIEF HISTORY IS PRESENTED OF THE PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION AT WILLOW RUN AIRFIELD WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1941. MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS DURING THE FIRST EIGHT YEARS OF COMMERCIAL AIRLINE OPERATION ARE DESCRIBED. IN 1955, A BITUMINOUS RESURFACING PROJECT WAS CONDUCTED ON THE CENTER TAXIWAY AND THE MOST BADLY CRACKED PORTION OF THE MAIN APRON WHERE THE ANNUAL FILLING OF CRACKS AND JOINTS HAD BECOME A PROHIBITIVE MAINTENANCE PROCEDURE. A SURVEY IS PRESENTED OF REFLECTED CRACKING IN SELECTED TEST AREAS AND OF THE GENERAL PERFORMANCE OF THE 1955 RESURFACING, WHERE SEVERAL VARIATIONS IN CONSTRUCTION DETAILS WERE UNDERTAKEN ON AN EXPERIMENTAL BASIS. IN 1960, ONE EXPERIMENTAL AREA INCLUDED A WEARING COURSE OF EPON ASPHALTIC CONCRETE, LAID PRIMARILY AS A PROTECTION AGAINST SPILLAGE OF GASOLINE AND OIL IN THE APRON AREA. THE EPON SURFACE COURSE, IN ITS FIRST YEAR OF SERVICE, SHOWED A SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER RESISTANCE TO REFLECTED CRACKING IN COMPARISON WITH THE CONVENTIONAL BITUMINOUS RESURFACING. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT EXCESSIVE CRACKING IN PORTIONS OF THE 6-IN. PLAIN CONCRETE PAVEMENT AT WILLOW RUN AIRFIELD CAN BE DIRECTLY RELATED TO POOR CONSTRUCTION PRACTICE. IN THE AREAS IN WHICH THERE HAS BEEN EXCESSIVE CRACKING OF THE CONCRETE PAVEMENT, BITUMINOUS RESURFACING HAS PROVIDED AN EFFECTIVE MEANS OF INSURING EFFICIENT SERVICE AND REDUCED MAINTENANCE. THE MAJOR SOURCE OF REFLECTED CRACKING IS AT THE JOINTS OF THE CONCRETE PAVEMENT, EXCEPT WHERE SLAB CRACKING HAS REACHED SUCH AN ADVANCED STATE THAT THE CONCRETE PAVEMENT HAS BEEN REDUCED TO A SERIES OF SEPARATED CONCRETE BLOCKS. THE USE OF WELDED WIRE FABRIC AS STEEL REINFORCING IN THE BITUMINOUS MIXTURE WAS OF SUBSTANTIAL BENEFIT IN REDUCING DIRECT CRACK REFLECTION. ONE PHENOMENON NOTED IN THE USE OF WELDED WIRE FABRIC WAS THE CREATION OF A NEW PATTERN OF CRACKS DESCRIBED AS TRANSLATED CRACKS IN WHICH WIDER CRACK OPENINGS SUCH AS JOINTS ARE DISTRIBUTED BY THE REINFORCING OVER THE AREA COVERED IN A LARGE NUMBER OF FINER CRACKS. IN ONE TEST AREA, AN INCREASE THICKNESS OF ONE IN., OR 33%, IN THE BITUMINOUS RESURFACING REDUCED THE REFLECTED CRACKING SOME 8% IN TERMS OF THE TOTAL LINEAL FEET OF JOINTS AND CRACKS, AND FROM 20 TO 25% OF THE REFLECTED CRACKING IN THE AREA OF STANDARD 3- IN. THICKNESS.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbbulletin/322/322-004.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 322, pp 34-52, 12 FIG, 2 TAB, 1 REF Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Housel, William S
• Conference:
  • 41st Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 1962-1-8 to 1962-1-12
• Publication Date: 1962

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Monograph Title: Repair of concrete pavements
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Bulletin
  • Issue Number: 322
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airport runways; Asphalt concrete; Bituminous materials; Concrete pavements; Joints; Material reinforcement; Pavement maintenance; Pavement performance; Reflection cracking; Resurfacing; Surface treating; Wearing course (Pavements); Welded wire fabrics
• Old TRIS Terms: Bituminous surfacing; Joint
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00218300
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jul 29 1994 12:00AM