U.S. NAVY EXPERIENCE WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF ASPHALT PAVEMENTS SUBJECTED TO HIGH PRESSURE AIRCRAFT TIRES

SINCE THE EARLY 1950S THE U. S. NAVY HAS BEEN OPERATING HIGH PERFORMANCE CARRIER JET AIRCRAFT ON ITS TRAINING AND FLEET SUPPORT STATIONS. THESE AIRCRAFT UTILIZE TIRES WITH INFLATION PRESSURES WHICH HAVE STEADILY INCREASED WITH THE GROSS AIRCRAFT WEIGHTS AND RESTRICTIONS ON THE SIZE OF LANDING GEAR. OPERATIONAL PRESSURES NOW EXCEED 400 P.S.I. THIS PAPER DESCRIBES TYPICAL OPERATIONS AT SEVERAL NAVAL AIR STATIONS, THE CRITERIA TO WHICH FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS HAVE BEEN CONTRUCTED, AND THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE PAVEMENTS. IN GENERAL, THERE ARE MANY WELL CONSTRUCTED HIGH QUALITY FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS PERFORMING WELL UNDER THESE HIGH TIRE PRESSURES AT NAVAL AIR STATIONS. LIMITED FAILURES HAVE OCCURRED IN AREAS OF CONCENTRATED LANDINGS AND OF MARGINAL QUALITY MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION. WHILE REPAIR AND RESURFACING MEASURES HAVE BEEN REQUIRED FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, FOREMOST OF WHICH IS THE AGING AND EMBRITTLEMENT OF ASPHALT COURSES, NO MAJOR PAVEMENTS MEETING CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS HAVE REQUIRED RECONSTRUCTION BECAUSE OF DISTRESS RELATED TO THE USE OF HIGH PRESSURE TIRES. THE EFFECTS OF LOAD AND TIRE PRESSURE CANNOT BE DEALT WITH SEPARATELY, AND THE NAVY USES A SMALL DIAMETER PLATE TEST WITH LIMITING DEFLECTION CRITERION TO DETERMINE PERMISSIBLE LOAD RATINGS AT HIGH PRESSURES. THIS CRITERION SHOWS FAIR CORRELATION WITH PERFORMANCE BUT FURTHER INVESTIGATIONAL WORK IS CONSIDERED NECESSARY. OF PRIME IMPORTANCE ARE HIGH QUALITY MATERIALS IN THE ASPHALT COURSES AND UPPER BASE COURSE, AND WHERE THESE FALL SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW STANDARD, A LIMIT IS PLACED ON OPERATIONAL TIRE PRESSURES. A MINIMUM THICKNESS OF 4 INCHES IS NOW RECOMMENDED FOR ASPHALT COURSES, BUT SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN OBSERVED ON MANY PAVEMENTS WITH THREE-INCH SURFACE COURSES. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Preprint VoL, PP 832-837, 3 TAB, 3 REF
• Authors:
  • Brown, P P
  • Rhodes, C E
• Conference:
  • Intl Conf Struct Design Asphalt Pvmts
• Publication Date: 1967-1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aircraft; Airport runways; Asphalt pavements; Flexible pavements; Performance; Plate bearing test; Pressure; Surface course (Pavements); Thickness; Tires
• Uncontrolled Terms: High pressure
• Old TRIS Terms: Thickness design
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Highways; Pavements; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00206660
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 1 1994 12:00AM