Accelerated Pavement Testing of Perpetual Pavement Test Sections under Heavy Aircraft Loading at FAA’s National Airport Pavement Test Facility

Abstract Six flexible pavements were constructed for construction cycle 7 (CC7) at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Airport Pavement Test Facility in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Four test sections on the north side measure 200 mm (LFP-4), 250 mm (LFP-3), 300 mm (LFP-2), and 375 mm (LFP-1) that are made of hot mix asphalt (HMA) over an aggregate subbase (thickness varying between 850 and 1,025 mm) resting on a subgrade with a California bearing ratio of 5.5. The fifth test section, LFC-5, is conventional flexible pavement with 125 mm of HMA over aggregate base and subbase, and the LFC-6 structure is the same as LFC-5 except that the crushed stone base layer is replaced with asphalt-stabilized drainable base. The objective of CC7 tests is to develop perpetual pavement design criterion and to validate or refine the fatigue model for HMA in airport pavement thickness design software FAARFIELD. The HMA fatigue model is based on the ratio of dissipated energy change (RDEC). Four fiber optic strain plates were installed to measure transverse and vertical strains at top and transverse strains at bottom within the HMA layer. Full-scale accelerated pavement tests were performed. Traffic test load parameters were six-wheel gear, 245-kN wheel load (gear load 1,470 kN), and 4-kmph speed. Pavement performance was monitored using crack maps, straight edge rut depth, and surface profile measurements. LFC-5 and LFP-4 showed significant fatigue cracks and rutting. LFP-1 and LFP-2 performed well with no signs of cracking. This article presents a discussion on the RDEC fatigue model, pavement thickness design, pavement material characterization test results, pavement instrumentation, accelerated pavement tests under heavy aircraft gear loads, and pavement responses measured using embedded sensors. The test section performance shows that, under loading conditions used in the study, by increasing HMA thickness from 25.4 to 30.5 cm, fatigue cracking was eliminated for the duration of testing (38,000 passes).