Asphalt Pavement Groove Life Analysis at the FAA National Airport Pavement Test Facility

摘要

To reduce the aircraft hydroplaning potential of a pavement during wet weather, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has provided a standard specification of airport groove configuration for runway construction and during service. To evaluate the pavement groove construction quality and operational performance, the National Airport Pavement Test Facility (NAPTF) made a series of full scale tests of airport pavement grooves on both flexible and rigid pavements in recent years. FAA has also developed a computer program, ProGroove for groove identification and analysis. During Construction Circle 7 (CC7) testing at NAPTF, several areas of trapezoidal and rectangular grooves with different asphalt concrete pavement structures under aircraft tire loading were tested. The groove geometry data was scanned and collected on each structural location using a high performance laser system during the loading test period. Groove performance service life of trapezoidal and rectangular grooves with different pavement structures under aircraft tire loading was evaluated and compared. Two types of groove deformations under aircraft loading were also simulated by using finite element models. The test results and analysis demonstrate the service life shape changes of trapezoidal and rectangular grooves in asphalt concrete pavements. The relationships between the asphalt pavement groove life and the aircraft traffic loading effect are discussed in the paper.