Construction of Instrumented 'Smart' Runway

摘要

A "Smart" Runway initiative was conducted by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to install and monitor pavement response instrumentation in an operational airfield pavement. This paper describes construction activities and instrumentation installation techniques for the project. A flexible airfield pavement located at Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah, was selected due to its wide range of environmental conditions and relevant military aircraft traffic. During a runway pavement rehabilitation project in 2019, a segment of the runway was reconstructed to facilitate embedment of instrumentation. Dynamic pavement response instruments included 30 earth pressure cells, 20 asphalt strain gauges, 4 multi-depth deflectometers, and 4 laser distance sensors. Long-term performance sensors included five bender elements, five smart rocks, and one frost depth sensor. Ambient condition monitoring included six soil moisture-temperature sensors, six thermocouples for asphalt temperature with depth, two staring radiometers for pavement surface temperature, and a co-located weather station.