Performance of Insulated Pavements at Newton Field, Jackman, Maine.

摘要

In 1986, the runway at Newton Field, a small airport in Jackman, Maine, was reconstructed using a 2-in.-thick layer of extruded polystyrene insulation as part of the pavement structure. At the same time, a ne arby town road was reconstructed using a conventional noninsulated pavement cross section for relatively heavy loads. Both pavements were monitored for frost penetration, frost heave, and seasonal changes in pavement strength. Since frost penetration beneath the insulation layer of the runway at Newton Field exceeded empirical estimates during winter 1986-1987, four additional test sections with varying combinations of insulation and subbase thicknesses were constructed adjacent to the airport's parking apron during summer 1987. Although the thermal performance of the insulated pavement test sections was comparable to design expectations for the following 3 years, evidence of discontinuities in the insulation layer in the Newton Field runway demonstrates the insulated pavement's susceptibility to variations in construction technique and site conditions. This report discusses pavement performance at each of the test sites over the observation periods 1986-1990 and 1987-1990.