Evaluation of Minimum Asphalt Concrete Thickness Criteria

摘要

Personnel of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) were tasked by Headquarters, Air Combat Command, to evaluate the Department of Defense's (DoD) minimum asphalt concrete thickness criteria outlined in United Facilities Criteria 3-260-02. Recent improvements to the DoD's flexible pavement design procedure and a renewed emphasis on the design and construction of contingency pavements had prompted concerns regarding the design and evaluation of thin asphalt concrete pavements. An evaluation of the DoD's minimum asphalt concrete thickness criteria was conducted during February 2007 to April 2008 under the ERDCs Hangar 4 test facility. The project consisted of constructing a full-scale test asection with six varying test items that represented three airfield types encountered in both peacetime and contingency scenarios. Four of the items met the DoD's minimum asphalt concrete thickness criteria, and two items did not meet the criteria. Each item was instrumented and trafficked with either a C-17 wheel or an F-15E wheel using a Heavy Vehicle Simulator. Traffic tests results concluded that the DoD's current minimum asphalt concrete thickness criteria are acceptable.