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By Dr. Marshall R. Thompson1, Member, ASCE and Manuel O. Bejarano2, Student Member,
ASCE
ABSTRACT
Current mechanistic-empirical airport pavement design procedures use Elastic
Layer Programs (ELP) to predict pavement responses (deflections, stresses,
strains) generated by the gear load. The procedures incorporate subgrade strain
criteria for controlling pavement rutting. WESICE/F.AA and Al vertical
compressive strain criteria were developed from ELP analyses of pavement
sections per the revised CBR equation. The limited scope of pavement test
sections and performance data required extrapolation to other subgrade, loading
and climatic conditions. The large and varying rutting criteria used to interpret the
test section performance data are not consistent with the more rigorous criteria
generally associated with high type airport pavements.
A subgrade stress ratio (SSR = repeated deviator stress /soil strength) approach
is presented in this paper. The University of Illinois (U of IL) SSR criteria ensure
the pavement exhibits -stable" subgrade permanent deformation performance_
Subgrade rutting is controlled by limiting SSR to acceptable levels, depending on
traffic The WES/CE/FAA strain criteria expressed in SSR terms are below about
0.4 These SSRs are very conservative and result in increased pavement thickness.
Permissible SSRs for airport subgrades are probably in the range of 0.5 to 0.7.
Load pulse characteristics (stress level and duration) of multiple-wheel gear
configurations and stress history effects (sequence of stress level applications) on
subgrade permanent deformation accumulation need to be further considered in
implementing the SSR concept.
INTRODUCTION
Current mechanistic-based airfield pavement design procedures such as
the US Army WES (Barker and Brabston, 1975), Asphalt Institute (1987),
Army/Air Force Technical Manual (Departments of the Army, and the Air Force,
1989), and LEDFAA (FAA, 1995) use Elastic Layer Programs (ELP) to predict
the structural response of flexible pavements to applied aircraft gear loads. These
pavement responses (strain, stress, deflection) are related to pavement
performance (asphalt concrete (AC) fatigue cracking and pavement rutting) using
transfer functions. The most common existing transfer function relates pavement
life (number of load repetitions) to subgrade vertical compressive strain. Subgrade
strain is the controlling factor for most WES/CE'LEDFAA designs. However,
pavement sections designed using these criteria tend to be conservative and
limited insight is gained concerning the mechanisms of pavement distress
development. It is necessary to improve these subgrade criteria to produce more
functional, reliable and cost-effective airfield flexible pavements. This paper
presents and analyzes current subgrade strain criteria for airfields, introduces the
Suberade Stress Ratio (SSR) as an alternative, and demonstrates the influence of
new aircraft large gear configurations (e.g., the Boeing 777 tridem) on the
repeated loading behavior of cohesive soils.
CURRENT SUBGRADE DESIGN CRITERIA
The WES Subgrade Design Criteria
In the early 1970's the US Army Waterways Experimental Station (WES)
began the development of a pavement design procedure based on elastic layered
theory. Barker and Brabston's report (1975) presents the procedure. The WES
procedure was implemented as a design manual for the Departments of the Army
and the Air Force (1989). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) computer
program LEDFAA (FAA, 1995) is a modification of the WES program and is the
design procedure for pavements serving the Boeing 777. In general, the WES
procedure incorporates subgrade strain criteria for controlling pavement rutting. It
assumes that surface rutting is mainly due to subgrade shear deformation implying
that negligible permanent deformation accumulates in the pavement layers above
aircraft.
Loads are essentially static, and the load in each tire is circular and uniform.
The pavement is a linear elastic layered system with full friction between
interfaces.
The bottom layer is of infinite thickness.
The deformation characteristics of the pavement materials are represented by
the modulus of elasticity and Poisson's ratio as determined in a repeated load
test.
The AC modulus and Poisson's ratio were selected as 1380 MPa (200 ksi) and
0.5 respectively.
Granular base and subbase layer were subdivided in sublayers. The modulus
of each sublayer was determined based on the sublayer thickness and the
Strains were computed using the elastic layer program CHEVIT (Barker &
Brabston, 1975). The WES report does not indicate how many pavement sections
and aircraft gear loadings were analyzed. The WES strain criteria are presented in
Figure 1 and are algebraically expressed by the equation:
N = 1000 x
0.0658 x Es 0.559
1971). Results of the full-scale tests are presented in Table 1. From these data, the
relationship in Figure 2 was developed. Barker and Brabston (1975) noted that
none of the test data extended to higher traffic levels. They concluded that the test
data do not represent a complete verification of the subgrade criteria but that an
extrapolation of the criteria to higher traffic levels is justifiable.
Table 1 Summary of MWHGL Test Section Data (Barker & Brabston, 1975)
Figure 2. Verification of the WES/CET:VA Subgrade Strain Criteria
Pavement failure (as related to subgrade strain criteria) is based on cumulative
damage according to Miner's hypothesis. In the Army/Air Force Design manual
(19S9) and the LEDFAA program (FAA, 1995) the damage factor is calculated as
the ratio of applied traffic repetitions (n) of a single aircraft to allowable load
repetitions to failure (N) of the aircraft. The subgrade cumulative damage factor
(CDF) is the sum of the damage factors for the various aircraft, thus the final
pavement design represents variations in applied loads (mixed traffic conditions).
Failure is predicted when the CDF reaches a value of one. (Barker & Brabston,
1975; Barker & Gonzalez, 1991; FAA, 1995).
The Asphalt Institute (AI) Subgrade Design Criterion
Witczak (1972) proposed vertical subgrade strain criteria for the design of
Full-Depth Asphalt Pavements. Witczak's failure criteria are to limit the vertical
strain on top of the subgrade (evaluated at a critical temperature of the asphalt
concrete layer) for a given number of strain applications. The theoretical study
was developed from an analysis of the revised CE CBR design thickness equation
(Ahlvin et al , 1971) for flexible pavements subjected to MWHGL aircraft traffic.
Witczak indicated that the revised CBR equation translates into allowable strains
(greater than those calculated by the earlier CBR equation) approaching
asymptotic values for high levels of traffic. Therefore, for multiple wheel aircraft,
flexible pavement thickness requirements approach a constant value for a large
number of load repetitions
A DC-8-63F aircraft was used to analyze the effect of subgrade type and
repetition level on permissible maximum vertical subgrade strain. It was
concluded that for all practical purposes aircraft type and subgrade modulus
L, m
a
v =
0.174
where
v
Coverages.
ERi = Es in ksi
op = ev E, ER, (ksi) 086
Qu(Psi) = 03G7
where
Es = Modulus of the subgrade as defined in the WES/CE/FAA procedure.
ERi = Resilient modulus of the subgrade at the breakpoint according to Thompson
& Robnett (1979).
D
Subgrade rutting is controlled by limiting SSR to levels usually in the range of 0.5
to 0.7 depending on traffic. The WES/CE/FAA vertical compressive strain criteria
expressed in SSR terms fall below 0.4. These SSRs are very conservative and
result in increased pavement thickness. Permissible SSRs for airport subgrades are
probably in the range of 0.5 to 0.7.
A limited U of IL laboratory study considered the effect of stress history and
pulse duration on the repeated loading behavior of a cohesive soil. Preliminary
analyses indicate that a stress sequence of gradually increased SSR may cause less
permanent deformation than a sequence where the high SSR is initially applied.
Suess sequence did not significantly influence soli resilient moduli. Subgrade
stress pulse duration has some effect on permanent deformation, and limited effect
on resilient modulus. In general, for a given subgrade stress level and soil
strength, an increased pulse duration increases permanent deformation and
decreases resilient modulus. Tridem aircraft gear configurations induce larger
stress pulse durations than conventional tandem gear configurations. Therefore,
current flexible pavements may experience increased rutting rates due to increased
subgrade stress and subgrade stress pulse duration.
In conclusion, improved subgrade design criteria are required to produce more
functional, reliable and cost-effective airfield pavements and to provide better
insights concerning the mechanism of pavement distress development. The SSR
concept appears promising. Load pulse characteristics (stress level and duration)
of multiple-wheel gear configurations and stress history effects (sequence of stress
level applications) on subgrade permanent deformation accumulation need to be
further considered in implementing the SSR concept for mechanistic-empirical
based airport flexible pavement design.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS / DISCLAIMER
This paper was prepared from a study conducted in the Center of Excellence for
Airport Pavement Research. Funding for the Center of Excellence is provided in
part by the Federal Aviation Administration under Research Grant Number 95-C001 The Center of Excellence is maintained at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign who works in partnership with Northwestern University and
the Federal Aviation Administration. Ms. Patricia Watts is the FAA Program
Manager for Air Transportation Centers of Excellence and Dr. Satish Agrawal is
the FAA Technical Director for the Pavement Center.
The contents of this paper reflect the views of the authors who are responsible
for the facts and accuracy of the data presented within The contents do not
necessarily reflect the official views and policies of the Federal Aviation
Administration. This paper does not constitute a standard, specification, or
regulation
APPENDIX
Ahlvin, R. G. et al , (1971), Multiple-Wheel Heavy Gear Load Pavement Tests,
Vol. I: Basic Report, Technical Report No AFWL-TR-70-113, U. S. Army
Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Asphalt Institute, (1987), Thickness Design -- Asphalt Pavements for Air Carrier
Airports, Manual Series No 11, Third Edition, College Park, Maryland
Barker, W. R. and Brabston W. N., (1975), Development of a Structural Design
Procedure for Flexible Airport Pavements, Technical Report S-75-17, Soils and
Pavements Laboratory, U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station,
Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Barker, W.R. and Gonzalez, C.R., (1991), Pavement Design by Elastic Layer
Theory, Proceedings of the Conference: Aircraft/Pavement Interaction -- An
Integrated System, ASCE, Kansas City, Missouri.
Chou, Y. T., (1977), Analysis of Permanent Deformations of Flexible Pavements,
Technical Report S-77-8, Soils and Pavements Laboratory, U. S. Army Engineer
Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Departments of the Army, and the Air Force, (1989), Flexible Pavement Design
for Airfields (Elastic Layered Method), Technical Manual TM 5-825-2- I/AFM
886, Chapter 2, Section A Federal Aviation Administration, (1995), Advisory
circular No. 150/5320-16, Airport Pavement Design for the Boeing 777 Airplane,
U S Department of Transportation.
Kelly H F and Thompson M R , (1988), Mechanistic Design Concepts for Hex.vweigh: F-15 .aircraft on Flexible Pavements, Journal of Transportation
Engineerinz, ASCE, Vol 114, No. 3.
Knutson, R. M., Thompson, M.R., Mullin, T., and Tayabji, S. D., (1977), Material
Evaluation Study - Ballast and Foundation Materials Research Program FRAORS:D-77-02. Federal Railroad Administration.
Lane, R., Woodman, G., and Barenberg, E.J., (1993), Pavement Design
Considerations for Heavy Aircraft Loading at BAA Airports, Proceedings of the
ASCE Conference, Airport Pavement Innovations: Theory to Practice, Vicksburg,
Mississippi.
Majidzadeh, K., Bayomy, F., and Khedr, S., (1976), Rutting Evaluation of
Subgrade Soils in Ohio, Record 616, Transportation Research Board, Washington,
D. C.
Majidzadeh, K., et al., (1981), Implementation of a Pavement Design System,
Final Report, Research Project EEE 579, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Monismith, C.L., Ogawa, N. and Freeme, C.R., (1975), Permanent Deformation
Characteristics of Subgrade Soils due to Repeated Loading, Record 537,
Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C.
National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 1-26, (1990), Calibrated
Mechanistic Structural Analysis Procedures for Pavement, Volume 1 - Final
Report and Volume 2 - Appendices, National Cooperative Highway Research
Program, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Poulsen, J., and Stubstad, R.N., (1978), Laboratory Testing of Cohesive
Subgrades Results and Implications Relative to Structural Pavement Design and
Distress Models, Record 671, Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C.
Thompson, M.R. and Robnett, Q.L., (1979), Resilient Properties Of Suberade
Soils, Transportation Engineering Journal, ASCE, Vol 105, No TEI
Thompson, M.R., (1987), ILLI-PAVE based Full-Depth Asphalt Concrete
Pavement Design Procedure, Sixth International Conference of Structural Design
of Asphalt Pavements, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The important effects of load induced directional stiffening and dilative behavior
of granular materials have been successfully modeled in recent studies using a
cross-anisotropic approach (Tutumluer, 1995; Tutumluer and Thompson, 1997).
The repeated load triaxial compression test is currently the most commonly
used method to measure the resilient (elastic) deformation characteristics of
unbound aggregates for use in pavement design. The resilient modulus test is
performed on a cylindrical specimen of granular materials subjected to repeated
axial compressive (deviator) stresses. To simulate the lateral stresses caused by the
initial in situ pressure and that from applied wheel loadings, the specimen is
subjected to a constant all-around confining pressure. An advantage of the triaxial
test is that the axial and radial (or vertical and horizontal) strains can be
determined relatively easily. Determination of lateral strains in a triaxial specimen
is essential for characterizing the anisotropic elastic properties of granular bases.
Anisotropic resilient response - elastic response obtained from the repeated
load triaxial tests due to the pulse deviator stress - can be defined from triaxial test
data with measured vertical and lateral deformations as follows:
Vertical Resilient Modulus
Horizontal Resilient Modulus
Resilient Shear Modulus
Where the horizontal resilient modulus (MRh) is newly defined for anisotropic
elasticity, and d, (= 1-3) and 3 are deviator stress and confining pressure,
respectively. Since for a cylindrical triaxial sample there is co-axiality between the
material and principal stress axes, the horizontal and vertical directions, as
referred to in the above definitions, are used in the same context with the radial (r)
and vertical (z) directions under axial symmetry.
Anisotropic Material Characterization
The five cross-anisotropic material properties needed to define an anisotropic
material under conditions of axial symmetry were given by Zienkiewicz and
Taylor (1989) as: moduli in vertical and radial directions, M RZ and MR': shear
modulus in vertical direction. GR; Poisson's ratio for strain in the vertical
direction due to a horizontal direct stress v z : and Poisson's ratio for strain in any
horizontal direction due to a horizontal direct stress, v,. Pickering ( 1 970) studied
the bounds of the elastic parameters in a cross-anisotropic material. In addition to
the requirement of each of the three moduli being greater than zero, the Poisson's
ratios in horizontal and vertical directions were shown to be related to each other
for a positive strain energy (Pickering, 1970).
A new improved way of modeling granular materials using cross-anisotropic
nonlinear elasticity was proposed recently at the University of Illinois to predict
the dilative granular material behavior as observed from laboratory triaxial test
results (Tutumluer and Thompson, 1997). Granular material response was shown
to be reasonably characterized by using stress dependent models which express
the modulus as nonlinear power functions of stress states. The characterization
models include in the formulation the two triaxial stress conditions, i.e., the bulk
stress 8 (= G1+2G3) and the deviator stress od, to account for the effects of both
confinement and shear loading, respectively (Uzan, 1992).
Repeated load triaxial test results, which included vertical and lateral
deformation measurements performed on a variety of aggregate types, were