UNIMAS e-Journal of Civil Engineering

Investigation of Airport Pavement Maintenance

Case Study on Kuala Lumpur International
Airport, Sepang, Malaysia
S.N.A. Amirudin, W.H. Wan Ibrahim, and R. Mansyur

Abstract Airport pavement are constructed to provide adequate support for the loads imposed by airplanes and to produce a
firm, stable and smooth surface. Pavement deterioration has become one of the issues due to the traffic growth, ageing of pavement
and improper maintenance plan. The traffic growth in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has increased yearly.
Increasing of aircraft movement will directly increases the load imposed and pressure on the pavement which will lead to the
pavement failure or defects. Maintenance work must be carried out constantly to prolong the service life of the pavement and
preventing the distress from getting worse. Therefore, in order to identify the proper maintenance and rehabilitation needed, it is
very important to investigate the type and causes of defect that occurred. Throughout the studies, common defect on KLIA airport
pavement are pothole, rutting, patching, joint seal damage and spalling-joints. The factor that causes defects is high traffic load.
The methods commonly used to repair the pavement are patching and resurfacing. It also found that the maintenance of airport
pavement in KLIA is poor. However, several approaches have been suggested in improving the maintenance.
Keywords: common defects, causes of defect, maintenance methods, improving maintenance

I. INTRODUCTION

irport pavement is the backbone of the airport and its operational integrity provides safe passage for those who use it.
Neglecting the pavement when it starts to fail will damages aircrafts and puts individuals lives at risk. Kuala Lumpur
International Airports (KLIA) is Malaysias main international airports and it is one of the busiest airports in Asia. To project
a good impression in the mind of international visitors, all infrastructures in the airport must always be in a tip top conditions.
The infrastructures required by an airport include runways, taxiways, terminal area, service and hangar areas, helipads,
drainage, lightings and markings. All of these facilities require proper maintenance by airport authority to ensure good
condition at all times not only in appearance but also serviceability [1].
Generally, there are two types of pavement which are flexible and rigid pavement. Presence of surface distress influences the
performance of a pavement. Hence, continuous monitoring on the pavement should be conducted timely to ensure that it is
safe to be used for operation and to meet users comfort. Identifying the defects and its causes are the responsibility of
agencies managing airport pavement in order to provide a proper maintenance which can help to prolong or maintain the
serviceability of a pavement until the end of its service life. High traffic volume has become one of the factors which cause
defects due to the increases of loads applied on the pavement. Once the pavement deteriorates, maintenance will be done
immediately to prevent the distress from getting worse. Defects which left unmaintained will affect the overall structure of
pavement that leads eventually to their reconstruction.
II. METHODOLOGY
In order to identify the maintenance and rehabilitation needs, the defects and its causes are firstly needs to be known. Figure
1 shows the flow of work before maintenance and rehabilitation at KLIA. Inspection or surface survey will be conducted to
investigate the defect occurred on pavement. Besides, data of aircraft traffic growth obtained will be analyzed and a line chart
was made to shows its results. Moreover, questionnaires were also distributed to personnel involved in inspection and
maintenance of airport pavement. Data gathered will be analyzed by using Likert Scaling.
S.N.A Amirudin is with the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), 94300 Kota
Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia (phone: +60 167765580 ; e-mail: sitinuratiqahamirudin@gmail.com).
W.H wan Ibrahim is with the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), 94300 Kota
Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia (phone: +60 82-583325 ; e-mail: wiwhashim@feng.unimas.my).
R. Mansyur was with the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). He is now the with the
Department of Civil Engineering, Politeknik Enjinering Indorama , Purwakarta, Indonesia (e-mail: resdiansyah@pei.ac.id).

UNIMAS e-Journal of Civil Engineering

Figure 1: Flow Work before Maintenance and Rehabilitation at KLIA

III. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Pavement Distress:
Flexible Pavement
Figure 2 represent the frequency of defects occurs at flexible pavement. It can be seen that pothole has the highest frequency
of occurrences with average index of 4.33, followed by rutting (average index = 4.00) and patching or utility cut (average
index 3.67). Pothole is a bowl shaped which range in severity and it is a localized breakup that was mainly caused by traffic
[2]. Meanwhile, for rutting, it is characterized as a longitudinal surface depression in the wheel path caused by consolidation
or lateral movement of the materials due to traffic load [3].

Figure 2: Types of Defects on Flexible Pavement

UNIMAS e-Journal of Civil Engineering

Rigid Pavement
The frequency of defects occurred on rigid pavement is shown in Figure 3. It reveals that patching has the highest
occurrences compared to pumping with the lowest occurrences. The average index for patching is 4.33 followed by joint seal
damage with an average index of 4.17. Patching is an area of pavement that has been replaced with new material to repair
existing pavement while joint seal damage is the failure of sealant that enables soils or debris accumulate in the joints and
allow infiltration of water. Accumulation of debris prevents the slabs from expanding and may result in buckling, shattering
or spalling while water infiltration will cause pumping or deteriorations of the subbase [2].

Figure 3: Types of Defects on Rigid Pavement

Factors Causes Defect
The causes of defects must be known before the maintenance and rehabilitation of pavement can be conducted. Figure 4
shows the frequency of factors contributing to pavement deteriorations. Based on the results, high traffic load is the main
factor which has causes defects to occur at KLIA airport pavement. The traffic growth at KLIA has increased yearly. It can
be seen through the statistic of aircraft movement shown in Figure 5. Increase of traffic volume will directly increase the load
imposed and pressure on the pavement. Besides, it also limited the closure of airport taxiways, runways, or aprons in a long
period of time in order to prevent from disruptions to scheduled flight. Besides, less closure time will lead to insufficient time
for maintenance thus affecting the curing time of material used for maintenance. Hence, the repaired pavement is not
adequate and the percentage of defects to occur again is high.

Figure 4: Factors Causes Defects on Pavement

UNIMAS e-Journal of Civil Engineering

Figure 5: Statistic of Aircraft Movements at KLIA

Maintenance Methods
Maintenance work must be done from time to time to ensure the serviceability of airport pavement. Figure 6 depicts the
maintenance methods used to restore the pavement state in which it can perform its required function. Patching and
resurfacing is the most frequent methods used for maintenance. Patching has the highest average index of 4.33 followed by
resurfacing with an average index of 4.17. Defective pavement which is replaced by new bituminous mixture laid and
compacted to provide a permanent restoration of the stability and riding quality of pavement is called patching. While,
resurfacing is the replacement of fresh material on an existing surface in order to strengthen the pavement, to correct the
surface profile, to restore skid resistance and to restore the aesthetic of a worn aged pavement.

Figure 6: Maintenance Methods Used at KLIA

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Improving Maintenance
The ability to achieve world-class airport operations can occur only if airport personnel receive the proper education and
training to manage safe operations and increase operating efficiency [4]. In order to have an adequate maintenance, airport
operation and maintenance personnel must be qualified in their respective areas. Education and training help to increase their
knowledge and ability to cope with the pressure and demand of the workplace [5]. Besides, education also enhances the
ability of an individual to understand and appreciate the larger perspective of how things work in their areas and in the world.
Meanwhile, training help to prepare individual to do their jobs especially when the situation or task requires is differs than
their performance.
Therefore, to improve maintenance, skilled and knowledgeable personnel are indeed needed. Administration should establish
an educational and training program in order to achieve an excellent operations and maintenance. Proper training by
experienced and educated instructor will help in delivering knowledge that contributes to the maintenance of airport
pavement in an effective way. Moreover, good management and maintenance plan will also help in improving the
maintenance of airport pavement. Management plan, inspection schedule and maintenance schedule must be organized in a
systematic and appropriate time so that the progress of work can be done smoothly. In addition, early education also helps to
enhance the ability of an individual. Educational institutions plays an important role in an early education and preparing
students especially those who are taking transportation or aviation program, particularly in the areas of pavement
maintenance. Thus, education and training do help a lot in improving individuals and organizational in order to improve the
maintenance.
IV. CONCLUSION
Conclusion can be made base on the findings. Inspection is important and has to be conducted timely. Based on the
inspection, types and severity of defects are recorded in order to identify the maintenance and rehabilitation needed. The
most frequent defects occurred at KLIA are pothole, rutting, patching, joint seal damage and spalling-joints. High traffic load
is the main factors which causes these defects to occur on both flexible and rigid pavement. Maintenance work will be done
instantly to prevent the distress from getting worse. Besides, education and training program is also important in improving
the maintenance by increasing the knowledge and skills of personnel that involved in maintaining airport pavement. Proper
inspection and maintenance schedule is also important in order to have an organized and smooth flow of works.
REFERENCES

[1] International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), 2009. Aerodrome Design and Operations. Montreal, Canada. Annex
14 Volume 1. (5th ed.).
[2] United State (U.S.) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 2007. Guidelines and Procedures for Maintenance of Airport
Pavements. Advisory Circular AC 150/5380-6B. FAA. United State of America.
[3] Garg, N., Guo, E. & McQueen, R., (2004). Operational Life of Airport Pavements. DOT/FAA/AR-04/46. FAA. United
State of America.
[4] Quilty, M.S., (2003). Achieving Recognition as a World Class Airport through Education and Training. Journal of Air
Transportation. 8(1) 3-14.
[5] Duncan, R., & Weiss, A. (1979). Organizational leaving: Implications for Organizational Design. In B.M. Staw (Ed.),
Research in Organizational Behaviour (1). Greenwich.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I wish to thank staff from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Airport Pavement Unit of Malaysia Airline (MA)
Sepang, supervisors, family and to all individuals involved directly or indirectly for their guidance and support in completing
this research.