Surface strain measures were made under field loading conditions on an airport apron rigid pavement. Theoretical calculations for the same loading conditions were carried out using finite element method and pavement structure properties as determined by laboratory tests on materials sampled from the test site. It was found that theoretical predictions considering static loads are in fair agreement with field pavement strain measurements under the parking aircraft. Dynamic effects in field measurements due to aircraft vibration and load shifts were found to be insignificant in the cases studied. It was found that careful consideration must be given to gauge size and placement when using strain rosettes to predict stresses at a point near a wheel load.
Abstract