Presented in this paper is a methodology for nondestructive pavement testing and its application in the rehabilitation program of the talara and piura airports, located in the pacific region of peru approximately 1000 to 1100 km north of lima. the area's water table is 2 to 8 m under the subgrade surface and the annual rainfall is less than 150 mm. each airport has a 2500-m runway and is used mainly by medium-sized and small jet aircraft such as b-727s, b-737s, and f-28s. the existing pavement materials do not meet standard specifications for plasticity, gradation, and california bearing ratio, and the thickness is less than that recommended by the federal aviation administration. nevertheless, 15 years' experience generally indicatesadequate pavement performance. it was concluded that the most practical way to interpret the actual performance of these marginal materials is to use nondestructive testing to determine the elastic parameters of the existing subgrade and pavement. the methodology used inpiura and talara is based on the hogg model of a thin plate on an elastic foundation. the subgrade modulus can be determined without prior knowledge of the thickness or the characteristics of the pavement layers. the pavement modulus can then be calculated for any given load and center deflection. the survey indicates that existing pavement materials in such arid zones can generate sufficient bearing capacity to support traffic loads of b-727s, b-737s, f-28s, and dc-8s. the test results were used to upgrade the existing airport so that they could carry 600 annual operations of b-727s with total gross weights of 160, 000 lb for 20 years. this paper appeared in transportation research record no. 1137, soil mechanics considerations in arid and semiarid areas. for covering abstract see irrd no 817740.
Samenvatting