Abstract
In Australia, thin asphalt mixtures are used widely as the primary type of surfacing for airfield pavements. Compacting this layer to the optimum level is essential to performance as a flexible, waterproof, durable, and skid-resistant wearing layer on top of the pavement structure. There is currently a mismatch of specifications in the industry for the compaction of airfield asphalt mixtures in Australia, and this can be problematic when determining the best approach to airfield asphalt com-paction. This research defines best practice for the compaction specification of asphalt mixtures for airfield pavement surfacing. This best practice includes air voids or relative density specification, the density type and frequency of measuring the reference and field density, the density assessment scheme and the limits for asphalt compaction acceptance. It recommends that future specifications airfield asphalt projects adopt this best practice to balance the risk to the client and the contractor, that is, to be stringent enough to ensure a high-quality end product, but not so stringent that it results in erroneous non-conformances.