Conference presentation
Fretting and ravelling of asphalt surfaces for airport pavements: a load or environmental distress?
Annual International Conference on Highways and Airport Pavement Engineering, Asphalt Technology, and Infrastructure, 19th (Liverpool, United Kingdom, 11-Mar-2020 - 12-Mar-2020)
Liverpool John Moores University
2020
Abstract
The phenomenon of aggregate loss from the surface layer, known as fretting (minor) and ravelling (severe) is considered one of the distresses that trigger pavement resurfacing in airport pavements, even in absence of other distresses. Most of the laboratory tests developed for the prediction of fretting and ravelling are abrasion based, but in airport pavements, fretting and ravelling is reported along the full width and length of pavement, much of which is untrafficked. The main objective of this study was to determine the relative contribution of aircraft traffic loading to asphalt mastic erosion and fretting/ravelling by comparing the macro-texture of otherwise identical trafficked and untrafficked airport asphalt surfaces. Three airports in South East Queensland, each with a surface age between 9 and 12 years, were selected for the study and a laser texture meter was used to measure the volumetric macro-texture of runway and taxiway surfaces. Statistical analysis of the macro-texture measurements showed that there was no significant difference between the trafficked and untrafficked portions of both the runway and taxiway surfaces. This means, at least for the investigated airports, that fretting and ravelling had occurred equally in and out of aircraft wheel path. It is therefore concluded that fretting and ravelling in airport pavements is primarily caused by environmental factors, such as oxidative ageing, ultraviolet radiation and exposure to rainfall. Although the investigated airports are typical of airports in many parts of Australia, these finding should be generalized by extending the investigation to airport pavement surfaces with different aircraft traffic and volumes, as well as in different climates. Moreover, accelerated weathering should become the focus of fretting and ravelling research for airport pavement surfaces and a standard for accelerated laboratory airport asphalt ageing requires development in the future.
Details
- Title
- Fretting and ravelling of asphalt surfaces for airport pavements: a load or environmental distress?
- Authors
- Ahmed Abouelsaad (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringGregory White (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Conference details
- Annual International Conference on Highways and Airport Pavement Engineering, Asphalt Technology, and Infrastructure, 19th (Liverpool, United Kingdom, 11-Mar-2020 - 12-Mar-2020)
- Publisher
- Liverpool John Moores University
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99575308702621
- Output Type
- Conference presentation
Metrics
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