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Civil-Comp Proceedings
ISSN 1759-3433
CCP: 9/10
PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING COMPUTING
Edited by: B.H.V. Topping
Paper VII.9

Airport Pavement Evaluation based on Falling Weight Deflectometer Measurements

A.A.H. Sha'ath

Civil Engineering Department, The Queen's University, Belfast, UK

Full Bibliographic Reference for this paper
A.A.H. Sha'ath, "Airport Pavement Evaluation based on Falling Weight Deflectometer Measurements", in B.H.V. Topping, (Editor), "Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Civil and Structural Engineering Computing", Civil-Comp Press, Edinburgh, UK, pp 281-286, 1989. doi:10.4203/ccp.9.7.9
Abstract
Structural evaluation is the process of estimating the bearing capacity of a pavement by deflection measurements and analysis of the results t o determine the material characterisation. This is done in terms of each layer's modulus and Poisson's ratio. A procedure is developed t o use the deflections measured on site under a Falling Weight Deflectometer or a Deflectograph, in connection with elastic theory, to estimate the elastic modulus value for each layer in the pavement. The estimated moduli and the measured layer thicknesses are then used as inputs to assess the remaining pavement life and to design the required overlay. This approach is thus based on a simplified elastic theory model and on measurements of the in-situ deflection bowl using a non-destructive testing technique. The structural model is developed in the form of a computer program, 'EPLOPT', which is capable of analysing pavement structures at a fraction of the cost of analysis with a finite element model. Using EPLOPT a large number of deflection bowl readings can be economically analysed. The usefulness of the method is illustrated by analysing the deflections measured on the pavement at Belfast International Airport.

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