EVALUATION METHOD OF BENDING FAILURE POSSIBILITY OF AIRPORT CONCRETE PAVEMENT SLAB WITH A VOID UNDERNEATH

Abstract

 The authors constructed a test section of concrete pavement with various size voids underneath the concrete slabs and monitored deflections and strains generated by FWD load and an aircraft gear that was repeatedly applied to the section. Cracks were found at the bottom of the slab with an 1m by 1m size void after the loading. FEM analysis revealed that the combined stress due to the load and temperature gradient of the slab with the void would exceed the bending strength of concrete, which was speculated to cause the cracks. Based on the results, the simulations of loading stress in the airport concrete pavement with various size voids forming at various pavement conditions were performed to evaluate the possibility of the bending failure of the slab.