Identification of Void Beneath Airport Cement Concrete Pavement and Its Influence

Abstract:

According to the field test data and theoretical calculation result, a standard based on high weight deflector (HWD) testing was established to identify void beneath airport cement concrete pavement. An analysis was made of the influence of all kinds of voids on loading stresses of airport cement concrete pavement with ABAQUS 3D FEM model, and an example was given to show the influence of void on pavement’s service life. The result shows that identification standard for void beneath slab edge is “slab edge deflection/slab center defection> 1.8”, and void identification standard for void beneath slab corner is “slab corner deflection/slab center defection> 3.0”. When the void beneath slab becomes prominent loading stresses of airport cement concrete pavement will increase by over 250%, and the pavement’s service life is shortened distinctly. The influence of the void area is not obvious on the early stage of void development, but it increases while the base response modulus of void region decreases.

Key words:airport; cement concrete pavement; void; identification criteria; loading stresses; service life