Development of expedient military concrete airfield pavement repairs

Abstract

Recent military operations have highlighted the need for modernisation of airfield damage repair capabilities for concrete pavements to eliminate long closure periods. Damaged or distressed military airfield pavements must be repaired using expedient methods and durable materials to minimise the time the pavement is removed from service, and to reduce or eliminate additional closure times for subsequent repairs. As a result of this need, extensive research was conducted to develop multiple concrete pavement repair techniques that could be applied across the full spectrum of military airfield repair operations. Developed methods included placing rapid-setting cementitious materials, foreign object debris covers and precast concrete panels over various backfill materials. Newly developed backfill techniques included poured and injected polyurethane foams and dry-placed, rapid-setting flowable fill. The combination of these materials resulted in several new repair techniques that could return a damaged pavement to aircraft traffic within 4–6 h of initiation of the repair. This paper summarises the development of these repair technologies, and describes their performances under accelerated pavement testing and aircraft validation tests. The paper also includes recommendations as to the suitability of each technique for specific operational scenarios, based on field evaluations.