INTRODUCTION TO A RIGID PAVEMENT DESIGN PROCEDURE

An introduction to a design procedure for rigid airport pavements is presented. The design criteria used in the procedure are based on the tensile stress in the portland cement concrete (PCC) slab as computed by the layered elastic theory and on the strength of the PCC slab as measured by the flexural beam test. The criteria were developed by the analysis of some 60 test sections. In the basic report, procedures are given for the characterization of the pavement materials both by laboratory testing and by typical values and/or correlation studies. The thickness requirements as determined by the new criteria are compared with the thickness as determined by the Corps of Engineers and the Federal Aviation Administration design procedures. The comparison indicated a basic difference between the new criteria and the criteria presently being used. A detailed study of the two criteria shows that the new criteria fit the test data better than the present criteria. (Author)