The Use of Crushed Concrete Slabs in Base Layers of Airport Pavements

Research in the area of civil infrastructures has led to an improvement in the use of recycled materials. As matter of fact, lithic materials have an important role in forming base layers as they are the most used in pavement construction by weight. In this regard, the authors provide the results of an experimental investigation aimed at evaluating the use of crushed concrete slabs in the cement-bound base layers for airport pavements. The investigation was carried out using laboratory and full scale tests. Laboratory investigation, consisting of volumetric and mechanical tests, was carried out in order to optimize the cement and water contents in the mixture. Afterwards full scale tests were carried out on the mixture resulting from the laboratory investigation in order to define the laying techniques and evaluate the mechanical behavior of the recycled mixture during its curing. On the basis of the results obtained, the developed mixture was then applied on a wide scale directly to an Italian hub: the mixture was used to build a new taxiway enabling the upgrade of the airport infrastructure to receive new aircraft. To summarize, the research led to the creation of a new mixture for base layers using crushed concrete slabs after having tested its actual effectiveness and define the correct procedure to create it.