Pavement Response to Aircraft Dynamic Loads; Volume I. Instrumentation Systems and Testing Program.

This report describes a study designed to determine the relationship between airport runway pavement responses to static and dynamic aircraft loads. Two series of tests were conducted, one during cold weather and the other during warm weather, at the National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center Airport, Atlantic City, N.J. Both a flexible and a rigid pavement runway were instrumented to measure and record pavement responses to aircraft loads. Aircraft were instrumented for both series to measure the aircraft wheel loads transmitted to the pavement structures during normal aircraft operations. A common time code signal recorded along with the pavement response and aircraft load data provided the means for correlating the two types of data. Data were collected for the following basic aircraft modes of operation: static loading; creep-, low-, medium-, and high-speed taxi; high-speed braking; take-off rotation; touchdown; high-speed braking with reverse thrust; and turning.