Selection of pavement foundation geomaterials for the construction of a new runway

Abstract

The selection of foundation geomaterials including base/subbase unbound granular aggregate is critical for the design of flexible airfield pavements in the United States. These materials must meet the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) selection criteria for airport pavement construction. A comprehensive testing study was conducted to select granular materials for the construction of a proposed runway North Carolina, United States. The objective was to evaluate granular materials and subgrade soils within the Greensboro area, to establish their pertinent engineering properties including strength and deformation parameters. This paper focused on three granular materials selected for the runway construction. The test results including grading, CBR, shear strength and resilient modulus indicated that all the three samples met the FAA selection criteria as base/subbase materials for the construction of the runway