National Airport Pavement Test Facility
 The FAA operates a state-of-the-art, full-scale pavement test facility dedicated solely to airport pavement research. Located at the William J. Hughes Technical Center near Atlantic City, New Jersey, the National Airport Pavement Test Facility (NAPTF) provides high quality, accelerated test data from rigid and flexible pavements subjected to simulated aircraft traffic. Construction of the facility was completed in April 1999. Major features of the National Airport Pavement Test Facility are:
The test track can be divided into up to 9 independent test items on three subgrade classifications – low strength, medium strength and high strength. Test items will be trafficked to failure and then reconstructed. In this way, a variety of pavement structures can be tested, including both rigid and flexible designs incorporating unbound aggregate and stabilized bases. Current plans are for the test pavements to be replaced and tested to failure on an 18-month cycle. Click here for Material Properties Database Spreadsheets. Over 1,000 sensors have been embedded in the test items to collect data. Sensors are of two types: static and dynamic. Static sensors monitor temperature, moisture and crack status (resistance) on an hourly basis. Dynamic sensors measure quantities such as strain and pavement deflection in response to the load, and are triggered by the vehicle operations. Sensor data collected during traffic test operations will be processed and stored in a computer database maintained on-site. This database will facilitate retrieval of the data for later analysis. Click on the picture below to see a full size picture. 1. Forms being prepared for
P-501 placement. View of deck finisher in the background.
Click on the following links for more detailed information on the facility and its capabilities.
Contact Project Lead: Dr. Gordon Hayhoe Last Update: 08/22/06 |
