ABSTRACT

Ungrooved stone mastic asphalt (SMA) provides an alternate to grooved dense graded asphalt (DGA) as a runway surface. To be verified as suitable in this application, SMA must provide similar or better asphalt surface performance, compared to DGA, and must achieve regulated aircraft skid resistance requirements. A pilot runway resurfacing project provided the basis for this laboratory and field comparison of ungrooved SMA to grooved DGA as a runway surface. Laboratory performance testing demonstrated adequate and comparable deformation, fatigue and moisture resistance of SMA, while the quality assurance records indicated acceptable asphalt production. The construction records indicated that SMA had a lower air void content in the compacted layer, which can only provide a more durable surface. Most importantly, the aircraft skid resistance of SMA exceeded that of grooved DGA, based on surface macro-texture and wet friction measurements. It was concluded that SMA performed equal to or better than DGA, particularly with regard to surface texture and wet friction and it is recommended that airports consider ungrooved SMA as a runway surface in the future. The demonstration project should also be monitored in the future, to verify the long-term performance of SMA, compared to the DGA.

摘要

无槽石乳香沥青 (SMA) 提供了作为跑道表面的槽密级配沥青 (DGA) 的替代方案。SMA 必须提供与 DGA 相似或更好的沥青表面性能，并且必须达到规定的飞机防滑要求，才能在此应用中得到验证。试点跑道重铺项目为该实验室和作为跑道表面的无槽 SMA 与带槽 DGA 的现场比较提供了基础。实验室性能测试表明 SMA 具有足够且可比较的变形、疲劳和防潮性，而质量保证记录表明沥青产量可接受。施工记录表明，SMA在压实层中的气孔含量较低，只能提供更耐用的表面。最重要的是，根据表面宏观纹理和湿摩擦测量，SMA 的飞机防滑性能超过了带凹槽的 DGA。得出的结论是，SMA 的性能等于或优于 DGA，特别是在表面纹理和湿摩擦方面，建议机场将来考虑将无槽 SMA 作为跑道表面。未来还应对示范项目进行监测，以验证 SMA 与 DGA 相比的长期性能。