Laboratory Characterization of Fatigue Performance of AM2 Aluminum Airfield Matting
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 28, Issue 11
Abstract
AM2, an airfield matting system made from extruded 6061-T6 aluminum alloy, is used to construct temporary aircraft operating surfaces. This matting system can support heavy aircraft loads even when placed directly over graded in situ soils. This paper presents the development of a test protocol and corresponding relationships that can be used to predict fatigue failure of AM2’s mechanical joints over any subgrade California bearing ratio (CBR) when subjected to high tire pressure single-wheel aircraft loading. First, full-scale simulated aircraft traffic experiments were conducted over sections of AM2 installed on subgrades with CBRs of 6, 10, 15, 25, and 100% to monitor subgrade deformation and fatigue failure. An increasing amplitude displacement function developed from a subgrade deformation model was then used to create a new laboratory procedure to simulate fatigue experienced by the matting system’s complex mechanical connectors under moving aircraft loads. Laboratory test results had strong correlations with field data and, therefore, have promise for predicting fatigue performance without the expense of full-scale experiments.
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Acknowledgments
The full-scale and laboratory experiments and resulting data presented in this paper were obtained from research conducted at the U.S. Army ERDC, Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL), Airfields and Pavements Branch with funds provided by the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) and the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisitions, Logistics, and Technology (ASAALT). The sponsors determined the scope of the study but did not assist in data collection, analysis, or writing. The support of AFCEC, ASAALT, and ERDC personnel is gratefully acknowledged. A special thank you goes to Mr. Jeb Tingle, Mr. Quint Mason, Mr. Tim McCaffrey, and Ms. Lyan Garcia of the ERDC GSL who were instrumental in the successful completion of this research. Permission to publish this work was granted by the Director, Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 28 • Issue 11 • November 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 19, 2015
Accepted: Feb 22, 2016
Published online: Jun 10, 2016
Published in print: Nov 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Nov 10, 2016
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