Evaluation of Flexible Pavement Using HWD and PSPA at National Airport Pavement and Materials Research Center (NAPMRC)

Four outdoor flexible pavement test lanes and two indoor test lanes were constructed at the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) National Airport Pavement and Materials Research Center (NAPMRC) to study the effect of high tire pressure on the performance of hot mix asphalt (HMA) and warm mix asphalt (WMA) surface layer. The airport pavement test vehicle (heavy vehicle simulator—Mark VI Airport) was used to perform the full-scale tests. A series of heavy weight deflectometer (HWD) tests and portable seismic pavement analyzer (PSPA) tests were conducted to evaluate the uniformity of the pavement structure within each test lane before the full-scale tests. Deflection basin shape factors (AREA and AUPP) and impact stiffness modulus (ISM) were calculated from the HWD deflection measurement. The seismic moduli of surface layer were determined based on PSPA test results. Both HWD and PSPA test results show that the pavement structures within a test lane are fairly uniform. The PSPA test results indicate seismic modulus of P401 HMA is higher than WMA. The HWD results also show that HMA is stiffer than WMA.