Traffic Analysis for Airport Asphaltic Pavements

A simple methodology was developed and validated for forecasting pavement damage by aircraft to use with the Asphalt Institute airport pavement design method. In the Asphalt Institute method, the pavement damage from a mix of aircraft types is equated to equivalent repetitions of a DC8-63F, which was chosen as the standard aircraft. The number of repetitions is then used to determine pavement design thickness. Since data on aircraft traffic by type are difficult to obtain and use, a substitute data base was sought. Passenger enplanements is the fundamental variable used in air traffic forecasting, is frequently updated, and is easy to obtain and use. Regression analyses relating passenger enplanements to equivalent DC8-LOF strain repetitions, obviating the need for a traffic mix forecast, were sufficiently accurate for thickness determination, as long as the traffic mix did not exceed approx 25% jumbo jets.