GROUND has been broken for the world's first full-scale airport-pavement test site, to be located at the US Federal Aviation Administration's technical centre in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The National Airport Pavement Test Facility is a co-operative project between the FAA and airframer Boeing. It will be used to investigate the performance of airport pavements in handling the loads of next-generation very large commercial aircraft.
There is concern that existing airport pavement design standards will not accommodate proposed large airliners such as the Airbus A3XX, and that new pavement standards for thickness may result from the research-and-development effort.
The new site, which is expected to become operational in 1998, will help refine International Civil Aviation Organisation pavement loading standards.
The pavement test rig will be located in a fully enclosed building, and an electrically driven vehicle operating on rails will be used to apply simulated aircraft loads.
It will cost $21 million to construct the research site and conduct the first series of tests. Boeing is providing $7 million, and the FAA will supply the remainder of the funding.
Source: Flight International
