LABORATORY EVALUATION OF HOT ASPHALT MIXES FOR AIRFIELD PAVEMENTS IN EGYPT

ABSTRACT
The main purpose of road or runway pavement is to carry traffic loads conveniently,
economically, and safely during its design life. Pavement safety is usually evaluated through
several components; among them the skid resistance is one of the most important indica tors. It
may cause a serious safety hazard in specific situations especially when water exists in any form.
If rutting exists, the risk may increase significantly. As many agencies, owners and operators
have recently reported problems related to the poor f rictional properties of newly constructed hot -
mix asphalt concrete (HMAC) mixes, extensive research work has been carried out to enhance
friction of asphalt pavement surfaces. For airfield pavements, friction characteristics are
extremely important. It provides the spin-up of the wheels, which is required to operate the
electronically controlled antiskid braking systems installed in most modern aircraft. In other
words, adequate runway surface friction is essential to braking and deceleration operations.
Previous studies emphasized the role of skid resistance to reduce the accident rates. The main
objective of this paper was to increase safety on Egyptian airfield pavements through the
enhancement of friction characteristics without compromising the other pr operties of asphalt
surface mixes. To achieve that, several asphalt mixes utilized in Egypt were prepared and tested
for their friction and basic properties. The work conducted in this paper provide important
guidelines for selection of the proper hot asph alt mixes when water is expected to exist in any
form on runway/road surface.