ABSTRACT
A large amount of European airports is periodically forced to cancel or delay flights departure and arrival because of the presence of winter contaminants on the airport movement areas. Snow, ice and slush influence the tire-pavement friction. In order to guarantee an optimal aircraft ground operation performance both chemical and mechanical contaminants removal techniques are used.
While those techniques help providing safe maneuvering conditions, their effect on the asphalt pavement surface has not yet been deeply investigated. This article aims therefore to investigate the evolution of surface damage of asphalt concrete samples in a Norwegian airport. The study will in particular focus on the effect the sweepers, large steel brushes, used to remove winter contaminants from the pavement surface combined with the use of de-icing agents. A photo gram metry technique will be used to retrieve the surface alteration at defined intervals. The measurements will then be cross-analyzed with the mixture characteristics.
The study is expected to provide valuable estimation of the surface wear due to both the brushes and chemical solutions helping the airport administrations to improve their winter maintenance strategies as well as their expectations on the pavement service life.
