ABSTRACT
The assessment of stress fields in rigid airfield pavements is very dependent on various factors (landing gear configurations, temperature/moisture conditions, load transfer device…) and is therefore a complex task.
In this paper, a generic 9-slab numerical model based on 3D finite element analysis was developed to locate and evaluate the most critical loading conditions on rigid airfield pavements. For a given landing gear, the stress values in the structure are computed, for the center of gravity of the loading being moved on the top-right quarter of the central slab, using a specific load discretization method.
The method makes it possible to spot the highest tensile stresses obtained in any slab, and these values can be compared to material stress thresholds.
This numerical tool is presented in this paper and illustrated on a few examples. Its application is first thought to be dedicated to pavement expertise and could also be adopted as a basis for a new French design procedure.
