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EARLY AUSTRALIAN AIRCRAFT PAVEMENT PRACTICE AND ITS
PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT a-"ft4x,_
H.C. Wllliams* August 1986

Synopsis

A resume of early Australian Aerodrome work and the practice which

developed over the 25 year period from the end of World War 2 into the
early 197O's.

The paper covers the origln of the practice; some of the factors thac
influenced lt; how overseas practice and research were used, adapted and
modlfled to suit Australian needs and condltions, including some of the
more slgnlficant and lnteresting aspects.

* H.C. Williams MBE, BCE, MIE AusE was one of the original members of the
Federal Dept. of Works specialist airfield pavement group established aft,er
World I,Iar 2 and later became that Dept t s Chief Engineer Roads &
Aerodromes between 1964-1974.
From 1974 to 1982 when he retired he was the current Dept's Director -
MaJor Projects for bullding and engineerlng works required for defence
and civil aviation.
The views expressed are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect
those of the Dept. of Housing and Construction
 L74

Early History

World-wide, aerodromes date back to about World lJar 1(1914-18) and in

Australia to the early 792Ot s when West Australia Airlines commenced
operation between Geraldton and Broome and Qantas between Longreach and
Charleville in Queensland.

Since that tlme we have seen aircraft grow from relatively light one/two
seater machines up to those of today carrying around 500 passengers and
weighing over 360 tonnes.

Prlor to World War 2 (1939-45) most aerodromes - military and civil

throughouc Australia were all-over fields of either natural grass or bare
ground smooth enough rrto drive a car over the surface at 25 to 30 mph
without discomforE.r' At many locations, however, iE hras difficult to
maintaln such surfaces for frequent operation of even small aircrafc, and
thls brought about early runway development. By the mid 1930's lightly
gravelled runways had been built at many places consisting of 50 to 1OO mm
of grave 1 , sand-c lay and anthi I 1 soi I s . The sprinkling of granular
materials of cinders over grass surfaces was quice common in reducing
sllpperiness in wet weather.

During World War 2 many runrtays were constructed at existing and nevt
aerodromes to permlt operations by heavier aircraft which could not be
operated continuously from grassed fields. Pavements hrere constructed, as
a rule, of gravel with a biturninous surface to eliminate dust. Spraying
soil and gravel surfaces wlth oil was also used to reduce dust and eroslon.
Four runrtays were constructed of concrete and five of cement-stabllised
soil or gravel. Some pavements were finished with a bituminous plant-mix
either hot or cold.

Most of the wartime work was carried out by the State Road Authorit.ies, the
us forces and others on behalf of the Allied works council.
 t_75

Scandards of construction and biturninous surfacing conformed generally to

Australlan road prectice of the d"y, and methods and materials were
understandably directed more toward speed of construction than permanence.
There were about 1,4O runways of varying standards throughout Australia by
the end of the War, but since then many new siEes have been developed and
earller runways abandoned.

Developrnent after WorId l{ar 2

Soon after the end of Wortd War 2 the Federal Dept of Works and Housing
(currently Housing and Construction) became the designing and constructing
Authority for all works required by the Commonwealth Government including
Mllitary and Clvil Aerodromes.

The Dept establlshed a small group of engineers to specialize in roads and

airfield pavement engineertng in its central office under the direcEion of
the late R.H.A Cochrane who had been a divisional engineer with the
Victorian Country Roads Board prior to the war and he uras really the
founder of the practlce that developed.

After vlsiting Brltain, Europe and the USA to examine aircraft pavemenc
technology and practice, Cochrane concluded that Australia should develop
its practice around the US Corps of Engineers approach but with appropriate
adaptatlon and modlflcation to sult Australian needs, conditions, pavement
experlence and econornic scrl.

The US Corps of Englneers based the design of flexible pavements on the

Californla Bearing Ratto (CBR) meEhod - a method originally developed for
road design by the Californla Dept of Public Works.

For 'rigldr (goncrete) pavementsr the Corps had utilized the stress and
deflectlon theories of Westergaard and the related Influence Line CharEs of
Pickett & Ray, but modtfled them to allow for effects of secondary stresses
due to shrlnkage, temperature and moisture changes in the concrete in a way
that allgned the mathematlcs with pavement performance.
 rl6

Both these approaches had been developed from extensive research, fleld and
laboratory tesEing, and accelerated test trafficking (sometimes to
destructlon) of both exlsting alrcr:aft pavements and test-Eracks wlth a
wlde range of heavy Loads, single and multiple-wheel assemblles and
sub-grade condltions. The Corps of Engineers had already developed
criterla and standards for design, construction and pavement performance,
with an on-golng program for progressive improvement and refinement over
future years in the Iight of further experience and changing technology.

Between the end Wor 1d lJar 2 and the early lg7|ts there \ilas exEensive
"t
rlln\^/ay, taxiway and apron development all over Aust.ralia at Capital Cities,
regional centres r country airports and milicary aerodromes. Aircraft
progressed from DC-3, DC-4 and Constellation to Viscounts, DC-6rs, Electras
to Boeing 7O7rs and 727ts and during the early 197Ors the introduction of
the Boeing 747 and similar aircraft. Each of these aircraft in turn had
some impact on the developing practice.

with the exceptlon of one runway at Essendon Airport which was constructed
of concrete in 1946, pavements were constructed of sand-clay, nat,ural
gravel, stabilized gravel or fine-crushed rock, with either bituminous seal
coats or bituminous concrete surfaces r Ets appropriate. Concrete
constructlon $tas llmited to apron, runvray ends, and some sectlons of
taxlway where the most severe loading conditions and fuel-spillage problems
were expected.

By Ehe early 1960 ' s , the Federa I Works Department I s prac-tice 1^7ss at the
forefront of pavement technology and thinking in tn" Y!*C rhar rime,
"r
part icularly in relation to flexible pavements. Many adaptions and
modl ficat ions to American practice had been effected and many of its own
procedures, some quite unlque, had been introduced to better meet
condltions in this country.

Dtrring subsequent years, improvements and refinements were introduced into

the practice to accommodate nehr technology, further experience and to meet
speciflc needs or problems and this refinement process is still going on
today.
ffi'*".- *

L77

Several factors contrlbuted to the way the Australian practice developed.

For instance a decislon was made in the late 1940's in favour of maximuqr
use of flexlble pavement for runlrays and t ovide a bett.er
surface for hieh landine and take-off than was
obtalnable with concrete and for concrete to be confined to aprons, some
sectlons of taxlway and runlray ends.

Secondly, with many competlng requirements for manpoerer and material

resources in the year following lJorld War 2, it was decided that maximum
use should be made of low cost naturat soils and sravel nt works
not only for DC-3 aircraft but even for aircraft considerably heavier where
this could be econornically achieved.

Thirdly, Australia being a large developing country with relatively few

people scatlered over the continent in centres of widely varying population
transport needs, and long travel distances, more demands were put on the
NaEional economy for transportation funds covering sea, railroad and air.
These needs had also to be balanced against other competing social needs,
educatlon, defence etc. As a result funds for air transport were certainly
not unllmited and those lnvolved in airport development had to develop
practlces that would rnake every available dollar go as far as possible, and
this frequently meant limiting improvement work to meet the needs of the
imrnediate future rather than for long term. For instance, most runways for
many years were built only to a length and strength required by aircraft
whlch were expected to use them in the immediate future and for any
strengthening or lengthening deferred until it was unavoidable.

These factors had two main effects; (1) they enabled the available funds\
for alr transport to be distributecl over a larger number of airports rather I
I
than concentrating heavy expenditure on a smaller number designed well into I
I :i
the fuEure, thereby enabling an extensive network of civil air routes and' !:i
;
aerodromes to be progressively developed in an affordable way. (2) they
required pavement englneers to develop thorough understanding of all
aspects affecting pavement design, construction, the behaviour and
performance of materials and pavements, and especially into the area
(peculiar to Australia) of heavy aircraft occasionally operating through
country and regional aerodromes en route between major cities and where
the exlsting pavements would not norninally be considered strong enough.
This lead to the implementation of many cost-savi"hg techniques and
nr:ni{aae
 t7B

Flexlbte Aircraf t Pa.vement s

The extension of the Australian road practice of the day of maximizing the
us age of low-cost natural pavement materials into the aircraft pavement
fteld greatly reduced the cost of pavement construction over much of
Australla. This required considerable attention being given to deveLoping
approprtate criteria and standards for design, construction, the quality
and uniformity of materials, stablization , moisture control, methods of
compaction and'drainage, and especially into methods of reliably
evaluating the behaviour of existing pavements.

Test Rolling

Perhaps one of the most significant techniques developed by the Federal

Works Dept during the 1950ts was the uniouely Australi:n and extremely
reliable trtest rol ling" procedures to evaluate the strength of an
existing aircraft, pavement, predict itrs likely performance if used by
aircraft. much heavier than it r.ras built for, and to facilitace the
determlnation of the naEure and thickness of any strengthening needed-or,
if none was proposed, what maintenance or rate of deterioration could be
expected.

The technique involved the rolling of the pavement in 3m wide lanes at.
walklng speed with heavy pneumatic-tyred trdo or four-wheeled rollers with
wheel loadings and tyre pressures adjusted to simulate as closely as
possible the effect of the desired aircraft. The deflection of the
pavement under the outer wheels rras visually observed at abouc 2Om
incervals by engineers pa]ftinq alongside and recording those observations
in accordance with an arbitary code. Such observations plorted on a plan,
and particularly if in colour, vividly catergorised the whole pavement
into areas of similar observed behaviour.
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Deflectlons and rate of curvature measurements \{ere made normal to the
gi-d
dtrection of travel at selected locations to quantify the visual
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observations.
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I19

MuItlpIe back and forth passes of the rol ler in fairly quick succession
were also applted on selected short sect.ions about 30m to 5Om to help
gauge any posslble pavement detertoration and recovery under frequent
traffic repetitions.

Areas of simllar behaviour were then select.ed for further examination by

selective test holes, "field CBR measurements or laboratory testing of
field-disturbed or un-disturbed samples, to establish the reason for the
dlffering behaviour, the strength of the various pavement. areas and the
most effective way of strengthening the pavement if such was required.

While some critlcism was levelled at the visual observation of deflections,

the technique proved in practice ro be very effective fast non-destruct.ive
and rellable approach to the task of aircraft pavement evaluation in this
country and is g!_i11 w_id_ely_.u_s_ed to_day,. The need to develop better merhods
for recording Pavement deflections automatically and reduce the physical
effort involved in the procedure hras well recognised. The method also
provlded an excellent basis for training pavement engineers who could
I lterally |tseerr the pavementrs behaviour and relate it to the results of
any specific tests or measurements.

Pavements deflection, and ln particular the rate of of that

"uJ!vtu."
deflectlon, qtas recognised long ago as an important consiai"tion affecting
road and alrcraft pavement performance and they were being measured
"r I
early as the late 1940's on both flexible and rigid pavemenrs on I
I
aerodromes.

Larger deflectlon could be tolerated on aircraft pavements than on roads

due not only to the generally larger radius of curvature but also Eo Lhe
lower repetltion of loads and less pavement fatigue. This is one of che
reasons why aircraft pavements can be significantly overloaded by
occasional heavy aircraft ririthout undue damage or maintenance.

Where testing rolling was not considered warranted or practicable the

practice of making selective or svstematic test bores/pits, sampling and
testing elther in situ or in the laboratory was used, but the results of
specific tests at random points over a pavement does not give as good a
gulde as to likely pavement performance as test rolling does.
 I80

Pavement Design

.1'? By the mid 1950rs methods had been developed in Austra Iia for predicting
";i the 1lke1y in service strength of sub grades on which to base pavement
thlcknesses and the Corps of Engineersr design ch for thickness had
been signif lcantly modif ied to be43_l Australian needs conditions and
traffic frequencies.

The tls Corps of Engineers I Flexible Pavement Design Charts gave t.he
combined total thickness of pavement and base required for taxi-ways over a
subgrade of any particular CBR value for single-wheel loads as well as for
multiple wheel assemblies of normal configurations. The chicknesses $rere
those determined as adequate for 5000 coverages of the part.icular loading
undet test-track rates of trafficking and this \^ras the form of loading
accepted by the Corps as the appropriate design criterior for taxiways
under capaciry rraffic over a Iife of at least 15_feif.;r^"*A"jI"ig"r;.rg_
t :,..4
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sub.ject to more severe loading than runways, the Co?ps redu&d Ehe
thickness of the central length of runr^rays (excluding the end 3OOm) by
tO"L. Apron thlcknesses were the same as for taxiways and runway ends.

At any aerodromes 1n Australia, however, the traffic intensity was such

that i.t hras not economical or necessary to build all pavements for fulI
capacity usage. Alrcraft operations in Australia were therefore classified
into frequency groups whereby -

ttcapacity operatlon - 6O movements per hour

'rlimited operation - 6 movements per hour
rroccasional - -0.6 movements per hour

The requir:ed pavement thickness r.eas varied on the basis of the expected
frequency of the loading utilising the logarit,hmic relationship established
by the Corps of Engineers I test track work between the thickness and the
number of load repetltions a sub grade would take without failure. The
frequency factors used for flexible pavement design were!
 lBl

Sealed Pavements Unsealed

Feature Capacity Limited Occasional Occa s iona I

T/w( aprons) 1 .0d 0.9d 0. 81 0. 5d

R/w( ends )
R/w(central ) o. 9d 0.81d 0. 73d o.45d
sec!ions

where trdtr was the Corps of Engineersr capacity taxiway thickness.

Technlques were also available Eo convert aircraft movements into coverages

over a Particular point based on the dtstribution of aircraft movements
across runways and taxiways. As with concrete pavements, converting
aircraft operations to effective coverages on a runhray or taxiway was
always lmportant as 5OO0 coverages could be completed very much sooner with
some aircraft combinations than with others, and this affected the
pavement-design life and the thickness required. Such conversions have
becorne more complex and refined since the early days due to the range of
alrcraft-whee1 assemblies and the changing distribucion of aircraft
movements across a runway or taxiway due to improved landing aids and
aircraft control systems.
fircraft impact ljads ol-Ianding do not affect
the thickness requirements. ,/

The fr:equency factors were applied to all sub grade and base materials
(except sand) having CBR values of less than 157". Reductions in thickness
nere not applled to granular materials of CBR higher than 15.

Multiple Wheel Assemblies

The multiple wheel assemblies of most civil and military aircraft

subsequently developed dld not have t-he same wheel spacings and tyre
presssures as the nominal units for which the Corps of Engineers' Charts
were produced. To overcome this problem, Australian practice applied the
concept that at any particular depth in a pavement there was an equivalent
single isolated wheel load whlch would produce approximately the same
vertical stress as any multiple wheel assembly.
 IB2

From the surface of the pavement to a depth half the minimum clear disfance
betr.reen tyre concact areas, each wheel of a multiple wheel assembly was
regarded as actinB independenCly while, below a depCh twice the maximum
centre to cenEre distance between dual wheels (or the diagonal disEance for
'':
dual-tandem wheels) the load on the assembly was regarded as equivalent to
a single wheel carrying the full assembly load. Between these t.wo depths,
analysis of Boussinesqrs theory of stress distribution and studies of
pavemenr deflections indlcated that a straight line joining these tvto
points when plotted on a log-1og scale Bave a reasonably simple
approximation to the equivalent single isolated wheel load at imtermediate
depths .

For convenience the DepartmenE replotted the Corps of Engineers t data

relating thickness - CBR value - single wheel load - tyre Pressure - in the
form of log-Iog charts onto which the equivalent single wheel load line for
any particular aircraft wheel assembly or combinaLion of wheels could be
superimposed. The pavement t.htckness for any combination of wheels could
then be readilY determined.

75
& ye'"*g-t* **,|t*rnv$
Determinatlon of CBR
*'l
Fan{, uoi" y* ,u** rL
The design CBR value assigned rc y6e sub grade for pavement strengthening
work was generally based on the lower quartile value of dteminations made
beneath the existing pavement - either by in situ measurements, tests on
undiscurbed samples or from Proctor Needle and Cone bnetrometer readings
corelated with the in slt,u CBR values.

The CBR values used for new pavements at an exist.ing site were based on
measurements under existing pavement.s (either roads or aircraft) adjusted
for any changes proposed in the Pavement structure, drainage or climatic
conditions expected durlng construction.

Where direct field measurements on a sub grade were no! possible laboratory
CBR tests $rere carried out on remoulded samples of sub grade at various
densities and moisture contents. A falrly unique process developed in the
early 195Ors enabled the likely density and moisture condition (expressed
as a * m c - p 1 ratlol) of a sub grade in service to be predicted and used
for determi.ning the design CBR. (* motsture content - plastic limit).
 IB-1

During construction, the sub grade (or an existing pavement if it was being
overlaved) was pr:oof-roIled with a roller loaded to apply stresses
comparable wlth those which would occur in service at that level so as to
locate any areas which existed below the design CBR value. Areas that
rutted or erere unstable were excavated and replaced with suitable selected
material. This practice avoided weaknesses being built into a constructed
pavement.

The CBR of sands sras originally assessed mainly on density and pavement
weight considerations but with an upper limit of.25, later being reduced to
91uffi J
J 15. Pavement t.hicknesses over sand sub grades have subsequently been
Ll*t*+'.L frrrther modifted to take more account of the elastic properties of sand and
deflection.

Quality and Uniformity of Materials

Fine crushed rock produced from sound stone was regarded as suitable
beneath a thin bituminous concrete surface for tyre pressures up to 2000 k
Pa (300 psi).

The denslty grading and plasticity of gravels and fine crushed rock were
required to be such as would give sufficient stability when compacced to
withstand the loading and such that any pore pressure due Eo traffic
compactlon and moisture condltion would noc cause their failure.

The grading of pavemenE materials was required tolie between the square and
cube root ideal gr:ading curves with the plasticity index not exceeding 6%
for sealed pavements and 9% It unsealed, and the liquid limit not exceeding
25%. Base course materials had similar plasticity requirements but wider
gradlng tolerance and controls on silt content.

Considerable effort r"ras put into ensuring all materials used were as
trntform in quality as possible, meeting the quality requirements afEer
compact ion. Windrowing gravels usually achieved sufficient uniformity.
Fine crushed rock was normally dumped in high multi-Iayered stock plles,
watered regularly and then loaded from a ful1 depth face of the stockpile.
The crushed rock $ras spread and immediately compaeted in a weE condit.ion
with furt,her srater being added during compact.ion to maintain the desired
 moisture state - generally slurry wet which r^ras idear for compaction by
heavy rubber-tyred rol.lers alone or these 1n conjunction wlth vibrating
rol lers .
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Plant mixing of crushed stone maEerials was noc utilised very often in
earlier years unless site mixing equipment was readily accessable.

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1, ,:S Compactlon requirements
",4
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li Pavement and base materials were compacted Eo standards and depths such
that further compaction and shape lees under traffic would be minimised.
.i
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IJS Corps of Engineers' guidelines were utilised for this and compaction
"*
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standards hrere speclfied as a percentage of Modified AASHO Compaction.
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. :,i! For clay sub grades the practice sras to compact to in situ density at
existing molsture content. as in Ehis condition a clay sub grade would not
compact further under traffic and also it was the density to which the clay
would revert t.o over a period of time under seasonal moisture changes.

The early procedure adopted to control compaction in airport work included

specifying the type of roller to be used & the minimum number of roller
coverages to be applled at a specifed moisture condition. Strict control
of the rolling process by contractor or supervisor sras essential. A

density requirement was also specified as a means of overall verification

gg "r"tr"\
For more important flexible pavements, trial sections covering a range of
moisture condltlons and roller coverages were constructed at the
commencement of the job to determine the optj-mumrolling moisture content
and the density that was economlcally obtainable. The density initially
specified was them formally varied up or down as necessary to achieve 98"L
of che maxlmum density obtained tn the field trials. Usually about 8 to 16
coverages of a roller rdas adequate and economical if applied at
approximately the correct moist.ure condition.
 185

Rol lers

Exeept in compacting clay multi wheel pneumat ic-tyred rol lers r.tere used
alnost. exclusively on airport work. The heavy rollers used were -

40 tonnes on 4 tyres inflated to 380 k Pa (55 psi)

40 tonnes on 4 tyres inflated to 1100 k Pa (160 psi)
100 tonnes on 4 tyres inflated to 11O0 k Pa (160 psi)
200 tonne supercompactors on 4 cyres to 1Op0 k Pp (150 psi)
{l:. (t) A "; *, Fti f - tt /1q, \1. ',,;'f h l";rtl' f /e r; t\ta * .

Thes:e rollers were also the main ones used for test rolling referred t.o
earlier together with a special purpose 2-wheel test rig weighing 50 tonnes
and having t70O k Pa (250 psi) tyre pressure.

Sheepsrfoot rollers were not used for compacting gravels or crushed rock
to avoid material break-dom but Lhey were used for clay compaction as for
roads.

lav
Vibrating rollers were mainly used for compacting cohesionless granuaff
materials and in laEer years in conjunction with heavy pneumatic-tyred
rol1er:s for slurry wet crushed materials.

At Adelaide and Sydney Airports in the early 7g6'5's the 200 tonne super
compactor effectively compacted the sand filling co depths of some 1.5 m
without vibratlon in about 12 roller coverages.

Stablillsation

Many of the pavements in use through the 195Ors consisted of sand clays (eg
Canberra), natural gravels (eg Perth), or mechancially stabilised mixtures
of both. Most gave good service for tyre pressures up to about 650 k Pa
(1OO psi) depending on Ehe Eype of tyres and provided construct,ion had been
adequately controlled and the pavements had been properly maintained and
kept dry. Thls applied even to cases where materials were poorly graded
and of relatlvely high plasticity.
 186

However, some of these pavements deteriorated quite rapidly when Viscounts,

s and similarly-tyred aircraft came into service with inflation
DC-6 '
pressures of around 7O0 k Pa (1OO/11O psi) and more rigid types of Eyre.
..':

. .:'j,';
Where addltional strength was required lrit.hin a pavemenE material rrcement
modificationtt hras carried out. This process gave the maEerial more
inEernal sErength, provided more resistence to further compaction under
traffic and less susceptibility to loss of strength if moisture content
became excesslve.

Both Canberra and Perth runways hrere cement-stabilised for the introduction
of. Electras and Boeing 7O7ts respectlvely and surfaced with bituminous
concrete.

Cement contents were kept as low as possible and a nominal content of about
2% was usually adequate to achieve a range of 1 - 37" throughout the
stablised layer. Higher cement contents caused excessive
/ shrinkage
cracking-
even at 2% troublesome cracking used to o."u.I
and l+#-:-::":# Such cracking
could only be blanketed out with a layer of sealed crushed rock of at least
1O0 mrn thick or a similar thickness of bituminous concrete.

Chemical stabilisation was not used but. lime st.abilisation of clay was used
ln t.he Eop 150 mm of clay sub grade in the construction of the flexible
and concrete pavements at Melbourne (Tulla/marine) Airport during the mid
1 960's.

Bituminous stabillsation $ras not favoured because of difficulties of

construct.ion and unCertainties in the quality of t,he produc& and
particularly in regard to stability under high tyre pressure.

Bitumlnous Surface Seal Coat Treatments

",.i Bituminous seal surfaces on airfleld pavements irnmediately after

I
j constructton had to be water proof, firmly attached to the pavement, free
.{t
n
-t
from Ioose material, capable of belng kept clean by sweeping or vacuum
E
: cleantng, smooth wlth a non-skid close-textured surface thaE would not be
't{
,.i too hard on tyres and not be subJect to unravelling with age or pot-holing.
These requlrements were successfully met on civil and military runways,
 l{17

tntl,u Jir,, Uc'! 67<4 b7s t

t.axtways and aprons during the 1950' s and 6O's even f o: -:gme jg! qi-Jqlqf:!
.

gsqge and was achieved with careful attent.ion to rates of application of

bitumen and cover aggregate as well as aggregate rolling. It was usual to
provide about. 1 roller hour per 45O lltres of binder sprayed in seal coat
work and the rates of application of binder were slightly heavier Ehan used
on roads. Trial sections were.1!IsIl carried out to determine the correct
grade of primer and the correct rates of application of primer, binder and
covering aggregate.

There srere three standards of seal coat treatment; a prime and double
bituman seal using coarse sand cover aggregace; a prime and double ,L"f
using two fine aggregates, and the highest standard was a prime and triple
seal uslng thro aggregat.es and coarse sand covering. l\t;>/iurtu' X f\/hr
-

Binder additives and pre coatlng of aggregaEe \dere used whennecessary to

improve adhesion of bitumen and aggregate. 0n several special occasions
(Sydney Alrpore, Avalon and Williamtown Atrfields) successful reseal
treatments r.rere applied on busy runways carrying jet aircraft S:_i$_!g!
Sggglg applied at a strlctly controlled rate and rolled in by a Erain of
st.eel and pneumacic-tyred rollers and broom sqreepers operaEing in tandem;
the surface \ras then vacuumed and immediately opened to aircraft traffic.

BiEumlnous Concrete Surfacing

During the 1950's and 6Ors bituminous concrete was providied when higher
quallty and strength surfaces were required, such as on many but not all
initially, of the maJor civil and military aerodromes of the day. It was
also used extensively for the correction of shape and riding qualities of
exlstlng sound pavements.

The design practice followed closely the practice of the US Corps of

Engineers using crushed sEone aggregates, sand, cemenC or lime filler and
R.90 to 135 grades of bltumen.

The mixes were designed ln accordance with the Marshall test procedures and
crlterla, with aggregates combined co give maximum density gradings lying
between the n = 0.4 and 0.5 ideal grading curves.
 188

The maxlmum aggregate size used was normally dbout 12 size.

15 The
mm
strength of the materlal was adequate for tyre pressures up to about
2oo0 k Pa. (25o psl).
;:i
t.r!:

Bituminous concrete as normally spread by the 'fBarber Greenerr tyPe

spreaders of the day and compaction to at least 97% of. the Marshall maximum
density was achieved by applying one or two coverages of a steel-wheeled
roller followed whlle the material was still hot by pneumatic tyred rollers
which provided the bulk of the compaction and surface kneading to improve
skid resistance

Bitumen contents rrere sometimes deliberately varied up or down from Ehe

optimum Marshall value to achieve a specific purpose or objective' such as
to increase the materials t ltfe in lower traffic situation or reduce any
tendency for further comPactlon under intense traffic.

During manufacture and spreading, strict control was maintained over

cechniques and processes, aggregate and bitumen quality, proPortioning and
compaction activities. Spreading to sEring lines with relatively simple
pointers attached to but located well ahead of thescreed was introduced in
the late 195Ots ln aEt,empts to provide as good a riding surface as possible
and correct pavement shape.

The finished surface tolerances aimed for in both bituminous concrete and
cement concrete surfaces were; "devlations of not more than 1/8th of an
inch (3 mm) from a 10 foot (3 m) straight edge and at a rate of not more
.i
!,
than 1/16th of an inch (1.5 mm) ln any foot lengEh'r. Such tolerances ltere
i,{
:{
frequently more easily obtained with the long wheeled base polter graders
:l::
and good operators than with the machines for placing bituminous concrete
:i.3
):,
i*
and cement concrete unless extreme care sras exercised for the latter.

Bltuminous concrete vras either placed on a ptir"dot sealed surface after

I
t-ack coating with a bltumlnous emulsion dlluted with $tater in the ration of
3 parrs to 2 and applied at a rate to give O.O5 gallons a square yard (0.25
licr:es per square metre) of residual bitumen.
 189

The thlckness of inltial surfacing was generallY 25 mm to 5O mm.

The total thlckness of blLuminous concrete used in initial construction

was much less t.han overseas where IIggge 4!q *ea the:---gqqgit-ions-- we re
-that
much more severe t,han ln Australia as well as for cost considerations'

A 25 mm thlckness of bituminous concrete gave 1O years of very satisfactorY

service at sydney Airport from the early 1950ts before it became necessary
to apply the hot aggregate seal coat referred to above, and in later Years t
additional layers of bituminous concrete Eo correct pavement shaPe and
malntaln a water-Proof and flextble surface.

.let resistent bituminous concrete ustng tar as binder stas tried but not
exEensively used mainly due to its more rapid age hardening, brittleness
and tendency to crack.

Tar piEch emulslons erere extensively applied to bituminous seal and

bituminous concrete surfaces to give Ehem more resistance Eo fuel spillage
but qrhere severe Jet heat, blast and frrel spillage was likely' cement

concrete was reallY the onlY sat.isfactorY solution.

Open graded bitumlnous concrete designed for better drainage beneath tyres
was only ingroduced in trials during the early 1970's; Iikewise runrtay
grooving to reduce aquaplaning probLems.

As a pri.nclple heavy emphasis was placed on the rigorous control of

t-echnlques, processes and ingredients for both bituminous and cement
concrete pavement work rather than rely simply on post mortem testing and
inherent risk of having to remove unsatisfactory materlals. The approach
was extremelY successful.

Maintenance

Pavement maintenance was aimed at keeping a surfaqe water proof, alive and
seal ing of any
in good shape with much at,tent,ion being given to thetJ'l.ffio
cracking or areas of distress with bitumen cut-back ou., the
surface pendlng more extensive re-sealing or patching. Pot holes and loose
materials on surfaces were not accPetable.
 190

Air field drainage

Whenever possible drainage costs \^rere minimised by collected runoff water

.,;-!d
::
l:tr*
from pavement and adjoining grass landing strips in large shallow
i+
:,"4i.
saucer-shaped Ponding areas usually located between p"r"d".""", and from
5
which the runoff could be discharged over many hours into the air-field
pipe drainage, channel or canal system.

Sub soi 1 drains gg:-g in pavement construcCion but.

attentlon vras given to ensuring \rater drained quickly away from pavement.
edges.

Pavements were as a rule built 9n top of sub graqgl instead of,rboxing,l

them into the ground with inherent risks of water-logging during service
life.

Cement, Concrete Aircraft Pavements

From the early 1950ts design and construction of cement concrete pavements
for aircraft usage have substantiallyfollowed the prinicples, criteria and
procedures recommended by the US Corps of Engineers but again with some
modifications to suit Australian conditions and climate.

Only ltmited mechanical componentry was available in this country until the
late 1950's but in about 1959, the RAAFts Airfield Const,ruction Squadron
acqulred a complete unlt of the latest mechanical batching and
machlne/finishing equipment and chis was then used quite extensively over
the next decade on military aerodromes for concrete aprons, run\rays and
taxiways.

The flrst maJor concrete pavement work carried out at a civil airport using
fully mechanlsed plant and equipment was at Tullamarine (Melbourne) Airport
during the rnid/late 1960's.

Concrete pavements rrere more resistent Eo fuel spi I 1age, surface

deterioration under high temperature jet blast effects, tortional stresses
of heavy non-articulated wheel assemblies; they also involved less
 191

maintenance over longer periods if properly constructed and on poor sub

j5!" could be comparable in price to very thick flexible constructionl on
good sub grades they were more costly.

Apart from cost, the main considertion rdas whether a concrete pavement
could be constructed initially to the required colerances of surface shape
and ride quality required for high speed aircraft, and remain within
acceptable limits of shape throughout itrs life - because of differential
slab movements and sub grades movements that are difficult to prevent.

A concrete pavement was regarded as having t.echnical ly f ailed when

"".r.."
and continuing spal1lng occurred at cracks and especially when any joints
or cracks started to rrpumptt.

Very briefly, Australian design practice took account of the following main
aspects in the determination of pavement thickness:

the quality and characteristics of the concrete such as its

flexural strength at 90 days, Modulus of Elasticity,
Poisson ratio and radius of relative stiffness.

subgrade strength as det.ermined by the Modulus of Subgrade

reaction (k)

the base course

wheel load, type of wheel assernbly, tyre pressure, area of

tyre contact

the relationshlp between aircrafE operat,ions and the number

of load repetitions/coverages of the particular wheel
assembly

the single-wheeI load sEress equations of llestergaard and

the influence line charts of Pickett and Ray which enabled
t.he stresses to be det.ermined and compared for any
combination of wheel loads and locations on a concrete slab

'"-ffi
 192

design coefficjents to allow for the not readily computable

effeccs of secondary stresses in a slab due to shrinkage,
.f5
ii temperature and moisture changes
:-

t:
j
:il

design coefficients to al1ow for load transference of

jointing devices and techniques across pavement joints

t.he development of charts relating pavement thickness,

concrete flexural strength and subgrade strength for any
particular aircraft or combination of wheels, to simplify
the mathematics.
:

i
Qualitv of Concret.e
4
lvbrj l,a 4'5 Fr P; 6) x$d
The concrete used in airfield construct,ion rdas mass concrete, without
structural reinforcement. It was designed with the objective of being
uniform, dense and durable, of having a flexural strength of not less than
50o psi (3500 k Pa) at 90 days (and desirable ab_gre_ 600 ps,i/4Qoo k Pa)r and
having a cemenE content of not less than 5 nor more than 7 bags of normal
Por:tland cement per cubtc yard(per 0.75 m), and having a well graded mix of
aggregatesr and sand and cement to give a workable concrete at as low a
v.rater-cement ratio as possible.

Aggregatesused were crushed stone, screened river gravels and sands with a
maximum slze generally between about 4O rnm and 50 mm. Mixes were designed
from laboratory trials for a range of cement contents srith slumps
"t !9!P
mm for hand finishlng and less than 3O mm for machine finishing. Trial
field mixes were usually done before construction commenced so as to adjust
che design mlx to give the desired field workabiliry under the job
finishlng condltions and a mix free from undue mortar and water gain.

ReinforcemenE was not ecomonic and not used due to the large amount of
steel requlred to effectively reduce thickness and to more compllcated
constructlon and repair procedures.
 193

Nomlnal mesh reinforcement was however introduced into odd shape slabs or
slabs cont.aining openings (pits, manholes, etc) not for strengthening but
rather for holding any cracking tight. While experimental sections of pre
stressed concrete were bullt in the mid/late 1950's it was not ecomonical
or practical. \t
lt', lli a t'' f t" '3' n
-

Subgrade Strength

The Modulus of Subgrade reaction (k) is a complex factor for which

Westergaard did not deflne any specific procedure for its measurement.
Rather than measuring it, it lras usuatly assessed from an approximate
relatlonshlp to Caltfornia Bearing RaCio as follows:
t6
CBR 10 20 50
k 100 150 2O0 250 5OO Brirish Unirs
30 40 50 6A 70 140 Merric Unirs
;;;;:;;[r,'
fr, .'* f.rgg lr*'u.,, O*.,".,i;gt.ui ,f*-,, .ru.l, irrr.rl il"o, (,'ryo/fm
No allowance was made for che effect of sub base or base course layers if
less than 1 m thick and in any case the maximum value for rrk' was generally
limited eo 8O (lterric).

If the subgrade rdas clay tt \ras compacted only to the natural field
density/moisture condition : if less Ehan this further compaction was
possible and lf more Ehan this expansion was likely with loss of pavement
shape.

If the subgrade was loam it qras compacted to 9A-95"L modtfied AASHO

compactlon, and if sand to 100% flus compactlon to a depth of.24 lnches.

Pavement Thickness

Concrete pavements constructed in Australia for Airfields up unEil 1970

ranged frorn about 8 lnches (2OO mm) up to 18 inches (46O rnm).

westerBaard and Picketc & Ray Stress Analysis indicated chat of the three
main locacions for wheel loads on slabs (corner, centre and edge), "the
free edge'r loading condition was the worst giving the highest Eensile
 194

stress parallel to the edge. The crit.ical slab loads for maximum free edge
stress was for one wheel of an assembly to be locaced on a slab tangent to
the free edge or a joint.

The coefflcient normally used to adjust (increase) the free edge stress to
allow for the secondary shrinkage, temperature and moisture stresses \^ras
1.3 although this factor varied between 1.3 and 1.1 depending on the rkr
,.r,
value. Model studies and pavement behaviour studies conducted by the Corps
J
of Engineers also showed that the st,resses induced at slab corners and free
edges could be reduced by about 25% with effective Ioad transference
jointing devices and techniques.
:

The concrete thickness was determined from the Westergaard and pickett &
.a
:f,
Ray analysls such that the adjusted free edge stress did not exceed the
_ .,i
90-day flexural strength of the concrete.
:i

The concrete thickness so obtained was accepted as that required for

, \.{
'z capacity taxiway operations and was reduced by 107" for the central sections
of a r:unway.

Base courses

Base courses erere provided

to give a uniform bearing surface beneath the concrete and

to facilitate more even distribution of moisture in the sub
grade

to prevent rrpumpingil at-joints and consequent loss of slab

supporE - a slab deflection of about 2.5 mm was enough to
crack a slab

to give a suitable layer on which to rigidly and securely

hold the formwork on which to operate spreading and
finishing equipment.
 195

Rase courses trereusually constructed 150 to 30O mm thick of a relatively

impervious malerial and a grading that would prevent. "pumping." Base
courses were generally gravel, gravelly loan, cement-modified materials or
crushed rock compacEed to about 95% modified ASSHO density.

As prevlously mentioned the top 150 mm of clay sub grade r""

"t.TgJhgIlS
li.me-stabilised to provide a waterproof sub base and the thickness of
crushed
#
stone base course was inc_rg4s_ed tg 4!qUll 600 mm in an attempt to
blanket out tn-service movements of the extremely expansive underlying clay
at that site. The approach seems to have been quite successful.

Placing, Flnishing, Jointing & Curing

Concrete was placed and finished in lanes 3.8m wide for hand finishing and
!|r for machine laying and finishing. Contraction joints srere provided
at intervals no more than 6 m for hand finishing and 7C m for machine
work. t. /
f c+' lctti.
Tc-llq irluv, 5 n,
Compactlon was obtained tn the earlier years by inEernal vibrators and
vibrating surface screeds. After some longicudinal pavement cracking
problems during the late 1950rs and early 1960ts due to the mechanical
vibrators of the machine placing equipment, the use of such internal
vibrators was dispensed with for the work at Tullamarine and replaced by
additional surface vibratlon.

It is understood this practice has continued to the present but the

effectjveness of surface vibration equipment has been now significantly
i.ncreased.

A variety of construction joints were used, such as rrweakened plane" or

dtrmmy-groove contraction joints, keyed construcEton joints, dowel led
construction joints, plane butt Joints, plain expansion joints, dowelled
expanslon joirrts and each had a particular purpose to fulfll and location
for use.
 196

Longituclinal keyed constructton joincs were provided along both edges of

the outer
each ad.joining lane of concrete. }$ rods were placed alo98
joint lane to maintain load transfer and hold the outer slabs against
moving away.

Transverse contraction joints - weakened plain dummy grooves were provided

at to conErol the location of shrinkage cracking.
regu lar inte rva 1 s
Effectlve load transfer was provided aL such dummy Elroove joints through
aggregate interlock but t.ie rods were placed across end joints to maintain
"T- '
c lose contact . \^
'L,lO,\\/r- r
l3.,ttr-;t '/ l*':' ,t1-t' '/,
'
a

'I
Dowel joints were provided where load transfer across a joinc was required
..1.4

*d while permit,ting horizontal movement of the slabs or where aggregate

interlock could not be relied upon. Positioning and alignment of dowel
bars were carefully controlled to avoid serious slab damage.

t/
tt
Expansion joints werS_-49 nor
rlir,.!f e:'(cept between the pavement and a structure where the latter rnaY be

abl.e to move latera1lY.

t'}
. :i:
,t
'11
,i Joints in the earller years were mostly of thettformedtttype with sawing
5

coming into practice in conjunction with forming in the late 195O's. The
g

4
:i
'i
timings of sawing joints needed special care.
.4
,"
I
. .:
,{
pavement flnishing to shape was done using long-handled screeds and
,d
:e straight edges and the surface nas finally finished with hair broom
.J

' :i:,i{
.-x brushing or hesian dragging to provide the desired non-skid surface. Bumps
*r:.luFj

..::r"::S
if present were ground off.
. ;! !:l
,:.:..14
.r*
'.d
.t Curing was provided by a combination of fine water spraying, sun screening,
::; the use of proprietary curing compounds and moisture-proof paPer or plastic
blanket covering for a period of 4 days.
\! 7 days-
A large varlety of joint fillers including bituminous and Ear compounds and
synthetic Eypes were tried and used over the years each in an attemPt to
improve the practice and achieve a specific objective - such as fuel
reslstance, jet heat and blast resistance, effective filling of the joint
to prevent penetration of stones, etc, and effective sealing of the joint
from ingress of stater.
 197

No one filler was found completely satisfactory but a pre-compressed -cork

compound introduced in the early 1960rs was generally found to give the
best results overall but agatn it had its problems too.-*-* [Vt"t ut*cf no,v,

However, by the early 1960's the main emphasis had shifted from making che
loints t{aterproof to ensuring they were effectively filled and this is whar
the cork material achieved.

General Comments

Prior to and in the years immediately following World War 2 there nere
relatively few large paving contractotg and few consultants in Australia
and lhe road and airport expertise and capability for boch design and
construction was largely developed within, and held in che various federal
state and local government aut.horities.

As the capacity and expertise of the private sector became sEronger, it has
been rrtilised more and more over the years in aerodrome work until at the
Present time the brrlk of airport construction is done by private
contractors and an increasing amount of investigation and design is being
done by consultants. cqygr"qlelt qgrhqqi!ies_ wilI probably rend in the
f urrure p_!"-{FJ*::*lg*g9gaa;1*!a*adr1l ncg pgvelnelr--c9,c_!1o]ogy an_g_plegjg,e
I
and ensure that appropriate control is exercised over quality, time and I
cost. Hig.r *hoyy"rrrl--r.-J

Australian practtce developed from sound engineering experience, judgement

and somewhat empirical methods that were correlat.ed wifh the way materials
and pavements performed in service.

Pavement design and evaluation !tras regarded as being as much anttarttras a

science and engineers \rere encouraged to make judgements as much as
possible using the results of r"it" primarily for substantiation or re
thtnking. This is not to say that scientific approaches were not used or
are not appropriate but pavements do involve non-homogeneous materials and
conditions and 1E ts belteved that any approach, scientific or empirical,
does need correlatlon with practice.
 ,,lffi
#

I98

ln todayts scene as the cost of the pavemenEs become a less significant

parE. of Ehe toCal atrporE expendj.ture and with the cosfs involved in
delayi.ng or re-scheduling aircraft at busy airports because of the need for
mainEenance or strengthening work, refinements in pavements design are
probably less warranted than in earlier times and the adoption of
standardised and perhaps conservativedesigns could become more approPriace.

'f"' /