EVALUATING 17L-35R RUNWAY AT GRAYSON COUNTY AIRPORT USING THE ROLLING DYNAMIC DEFLECTOMETER

The Rolling Dynamic Deflectometer (RDD) is a state-of-the-art nondestructive deflection testing device that was developed at the University of Texas at Austin. Over the years, it has been used in many different highway and airport project-level studies. Since the RDD is able to collect continuous deflection profiles, nearly complete coverage of a runway system can be accomplished rapidly and cost- effectively. With this information, pavement engineers are able to pin-point critical sections where rehabilitation work is needed. This type of coverage is especially important in airport rehabilitation projects where considerable savings can be made if defective areas can be precisely identified and repaired. In this paper, four longitudinal deflection profiles collected along Runway 17L-35R at the Grayson County Airport are presented. Two of the longitudinal deflection profiles were collected near the centerline of the runway where most of the aircraft loading occurs. The other two longitudinal deflection profiles were collected near the runway edges. Part of the runway was built over 38 years ago and has remained in service to this date. There are a total of 8 different rigid and flexible pavement cross sections along the 17L-35R runway. Jointed Concrete Pavement (JCP) sections were constructed at the runway ends, while the interior of the runway was constructed with Asphalt Concrete (AC). As described herein, the deflection, or stiffness, characteristics of each pavement section are readily identified and evaluated using the RDD continuous profiles.