Determination of Structural Properties of Airfield Matting
Abstract
The evaluation of the interaction between airfield matting and soil under aircraft loading has been part of ongoing investigations under the AMX and Remote Piloted Aircraft (RPA) lightweight mat programs. Full-scale evaluations on controlled subgrades using simulated aircraft loads have successfully provided a realistic performance measure of airfield mats in an operational environment. To better understand airfield mat behavior, a medium-scale bending experiment was performed to determine structural properties that can be related to field performance. This report presents data from experiments performed on new, lightweight matting systems investigated under the AMX and RPA lightweight mat programs using the medium-scale simply supported bending test. Full-scale traffic testing has previously been completed, but the structural and mechanical properties of the lightweight airfield mat designs have not been determined. A finite element implementation of the Mindlin plate theory was used to back-calculate mat modulus and flexural stiffness. Results showed reasonable relationships with field performance.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1069209
Entities
People
- Lyan Garcia
- Nolan R. Hoffman
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center