Crater Repair of North Auxiliary Airfield, South Carolina

Abstract : This study was conducted to evaluate two rapid runway repair techniques. Two craters, designated west and east, were blown in an east-west runaway located at North Auxiliary Airfield, South Carolina. The west crater was repaired using US Air Force Europe's precast slab technique. The slabs used for repair were imported from Germany and placed over a ballast rockleveling course base. The eastcrater was repaired with a fiberglass foreign object (FOD) cover placed over crushed stone base (ballast rock choked with a graded stone). Repairs were made by a Prime BEEF Team from Charleston Air Force Base under the supervision of Air Force Engineering Services Center personnel. After the craters were repaired, traffic was applied to the repairs with an F-4 aircraft and a specially designed single-wheel test cart which simulated F-4 and F-15 aircraft traffic. The sequence of test traffic applied to the crater repairs was as follows: (a) proof-testing the repairs with the F-4 test cart, (b) F-4 aircraft operations, (c) F-15 test cart traffic, and (d) F-4 test cart traffic. The findings from the traffic testing of the crater repairs are given.