Airports are critical infrastructures where the quality of runway, taxiway, and apron pavements directly impacts the safety and efficiency of aircraft operations. Due to its superior durability and strength, concrete plays a pivotal role in constructing dependable airport runways.
While traditional concrete offers substantial benefits, it also has limitations, particularly its inherent brittleness and susceptibility to cracking. To counter these issues, the addition of synthetic fibers has often become necessary in modern runway concrete applications to enhance its tensile and flexural strength.
Using fiber reinforcement on a runway offers several benefits that enhance the durability, performance, and longevity of the pavement.
Several properties must be considered when designing a concrete runway to ensure safety, durability, and performance, including:
Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) offers a range of benefits that enhance concrete’s structural integrity and durability for runways. These include:
FORTA offers specialized fiber products that are ideal for use in concrete runways, ensuring superior performance and longevity:
Jackson Hole Airport has historically struggled with asphalt performance on their runways, averaging an effective service life of 6-7 years and requiring maintenance treatments every 2-3 years.
They turned to Pacific GeoSource to cost-effectively enhance asphalt performance and limit runway closures/disruptions.
Fast forward to today, the runway has lasted 12+ years and has only received ONE maintenance treatment in that time.
Through a few simple-to-implement PGS strategies the life of the pavement has doubled while the need for maintenance has decreased substantially.
Pavement Life Increase
Of Reduced Maintenance Treatments
Runway Shutdowns
The Medford Airtanker Base provides interagency support for wildland firefighting efforts in Oregon and California. It experiences heavy traffic, especially during fire season. Time is of the essence when fighting fires, so the USFS turned to PGS to help extend the life of their pavement and prevent maintenance shutdowns.
A longer-lasting pavement also means less money spent in the long run, leaving more funds in the budget for what matters – Keeping their communities and forests safe.
Okay, this is not your typical airport… But it’s certainly cool.
NASA wanted to extend the life of their asphalt overlays and chose to use fiber-reinforced asphalt. They understand the value of using a small high-tensile fiber.
Pacific GeoSource was there to handle the details, ensuring proper application, dispersion, distribution, and construction.
Working with PGS is an easy way to improve the life of your overlays by 50% or greater.
Discover how FORTA’s fiber-reinforced concrete solutions can transform the performance and longevity of your airport runways. Contact us today to learn more about our innovative products and get assistance in choosing the ideal solution for your application.
