Design and development
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Runway 10/28, Dublin Airport
Runway 10/28 is Dublin Airport’s primary runway, dealing with 95% of all air traffic movements. To improve and rehabilitate the runway pavement for future long-term use, we were appointed by Lagan/Clare Construction Joint Venture to provide the detail design.
Originally constructed in 1989 as a rigid Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC), Runway 10/28 was overlaid in 2010 with a Thin Porous Friction Course (TPFC) to provide improved friction. Studies demonstrated that the runway did not have sufficient structural strength for the projected aircraft movements over the next 15–20 years, and therefore a rehabilitation of the runway pavement was required. The project scope also included the rehabilitation of taxiways, new AGL system and substation plus upgrading airfield signage.
Key details
Project name
Runway 10/28 Rehabilitation
Client
Lagan/Clare Construction JV
Location
Dublin Airport
Services provided:
- Airside planning
- Airfield pavement design
- Airfield Ground Lighting (AGL) design
- Supervision
Challenge
A key challenge we faced was overlaying the pavement to meet the maximum overlay depth and structural requirements.
To overcome this design issue, we employed the DMG27 design method and Finite Element Analysis modelling. Using the industry standard design method ensured the overlay thickness complied with the proposed aircraft loading.
The pavement design also had to mitigate against reflective cracking. Other design functions undertaken were taxiway pavement design, drainage replacement, upgrading the AGL system to a LED system, new substation and replacement of the airfield signage.
Solution
As all the construction work was undertaken during night-time, our design team utilised buildability lessons learnt from previous schemes to reduce risk and meet programme constraints. Throughout the construction period, we provided a Designer Site Representative (DSR) to assist with construction related issues and a point of contact between our design team and JV Contractor. This assisted with the flow of design information and avoided any delays to the construction process.
In relation to reflective cracking, using our knowledge from the Manchester Airport Runway 2 project, our design team reviewed several design options. This concluded that a compliant design could be provided through extensive computer modelling incorporating a high-grade polymer modified bitumen in the base course and a high-grade asphalt reinforcement at the existing concrete/new asphalt base course interface. To assist with the pavement design, the design team undertook a number of visual inspections and non destructive testing of the runway and taxiway surfaces.
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