Groove Quality and Pavement Surface Frictional Characteristics on Runway 9R/27L at ATL

Abstract: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) has consistently ranked as one of the world’s busiest airports for nearly three decades, with roughly 900K aircraft operations moving over 100M passengers annually.

Runway 9R/27L is one of two runways in ATL’s 5-parellel runway network which are used primarily for arrivals and is the most heavily utilized for this purpose. Reconstructed in 1999, the runway is 25 years old. The pavement consists of 18 inches of Portland cement concrete (PCC) along the 9,000-ft length across the 150-ft width constructed in 25ft paving lanes with 25ft joint spacings doweled in both the transverse and longitudinal directions. The surface is grooved.

Rubber-tire buildup occurs rapidly and is removed every 45 to 60-days (roughly 6-8 times per year). Over time the surface has lost a fair amount of cement paste – likely due to the steel shot blasting techniques employed prior to 2006 and high-pressure water blasting used since 2006 to remove rubber-tire deposits and restore adequate surface frictional characteristics. This observation is most pronounced in touchdown areas and less noticeable between the touchdown areas, while the surface outside the keel (25 feet on either side of the runway centerline) remains unaffected other than at highspeed exits. It is noted that the concrete produced in 1999 included only Portland cement (100%PC), rather than the more airport-specific use of 20-25 percent fly-ash replacement (75-80%PC:20-25%FA). The runway was regrooved in 2006 due to degradation of the original grooves installed in 1999.

This paper explores the present serviceability of the runway pavement, by measuring and analyzing current friction properties, groove quality, surface distress converted to pavement condition index values for the entire width and length of the runway. Results are compared with requirements set forth in FAA Advisory Circular 150/5320-12C (1997) and 150/5320-12D (draft version in circulation since 2016).