Modeling roughness progression by measurements of runway surface profiles

Roughness represents a key parameter in Pavement Management System (PMS) as it affects, on one hand, safety of aircraft and user riding comfort on the other. In this paper the main results of an extensive experimental campaign aimed at characterizing the longitudinal and transversal variability of a runway pavement roughness are presented. 48 longitudinal profile alignments have been acquired on a runway of an Italian Regional Airport by means of a high-performance laser-based profiling devices. Spectral properties of runway profiles have been carefully analyzed in order to detect stationarity characteristics. Statistical analysis have been performed in order to identify optimal monitoring policies for maintenance purposes. By elaborating the acquired profile data together with cumulated traffic, it has been possible to develop a semi-empirical roughness degradation model that may assist the pavement engineer in the optimal allocation of maintenance interventions