9.2 FAA Pavement Design Considerations
9.2.1 Selection of Pavement...............................................................................
Pavements are divided into two types: flexible and rigid. Any pavement type can provide the required
pavement service life with proper design, material, and construction. Multiple considerations must be
involved in selecting the pavement type; including cost, operational constraints, environmental
constraints, material availability, and potential airport expansion. When considering alternative
pavement types, it is assumed that all alternatives will achieve the desired result. The question is which
design alternative results in the lowest total cost over the life of the project.
Table 9-1 is a comparison between rigid and flexible pavements in several aspects.
Table 9 - 1 Comparison between Rigid and Flexible Pavements
Aspect Flexible Pavement Rigid Pavement
Initial Cost Lower Higher
Maintenance Cost Higher Lower
Whole Life Cost Lower Higher
Construction Process Simple Process More Complex Process
Life Span Lower Higher
Temperature Variation Not Effective Effective
Damage Temporary Permanent
Expansion Joints Not Required Required
Friction Force Low High
Thermal Stresses Not Induced Induced*Source: White, G & Kitchen, R 2019, ‘Parametric comparison of the whole of life cycle cost of rigid
and flexible aircraft pavements.