Longterm collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration

Dynatest and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have signed a multiyear contract. The FAA is the largest transportation agency of the United States government, and our job is to oversee the operations of their Dynatest Heavy Vehicle Simulator for many years to come.

The FAA is paving the way to better airport pavements. Airfield pavements must support extreme and ever-increasing loads under all weather conditions, and the FAA is hard at work ensuring that the American pavement structure and materials stand up to these demands. The FAA operates two state-of-the-art pavement test facilities at the William J. Hughes Technical Center near Atlantic City, New Jersey, dedicated solely to airport pavement research.

The fully enclosed indoor test lanes, the National Airport Pavement Test Facility, and the National Airport Pavement and Materials Research Center, which boasts two indoor test lanes, four outdoor test lanes, and an environmentally exposed Reflective Cracking test area. Both facilities are equipped with heavy-duty test vehicles that can be used to simulate the action of today’s aircraft on airport pavements.

Embedded sensors in the test pavement collect information about the wheel load, pavement temperature, strain, pressure, and pavement deflection in response to an aircraft load.
Engineers evaluate the performance of asphalt, concrete, and other pavement materials in varying weather conditions using the data to produce improved pavement design and establish standards and specifications for new materials coming onto the market.

With these facilities, the FAA is paving the way to more durable, economical, and environmentally friendly pavements that will conserve airport funds and reduce delays due to runway construction and maintenance.