Airfield pavement is intended to provide a smooth and safe allweather riding surface that can support the weights of such heavy objects as aircraft on top of the natural ground base. Airfield pavements are typically designed in layers, with each layer designed to a sufficient thickness to be adequate to ensure that the applied loads will not lead to distress or failure to support its imposed loads. The Federal Aviation Administration provides guidance on the design of airfield pavements within its Advisory Circular AC 150/5320-6E, Airfield Pavement Design and Evaluation. Originally published in 1975, this advisory circular was completely revised in 2008 to consider new design methods that are based on recently developed computer software models and appropriate for the heaviest of commercial air carrier aircraft. This chapter provides both an account of the historical
pavement design and evaluation methods and details the current method of pavement design and evaluation. As with any element of airport planning and design, appropriate Advisory Circulars and software user guides should be studied and referenced prior to performing any airport pavement analysis.