Pavement Material for Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Vertcal Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) Operations

Joint Strike Fighter vertical takeoff and landing operations are expected to exert significantly harsher conditions on pavement materials than existing VTOL aircraft. It has been known for several years that during normal lift or landing, concrete has been shown to spall and age prematurely. A new, durable and low-cost material or design is required that can be used in place of or retrofit to existing concrete pavement areas specifically for VTOL training. TRI/Austin has developed an alternative design that will provide high thermal resistance and insulate the surrounding concrete pavement, and have a textured surface to provide traction for aircraft while sitting or moving on the surface. The idea will involve a top-level metal grate providing nonskid traction and allow liquids and lubricants to drain away from the wheels. Underneath this grate will be a stack of ceramic refractory insulating bricks to absorb or reflect the incident heat from the jet blast exhaust. The bricks will be spaced with gaps between them, and stacked in an alternating layer at least two deep, to allow space for thermal expansion and drain through of undesirable liquids.