SYSTEM FOR MACRO AND MICRO AIRFIELD PAVEMENT DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

DUE TO THE EXTREMELY DYNAMIC NATURE OF THE AIR-LAND BATTLE, IT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE TIMELY RECOVERY FROM AIRFIELD DAMAGE. TIMELINESS IS THE RESULT OF A NUMBER OF FACTORS, INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO RAPIDLY AND ACCURATELY ASSESS DAMAGE, AS WELL AS TO ASSIST IN REPAIR OF DAMAGE BY PROVIDING IN SITU MEASUREMENTS ON INDIVIDUAL REPAIR SEGMENTS. AT PRESENT, DATA REQUIRED FOR ASSESSMENT OF PAVEMENT DAMAGE (TYPICALLY THE LOCATIONS AND SIZES OF CRATERS, HEAVES, SPALLS OR OTHER FEATURES THAT PREVENT THE NORMAL USE OF THE AFFECTED RUNWAY) MUST BE ACQUIRED AND PROCESSED VIA AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OR BY OTHER MANUAL METHODS. BOTH OF THE ABOVE METHODS, HOWEVER, LACK THE MOST-NEEDED FEATURES OF TIMELINESS, ACCURACY, AND OPERATOR SAFETY. IN ORDER TO LOCATE A "BEST-CASE" MINIMUM OPERATING STRIP (MOS), DATA MUST IDEALLY BE OF A THREE-DIMENSIONAL NATURE, PROVIDING AN ACCURATE INDICATION OF THE VOLUME AND LOCATIONS OF VARIOUS AIRSTRIP DEFORMITIES, FOR INPUT TO NEURAL NETWORK OR OTHER PROCESSING METHODS. A NEW APPROACH TO DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, INVOLVING PULSED LASER DISTANCE MEASUREMENT, WILL BE STUDIED. THE STUDY PERFORMED WILL RESULT IN A BASELINE SPECIFICATION FOR A HIGHLY ACCURATE DAMAGE SURVEY SYSTEM FOR PRACTICAL USE IN RAPID AIRFIELD RECOVERY.