In the Spotlight

The paper titled “Evaluation of Test Methods to Identify Asphalt Binders Prone to Surface initiated Cracking” by Thomas Bennert, Navneet Garg, Christopher Ericson, and Nick Cytowicz was published in the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) journal: Transportation Research Record 1-14, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221119191

The paper “Airport Pavement Stiffness Monitoring and Assessment of Mechanical Stabilization using Bender Element Field Sensor” by Mingu Kang , Issam I. A. Qamhia , Erol Tutumluer, Navneet Garg, and Wilfredo Villafane was published in TRB’s journal: Transportation Research Record 1-12, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221084685

Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists (AAPT) Annual Meeting: Dr. Navneet Garg of Airport Technology R&D Branch attended the 2022 Annual Meeting and Technical Sessions of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists (AAPT) held in San Antonio, TX, from September 12-14, 2022. AAPT is a central point for communicating with fellow professionals and staying up-to-date on the latest developments in the asphalt paving industry. During the annual meeting Dr. Garg met with:

• researchers from Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Engineering Research & Development Center (ERDC) and discussed creating a joint database of HMA mix properties and any performance related test results.
• the attending members of Board of Directors of International Society of Asphalt Pavement (ISAP) and ISAP’s Technical Committee on Pavement Field Evaluation. ISAP TC-PFE’s Chair enquired about the possibility of FAA conducting an online airport pavement design workshop in collaboration with French DGAC/STAC. A similar workshop was organized during the 2018 International Conference of ISAP in Brazil with great success.
• the Director (Engineering & Technical Support) of National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) to discuss progress on the Airport Asphalt Pavement Technology Program (AAPTP).

Dr. Garg at AAPT Annual Meeting                             Dr. Garg (L) with members of ISAP Board of Directors

Wesley Major of the Airport Technology R&D Branch facilitated the technical session The FAA National Wildlife Strike Database “Soaring to New Heights” at the 2022 Bird Strike Committee in Salt Lake City, UT. The session explored the purpose and functionality of the Wildlife Strike Database, as well as the various organizational collaborators and their roles. Panelists included Carla Dove, Program Director, Smithsonian Institution; Shawn Hershman, Project Manager, Enterprise Engineering Solutions, Inc.; Phyllis Rose Miller, FAA Wildlife Strike Database Manager, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services.

Keith Bagot of the Airport Technology Research & Development Branch presented at the ARFF Working Group Annual Symposium. Mr. Bagot provided an update on Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting (ARFF) research, to include the replacement of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) in firefighting agents, as well as the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for ARFF applications. The ARFF Working Group Symposium is the premiere event for the aviation firefighting industry, and was held in ChampionsGate, Fla., on August 28-31, 2022. More information on the symposium can be found at the following link: https://arffwg.org/conferences/2022-arffwg-annual-symposium/.

The American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) published a paper co-authored by members of the Airport Technology Research & Development Branch, Matthew Brynick and Mike DiPilato, on “Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems-Based Orthophoto and Digital Elevation Model Creation and Accuracy Evaluation for Airfield Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Distress Detection and Rating.” This paper was published as part of the conference proceedings for the 2022 ASCE International Conference on Transportation and Development, which was held May 31 – June 3, 2022.