The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of expansion joint spacing (slab size) on the life cycle costs of owning Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) airfield pavements. Previous research has shown that slab size has a statistically significant impact on pavement performance. A probabilistic life cycle cost analysis was performed to determine if the effect of slab size on pavement performance would affect the total cost of ownership of PCC pavements. Data from 48 Pavement Condition Index (PCI) inspections of military and civilian airfields were used to develop probability-of-distress-by-condition curves, which were then used to develop probabilistic cost-of-repair-by-condition curves. A present worth life cycle cost analysis was then performed for various slab sizes, using construction costs, rehabilitation costs, and maintenance costs. Maintenance costs were determined by assuming a condition deterioration rate appropriate for each slab size and applying the cost-by-condition curves. The probabilistic cost-of-repair-by-condition curves indicated that smaller slabs are more expensive to repair on a unit cost basis. Life cycle cost analysis showed that larger slabs have a higher total cost of ownership than smaller slabs due to a faster rate of deterioration.

• Timothy A. Parsons
• Jr, Jim W. Hall