ACR-PCR method for bearing capacity analysis of airport pavements

The constant increase in aircraft weight and main landing gear wheel loads, as well as tire pressure, along with the continuous growth in traffic, i.e., an increase in the number of flight operations, places ever-increasing demands on the load-bearing capacity of airports' pavement structures. In 1981, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) introduced the first standardized method for reporting the load-bearing capacity of pavement structures on airport maneuvering areas, known as the ACN-PCN (Aircraft Classification Number - Pavement Classification Number) method. However, this method was based on empirical methods and material parameters and did not allow for consistency between procedures for the design and performance analysis of airport pavement structures, nor for the analysis of the impact of complex landing gears of modern aircrafts. The new ACR-PCR method, adopted in 2020. year, and which has been in effect since 2024, overcomes these limitations and allows for a significantly more reliable analysis of pavement structures at traffic areas at airports. The paper presents the fundamentals of both methods, and their application is illustrated with a case study of one flexible and one rigid runway pavement structure.