1. ERDC Knowledge Core
2. Pre - Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
3. Soils and Pavements Laboratory - (8/1/1972 - 4/16/1978)
4. Publication
5. Miscellaneous Paper

Title:	Evaluation of Harvey Aluminum 1- by 12-ft extruded light-duty landing mat with overlap/underlap end connectors
Authors:	United States. Army Materiel Command. Green, Hugh L. McCormick, Charles T.
Keywords:	Harvey Alwninum Co., Inc. Laboratory tests Landing mats Skid tests Traffic tests Trafficability
Publisher:	U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station. Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.)
Description:	Miscellaneous Paper Abstract: The investigation reported herein was conducted to evaluate an extruded aluminum alloy landing mat that was designed and fabricated by Harvey Aluminum Company, Inc., Torrance, Calif. The 1- by 12-ft mat is a one-piece hollow extrusion fabricated from 6063 aluminum alloy artificially aged to the T6 condition. The mat panels are interlocked along the sides by means of a hinge-type connector, the components of which are integral parts of the basic extrusion. End connectors, composed of extruded connectors welded to the basic panel and aluminum inserts using the electron beam welding method, consist of overlap and underlap sections.that are secured by a locking bar after individual panels have been joined together. The investigation consisted of laboratory, traffic, and skid tests to obtain information for use in evaluating Harvey mat for potential use as a light-duty landing mat. The test data reported herein were evaluated against the criteria for light-duty mat as established in the revised Qualitative Materiel Requirement presented as Appendix A. Traffic tests were conducted with the mat placed on a prepared subgrade and trafficked with a rolling wheel load simulating actual aircraft operations. The tests were conducted using the C-130 aircraft loading, which consisted of a single-wheel load of 30,000 lb with a tire inflation pressure of 100 psi, on a subgrade with a rated CBR of 4.2. Results of this investigation revealed that the Harvey light-duty mat sustained 450 actual coverages of traffic on a subgrade with a rated CBR of 4.2, which is equivalent to 367 coverages on a 4-CBR subgrade. This falls short of the coverage criterion for light-duty mat, i.e. 1000 coverages on a 4-CBR subgrade. Failure of the panels occurred in the mat body with breakage in the top skins, bottom skins, and internal vertical members. No failures occurred at the end joints in the vicinity of the welds even though voids were present in the welds in some areas. The placement rate of the mat was 370 sq ft per man-hour. The average coefficients of friction obtained from skid tests on wet and dry surfaces were 0.62 and 0.73, respectively. The tire wear resulting from skidding on both the wet and dry surfaces was not considered significant. Laboratory tests conducted on the. mat indicated that the 6063-T6 alloy exceeded the minimum physical requirements stipulated. NOTE: This file is large. Allow your browser several minutes to download the file.
Rights:	Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/11681/20761
Appears in Collections:	Miscellaneous Paper