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Airfield Hardstanding/Concrete Help please


Aviacom

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Hi,

I'm ready to start making a display base for a project that I'm doing and would like to help on the airfield hardstanding concrete slab sections please?

 

The aircraft is going to be displayed as it's sat on a USAFE base, so I need to know what size these concrete ‘slabs' were if possible please? Either full size measurements or even better would be 1/32 measurements.

 

Would the sizes also be applicable to RAF/USAAF airfields too as well as modern?

 

I've trawled the web but can't seem to find anything.

Many Thanks

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I believe that from what I've seen, it can vary quite a bit from one location to another, depending on the area to be covered. I've seen hexagons, squares, rectangles, polygons, and all sort of other shapes and sizes. There really doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.

 

I'd suggest using Google maps (satellite view) to look at some actual airfields.

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Rule of thumb for engineers: unreinforced concrete slabs typically have joints no more than 10' in each direction. Reinforced slabs have joints typically 20' in each direction. Heavily reinforced slabs, where expansion/contraction forces are accounted for, can have less joints, such as modern highways ( and probably runways).

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I believe that from what I've seen, it can vary quite a bit from one location to another, depending on the area to be covered. I've seen hexagons, squares, rectangles, polygons, and all sort of other shapes and sizes. There really doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.

 

I'd suggest using Google maps (satellite view) to look at some actual airfields.

 

There is some rhyme and reason to it, depends on the soil load, type of soil, the underling support structure, how thick it has to be for that type of soil, pads can sometimes range from 10-15ft up to 25', the smaller the pad the thinner the sub base, its all about how much load that section of tarmac has to handle. So that's why you see different layout of patterns.

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There is some rhyme and reason to it, depends on the soil load, type of soil, the underling support structure, how thick it has to be for that type of soil, pads can sometimes range from 10-15ft up to 25', the smaller the pad the thinner the sub base, its all about how much load that section of tarmac has to handle. So that's why you see different layout of patterns.

 

Looks like I need to start phrasing myself better here. What I refer to, is a sometimes complete lack of consistency, one airfield to another, as regards geometric shapes in general. Probably the most frequently seen geometric shapes are squares, but other shapes are also frequently used, as needed at that particular location, so again, no consistency. Since individual design intent, geological considerations, and soil core samples are not visible in photos, I refer only to the slabs themselves, and the geometry reflected in those slabs.

 

As per the observations from Ray above, in 1/32 scale, a 10' square pad would be 3-3/4" square, and a 20' square pad would be 7-1/2" square (information requested by the OP).

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