The 4th APTE Conference, Xi’An, China, Nov.

8~10, 2005

Chemical-Soil Stabilization for Runway Shoulder Widening

at Singapore Changi Airport
Koh Ming Sue Lim Boon Chai
Senior Engineer (Airport Planning) Engineer (Projects)
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
Singapore Singapore
Koh_Ming_Sue@caas.gov.sg Lim_Boon_Chai@caas.gov.sg

Dr Wu Dong Qing
Executive Director, Chemilink Technologies Group
Singapore
wu@chemilink.com.sg

Abstract

As the demand for air transportation increases, the ability of airports to expand
correspondingly to cope with this increase is severely handicapped by restrictions imposed by
limited airspace, land-use and environmental constraints. The introduction of larger
commercial aircraft, such as the recently revealed Airbus A380, capable of carrying larger
masses, becomes a commercially viable alternative. Singapore International Airline (SIA) is
the launch customer for the Super Jumbo, which is scheduled to arrive in Singapore Changi
Airport in 2006. To support the operations of the Airbus A380, the runway shoulders at
Singapore Changi Airport have to be widened to prevent soil erosion and Foreign Object
Damage (FOD) arising from the more powerful jet blast exerted by the Airbus A380 outboard
engines as well as to provide a safe area that can withstand runway excursion by aircraft.
Various technical proposals were evaluated by the airport authority in searching for a method
of construction that would cause minimum disruption to airport operations. The strengthening
of in-situ soils with a polymer modified cementitious chemical stabilizing agent for base
course construction was selected on various merits. Considerations include the high rate of
construction and the recycling of in-situ material, which avoids the need for extensive
earthworks and is environmentally friendly. This paper summarizes the planning and
evaluation processes undertaken by the airport authority in the selection of the construction
technology for the widening or runway shoulders. The technical advantages and commercial
benefits of chemical-soil stabilization in the airport application are derived and discussed.
The construction process and some technical results of the cold deep in-place stabilization
with chemical stabilizing agent are also presented.

Keywords: A380, Runway Shoulder Widening, Airport Operations, In-Situ Soils,

Environmentally Friendly, Chemical-Soil Stabilization

Introduction

The introduction of larger commercial aircraft is a commercially viable option as the demand
for air travel increases. Airbus A380 is the largest commercial aircraft built to date, capable
of carrying up to 555 passengers in 3 classes, 35% more than the B747-400, and burns 12%
less fuel than its competitor. In order to support the operation of this Super Jumbo, the
original 3m-wide runway shoulders in Singapore Changi Airport have to be widened by an
additional 4.5m on each side to achieve overall shoulder width of 7.5m in order to (a) provide

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a safe area that can withstand occasional runway excursion by aircraft; (b) support ground
emergency response vehicles and (c) resist jet wash and prevent Foreign Object Damage
(FOD) hazard. This runway shoulder widening works have to be completed by 2006 in order
that the airport can safely receive the first A380 commercial flight. Other international
airports are also preparing to receive the A380 between 2006-2010 (see Fig. 1 below), many
of these of which are located in the East Asian region.

Fig. 1. Airports Ready for the Airbus A380

Singapore International Airline (SIA) is the launch customer for the A380. The Super Jumbo
was initially scheduled to arrive in Singapore Changi Airport in March 2006 but its inaugural
flight into Singapore could now be in late 2006. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
(CAAS) had begun planning for upgrading of airport infrastructure, including runway
shoulders widening (see Fig. 2) to prepare for handling the A380 since the late 1990s. The
major upgrading works have commenced since 2004 and will be completed in the 1st half of
2006, making Singapore Changi Airport one of the first international airports to be A380-
compatible.

B747-400

A380-800

Existing 60m runway 4.5m shoulder

and 3m shoulder widening

Fig. 2. Runway Shoulder Widening at Singapore Changi Airport

Annex 14 Volume I on Aerodrome Design and Operations published by the International

Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommends that the width of a runway shall not be less
than 60m, and that runway shoulders should extend symmetrically on each side of the runway
to achieve an overall width of the runway and shoulders not less than 75m for Code F aircraft
(aircraft with wingspan up to but not including 80m) operations. On a 60m wide runway such

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as that at Changi, 7.5m wide shoulders are required to support occasional aircraft excursion
and emergency vehicle access. To meet this recommendation, the existing runway shoulders
have to be widened by 4.5m (reference Fig. 2 above).

Evaluation Criteria

The airport authority evaluated various technical proposals for the runway shoulder widening
works to search for a technically feasible and practical method. The following criterions were
taken into consideration during the evaluation process.

1) Ability to Meet Airport Operational Restrictions. Singapore Changi Airport has two
parallel runways, and is one of the busiest airports in the world. Any construction
works within 150m from the centerline of each runway can only be carried out with
the closure of the runway concerned. To reduce the impact of the construction works
to airport operations, the runway closure can only be allowed between 1:00am and
7:00am, which is during the airport’s off-peak period. Actual construction time is
further reduced to only about 4 hours per closure due to safety procedures (e.g. setting
up of closure markers, safety briefing for workers), mobilization and de-mobilization,
site clearance and cleaning before the runway is inspected and re-opened for
operations at the end of each work period. The construction method should also allow
the closed runway to be re-opened for operations within 30 minutes in the event of
exigencies on the operational runway, with full serviceability and meeting
international runway operational and safety requirements.

2) Construction Speed. The construction method should be able to achieve high rates of
construction in order to shorten the total project duration, thus minimizing the period
of risks and impact of inconveniences caused by construction activities and
unavailability of the runway.

3) Shoulder Pavement Structural Design. The structural design should meet the general
requirements of runway shoulders specified by ICAO in the Aerodrome Design
Manual Part 1 – Runways (ICAO, 1984). The airport authority also specified that the
design should not be less than the Type I shoulder pavement described by Airbus
(Airbus, 2005). Local soil conditions should be taken into consideration and the
selected method must be a proven technology with a history of applications in regions
of similar climatic conditions.

4) Environmental Impact. The construction method should avoid extensive excavation

and backfilling to reduce the negative impact on the environment. This not only
results in lesser waste soil material to be disposed, it also greatly reduces the number
of vehicular and machinery movements typically associated with excavation and
hauling of materials, thus reducing harmful emissions and facilitating command and
control of the works.

5) Cost Effectiveness. The project cost, which includes construction and related costs, is
also one of the factors in the evaluation of the method of construction. Subsequent
recurrent maintenance costs were also given significant weightage when considering
the available options.

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The proposed construction methods can generally be classified into two categories:
replacement and non-replacement, the latter of which allows in-situ soils to be re-used as a
source of construction material. Various technical proposals were evaluated thoroughly based
on the criterion mentioned above, with non-replacement methods offering added advantages
over conventional pavement construction (replacement method). The non-replacement
method of strengthening in-situ soils with polymer modified cementitious chemical
stabilizing agent for the base course, topped by asphalt concrete as a wearing course (Fig. 3)
was eventually selected on various merits which will be discussed later.

120mm Asphalt Wearing Course 120mm

Asphalt Wearing Course

200mm
Graded Stones 300mm
Chemical Stabilized Soil

Compacted Subgrade 500mm Existing Subgrade

CBR > 7 %
(No compaction needed)

Fig. 3. Cross Section of Existing Runway Shoulders vs. Widened Section by Chemical
Stabilization

Chemical-Soil Stabilization

Soil stabilization refers to the mixing of chemical mixtures with in-situ soils to improve the
volume stability, strength and strength-strain properties, permeability and durability of the
soil through chemical reaction between the chemical and soils. The stabilized soils form a
semi-rigid platform, which is commonly used as the base course for various types of
pavement structures (Wu & Yong, 2004). The selected chemical stabilizing agent is a
polymer modified cementitious soil stabilizing agent that has been successfully used in
tropical region for more than ten years with numerous project records (Suhaimi & Wu, 2003).
Non-homogeneity of soils, which includes stone, beach sand, silt and clay or their mixtures,
along the longitudinal profile of the runways, coupled with the limited construction time
window, meant that the ideal application of using different stabilizing agents for different soil
types is not practical. Therefore a special version of the stabilizing agent, which is able to
treat a wide range of soils from gravel/sand to silt/clay, as well as their mixtures, was used.

The design criteria of the 300mm thick stabilized soils base course for the new runway
shoulders are (a) UCS (unconfined compressive strength at 7-day) not less than 1.5 MPa; (b)
CBR (California bearing ratio at 7-day) not less than 90%; and (c) MR (resilient modulus at
28-day) not less than 3,000MPa. A minimum dosage of the chemical at 3.75% (by the dry
weight of soils to be stabilized) was applied to all runway shoulder widening areas under
various soil conditions.

The process of in-situ soil stabilization is straightforward and fast with three major steps:
Spreading of the chemical over the surface of the soils to be stabilized; In-situ mixing of the

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chemical with the soil; and Compaction. Daily stabilization rates (based on 8-hour day) for
new roads can average up to 1km (7m width) with a set of specialized stabilization machines
and conventional road construction machinery. An initial estimate of the stabilization rate,
taking into consideration site variations and contractual requirements, is 166m (4.5m width)
per 6-hour runway closure.

Runway Shoulder Widening Processes

A typical runway shoulder construction schedule for a 6 hour runway closure period (from
1:00am to 7:00am) is shown in Fig. 4, of which the effective construction duration is only
about 4 hours (from 2:00am to 6:00am) due to safety procedures and housekeeping
requirements. Major construction activities include Excavation and removal of the topsoil
(Photo 1); Spreading of the chemical agent on the surface of the soils to be stabilized (Photo
2); Mixing of the chemical with the in-situ soil (Photo 3); Compaction of the chemical-soil
mixture (Photo 4); and immediately upon compaction of the stabilized layer, Paving of a
layer of asphalt concrete (Photo 5). A second layer of asphalt concrete is laid the following
closure to complete the widening. The widened runway shoulder is shown in Photo 6.

Fig. 4. Typical Construction Procedure of New Shoulders

Photo 1. Excavation Photo 2. Spreading

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Photo 3. In-Situ Mixing Photo 4. Compaction

Photo 5. Paving Asphalt Concrete Photo 6. Completion of Widening

The peak hourly and daily construction rates for the new shoulder pavement are about
280m²/hour (62.5m length by 4.5m width) and 1,125m²/day (250m length by 4.5m width)
respectively, which is significantly faster than the initial planned daily rate of 166m length by
4.5m width. A comparison of the actual construction time versus planned timings, and
average daily rates for the shoulder pavement construction by chemical-soil stabilization
method is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Comparison of Planned and Actual Construction Period for Runway Shoulders
Construction using Chemical Soil Stabilisation Method

Planned Actual Actual

Runway Construction Construction Working Remarks
Period Period Days
(31/05/05~11/07/05)
I 90 days 42 days 31 days Ave. 208 m/day
(08/03/05~29/04/05)
II 90 days 53 days 29 days Ave. 226 m/day

I & II 180 days 95 days 60 days Ave. 217 m/day

(Total:13kmx4.5m)

Quality Control

Quality control was carried out through sample testing during and after the stabilization
process to ensure that the completed runway shoulders were constructed according to contract
specifications. CBR of the sub-grade were randomly checked to ensure that validity of the
assumptions of in-situ CBR. In addition to quality assurance for the chemical powder, the
actual chemical powder weight was sampled during the mechanical spreading process as a
means to ascertain that the chemical dosage, which is dependant on spreading rate, was

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applied as specified (Photo 7). Immediately after the completion of in-situ mixing, specimens
were collected and prepared (Photo 8), kept moist for 7 days before conducting UCS and
CBR tests (Photos 9 and 10). The degree of compaction of the stabilized layer was measured
using nuclear density testing devices to ensure sufficient compaction (Photo 11). Resilient
modulus tests (MR) were also carried out at 28-day (Photo 12).

Photo 7. Spreading Rate Check Photo 8. Preparations of Specimens

Photo 9. UCS Test Photo 10. CBR Test

Photo 11. Nuclear Density Test Photo 12. Resilient Modulus Test

The results of UCS and CBR laboratory tests are shown in Fig. 5. The average value of UCS
is 3.0MPa and CBR is 200%. The wide range of test data, even though the same chemical
dosage is applied, is a result of the variation of soils along the runway profile.

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6.0
0.0063CBR
UCS = 0.8e
R-I
R-II
UCS = 0.015 CBR
4.5

UCS (MPa)
3.0
-UCS in Mpa
-CBR in %

1.5

(90, 1.5) Ave. UCS = 3.1 MPa

Ave. CBR = 219.0%

0.0
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330

CBR (%)

Fig. 5. UCS and CBR Testing Results

Values from resilient modulus tests were in the range of 12,000 – 15,000MPa, which exceeds
the minimum requirement of 3,000MPa as specified in the contract specification, and higher
than what would have been achieved if the conventional graded stone base course was used.
Overall quality of the stabilized soils as the new shoulder base course, as shown by laboratory
acceptance test results, is satisfactory. 3 months after the completion of shoulder widening on
one of the 2 runways in Changi Airport has not revealed any defect that can be positively
attributed to instability of the stabilized base.

Benefits of Chemical-Soil Stabilization in the Airport Environment

The used of in-situ soils as construction material greatly reduced the number of vehicular and
machinery movements that would have been required for the hauling of construction and
waste materials if conventional replacement methods were used, alleviating command and
control issues within the delicate airport operating environment. Using 10ton tipper trucks, an
average of 25tons of chemical were imported and 230tons of excavated topsoil exported daily
for a construction area 250m long by 4.5m wide, accounting for approximately 20 trips. In
comparison, 100 trips would have to be made daily for exporting 630tons of excavated soil
and importing 500tons of graded stone for construction of the base course through the
replacement method. If the average time for airport security clearance is 3 minutes/trip, it
would take 9 hours daily for all these vehicles to enter the airport, seriously impeding work
progress, not withstanding the increased exposure to security and operational safety risk.

Furthermore, actual working manpower was less than 50 workheads, with less than 20
machinery and vehicles within the runway at any one time. This avoided the communication
and coordination nightmare in exigencies when the runway had to be re-opened for
operations within 30 minutes. The risk of Foreign Object Debris (FOD) left on the runway
was also greatly reduced.

The actual rate of runway shoulder widening by in-situ chemical-soil stabilization was faster
than initially planned, allowing the shoulder construction works on the two 4,000m long
runways to be completed 2½ months ahead of the 6-month schedule, despite the entire
construction process being carried out under severe time and operational restrictions. On

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hindsight, conventional replacement methods looked unlikely to achieve more than 30% of
the construction rate under similar conditions.

The recycling of in-situ soils as construction material is environmentally friendly and avoided
the need to dispose up to 21,000tons of, otherwise, “waste material”, which translated to a
saving of nearly S$200,000 in disposal cost for the airport authority.

Based on breakdown of the contract price and actual work done, the unit cost for the widened
runway shoulder pavement, inclusive of soil stabilization, paving of asphalt concrete and
reinstatement works, is approximately S$70/m², 65% of which goes to soil stabilization
works. Recurrent maintenance cost is assessed to be no more than that required for the
maintenance of existing runway shoulders as both are paved with asphalt.

Conclusion

The runway shoulder widening works required for Singapore Changi Airport to comply with
ICAO recommendations have been completed on both runways since early August 2005.
Changi Airport is well on its way to become one of the 1st international airports to be fully
Airbus A380-compatible.

Comprehensive project planning and methodology evaluation by the airport authority was
critical in the smooth and on-time completion of the shoulder widening works.

The chemical-soil stabilization method is applicable under the restricted operating conditions
in the airport environment, and effectively minimized unnecessary disruption to airport
operations and any risks associated with the works. The process is environmentally friendly
and expeditious. Assurance on quality of the completed works can be controlled through
sample testing to specifications. Technical performance to-date is satisfactory.

Acknowledgements

Special acknowledgement goes to Mr. Fong Kok Wai, Director (Development &
Engineering), CAAS for his invaluable guidance throughout the whole project.

References

Airbus. (2005). Tests on the Occasional Load Bearing Capacity of Shoulders-Overview.

ICAO. (1984). Aerodrome Design Manual, Part 1, Runways, Doc 9157-AN/901,

International Civil Aviation Organization, 2nd Edition.

Suhaimi, H.G. and Wu, D.Q. (2003). Review of Chemical Stabilization Technologies and
Applications for Public Roads in Brunei Darussalam, REAAA Journal (The Journal of Road
Engineering Association of Asia and Australia), Vol. 10, No.1 PP7021/8/2003, pp. 42-53.

Wu, D.Q. and Yong, T.C. (2004). Recycling of In-Situ Soils by Using Chemical Stabilization
for Roads, Proc. of the International Conference on Sustainable Waste Management, June 10-
12. 2004, Singapore, pp. 227-239.

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