Impact of aircraft landing load on the crack resistance of hybrid basalt fibre-reinforced aerodrome concrete pavements

Hybrid basalt fibre-reinforced concrete (HBFRC) has emerged as a high-performance material capable of addressing the severe mechanical demands placed on aerodrome pavement systems. By integrating basalt micro and macro fibres, the composite gains improved stiffness, enhanced crack-arrest capacity, and greater resistance to repeated aircraft-induced loads. This study develops and analyses 25 hybrid concrete mixes using both laboratory testing and a detailed finite element simulation in Ansys Workbench to quantify how different fibre proportions influence compressive strength, stiffness, and deformation under an Airbus A321neo load. A 3D fracture-based pavement model incorporating predefined semi-elliptical crack geometry was used to evaluate the de-formation response across 7-, 14-, and 28-day curing periods. Results show a clear improvement in mechanical performance with hybridisation, with the mix containing 2% basalt microfibres and 1% macrofibres consistently yielding the lowest deformation values (0.0054353mm, 0.005815mm and 0.0057363mm) for 7 days, 14days and 28 days respectively, indicating superior crack-resistance and load-bearing capacity throughout the curing stages. While the mix containing 0.5% basalt microfibres and 0.5% macrofibres yielded the highest deformation values (0.0059277mm and 0.0058474mm) for 14 and 28 days respectively. The findings demonstrate that optimal hybrid fibre combinations significantly reduce pavement vulnerability to its risk of being susceptible to damage from changing aircraft loads like heaving traffic and can serve as practical reinforcement strategies for strengthening modern airfield infrastructure. The study further highlights the importance of micro–macro fibre synergy in improving fracture behaviour and offers valuable guidance for developing next-generation high-durability airport pavement materials.