End-to-end connection for lightweight airfield matting system

Description (excerpt)

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST Under paragraph 1(a) of Executive Order 10096, the conditions under which this invention was made entitle the Government of the United States, as represented by the Secretary of the Army, to an undivided interest therein on any patent granted thereon by the United States. This and related patents are available for licensing to qualified licensees. CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS BACKGROUND Field of the Invention The present invention relates to portable airfields and, more specifically, to systems and methods of providing lightweight airfield matting. Description of the Related Art This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the invention. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is prior art or what is not prior art. Expeditionary Airfields (EAFs) are portable airfields that can be constructed, used, broken down after the completion of a mission and moved to another site for re-use. Originally made of pierced steel planks (PSP), portable runways made possible the strategy of island hopping during military campaigns. Although PSP worked well with the aircraft of the WWII era, PSP could not endure the rigors placed on it by the post WWII generation of jet aircraft. PSP simply could not withstand the heavier wheel loads and impact of the new class of aircraft. The AM2 matting was developed to meet this need. The AM2 aluminum matting has been the primary temporary airfield matting system used by the U.S. military since the late 1960s. The AM2 matting was adopted to be used for fixed-wing and rotary-wing operational surfaces. The AM2 matting consists of 1½″ tall×2′ wide aluminum rectangles coated with an epoxy nonskid material, available in both 6 and 12 foot lengths, and are assembled in a brickwork pattern to form runways, taxiways, parking, and other areas required for aircraft operations and maintenance. The AM2 airfield matting has a long history of successful performance as an expeditionary airfield surfacing system. The use of the AM2 matting was expanded from its traditional use in SATS (Short Airfield for Tactical Support) to include small helicopter pads (72 feet square) which could be constructed in otherwise unprepared areas. These small helicopter pads later evolved into landing pads for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) sites for non-helo aircraft with vertical flight capabilities. EAFs are constructed on-site. Edge clamps, cruciform stakes, and earth anchors are used to secure the AM2 matting to the ground after it has been properly installed. Once the AM2 matting is properly constructed, the portable aircraft arresting gear and marking systems are installed to form a complete airfield that enables air activity at night, in inclement weather conditions, and otherwise unprepared environments. Despite its long history of satisfactory performance, the AM2 matting has limiting factors, especially related to transportation logistics. The AM2 matting will not fit on a 463L air cargo pallet, cannot be loaded into an enclosed ISO shipping container, and each full panel weighs nearly 150 lb. and requires a waiver for installation because it exceeds the two-man lift weight capacity (50 lb. per soldier maximum). In addition, because of its design, there is only one aluminum extruder in North America that will produce the main panel extrusion for the AM2 matting, thus greatly limiting supply in time of conflict. SUMMARY The present invention was developed to remedy the AM2 matting's shortfalls by optimizing its dimensions to fit on a 463-L pallet and into any ISO shipping container, weighing only 50 lb. (one soldier lift), and being made from two simple extrusions that can be manufactured by many companies in the USA. Embodiments of the invention are directed to an AM-L (Airfield Mat-Lightweight) system of airfield matting. The AM-L system is a lightweight aluminum panel designed to be assembled and used as a temporary aircraft operating surface in contingency or expeditionary locations where either time or material availability prevents the construction of conventional permanent pavements. The system is made primarily of full panels that are 21-in.-wide by 84-in.-long and 1-in.-tall and half panels that have the same dimensions but are only 42-in.-long. The panels can be assembled in a brickwork pattern to create a stable surface. The AM-L panel has unique joining mechanisms on all four edges that allow for its assembly. The full-length rectangular matting panels and the half-length rectangular matting panels are modular members