Analytical evaluation of aircraft operational risks from runway rutting

Abstract

Runway surface distortions such as rutting allow water to accumulate on the runway surface which may cause aircraft operational risks related to hydroplaning and loss of friction. This may increase the runway excursion risk during wet weather conditions. Several standards relating to airfield pavement maintenance have documented that rutting can cause safety hazards to aircrafts due to hydroplaning risk. This paper proposes an analytical approach to evaluate the hydroplaning potential for aircrafts due to the flooded ruts of a runway pavement and evaluate the operational risk. A finite element model is developed to simulate aircraft tyre hydroplaning under given set of operating conditions. By performing this evaluation for different rut depths, an assessment of the relative severity levels of different rut depths with respect to hydroplaning can be made. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the application of the procedure to evaluate operational risks to aircraft from runway rutting.