Roughness of runways and significance of appropriate specifications and measurement

Most airport runways in southern Africa and Australia are surfaced with asphalt. Many of the runway surfacing specifications have been adapted from relevant road specifications. However roughness is one parameter where airport and road specifications differ. The International Roughness Index (IRI) is a measure of riding comfort commonly used and specified for roads. IRI is fundamentally related to riding comfort experienced by the motor vehicle passenger. In contrast, runway roughness is defined in terms of fatigue on aircraft components and other factors such as cockpit vibrations and excessive g-forces. As a control measure of roughness, IRI has been specified on some airport projects which has the disadvantage in that it is not measuring the elements important on runway pavements. The paper introduces straight-edge, Boeing Bump Index (BBI), aircraft simulation and their use on various runways in southern Africa and Australia. Emphasis is placed on the interpretation and implementation of the latest roughness criteria for runways included in ICAO Annexure 14. The objectives of this paper are to emphasise the significance of appropriate roughness specifications on runways and to share experiences with the implementation of more relevant specifications, including aspects of roughness measurement and interpretation.

• Authors:
  • Emery, S
  • Hefer, A
  • Horak, E
• Conference:
  • Conference on Asphalt Pavements for Southern Africa (CAPSA15), 11th, 2015, Sun City, South Africa
• Publication Date: 2015-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 10p
• Monograph Title: 11th Conference on Asphalt Pavements for Southern Africa: CAPSA15, 16-19 August 2015, Sun City, South Africa

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airport runways; Airports; Bituminous pavements; Evaluation; Roughness; Vibration
• Uncontrolled Terms: Pavement technology
• Geographic Terms: Africa; Australia
• ATRI Terms: Airport; Asphalt; Evaluation; International roughness index (IRI); Runway; Vibration
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01597078
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ATRI
• Created Date: Apr 22 2016 11:12AM