Citation

Agrawal SK, Daiutolo H. Transp. Res. Rec. 1981; 836: 49-55.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1981, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The presence of transverse grooves in runway surfaces helps alleviate aircraft hydroplaning during landing operations. The Federal Aviation Administration has recommended installation of 0.25-in square-grooves spaced at 1.25 in center-to-center on runways where potential of hydroplaning exists. However, many runways remain nongrooved, primarily because the cost of grooving by the conventional saw-cutting method, currently in widespread use, is high. This paper describes the braking effectiveness of an aircraft tire on reflex-percussive grooves produced by a newly developed low-cost groove-installation technique called the reflex-percussive cutting process. This process is based on the principle of controlled removal of concrete. The cutting head causes the material directly under the area of impact to pass through a rapid compression-tension cycle. Because it is weak in tension, the concrete fractures in the localized area of impact without damaging the surrounding concrete. The braking effectiveness of an aircraft tire on these grooves is comparable to conventional saw-cut grooves under similar conditions of wetness, and both types of grooves alleviate hydroplaning. The cost of installation of the reflex-percussive grooves in portland cement concrete, however, can be as low as half the cost of installation of conventional saw-cut grooves at the recommended groove spacing.