BCV403 – Transportation Engineering
For Civil Engineering, Visvesvaraya Technological University
Module – 5
Airport Engineering
Prof. Arun Tandi
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Smt. Kamala and Sri Venkappa M Agadi College of Engineering and
Technology, Lakshmeshwar 582116
Syllabus
Airport Engineering: Layout of an airport with component
parts and functions, Site selection for airport, Aircraft
characteristics affecting the design and planning of airport,
Airport classification, Runway orientation using wind rose
with examples.
Runway-Basic runway length-Corrections and examples,
Runway geometrics, Taxiway-Factors affecting the layout -
geometrics of taxiway-Comparison between Runway and
Highway, Design of exit taxiway with examples.
Problems on Runway orientation, Basic Runway length,
Exit taxiway design.
Airport Engineering
Introduction
Component parts of Airport
• Terminal Building
• Aprons
• Runways
• Hangers
• Taxiways
• Stopways
• Holding area
• Terminal Building: It is a building where the
passengers arrivals, departure/waiting lounge,
check-in and ticket counters are provided.
• Apron: it is a hard standing area where aircrafts
are parked, passengers emplane/deplane and
cargos are loaded/unloaded. Fuelling and other
servicing is also carried out.
• Runways: it is a strip provided specifically for
landing and take-off operations.
• Hangers: these are the buildings where aircrafts
are serviced
• Taxiways: It is a strip connecting runways with
one another and with the aircraft parking apron.
• Stopways: It is provided at the end of the
runway to accommodate an aircraft over a
runway during landing/take-off.
• Holding area: if the landing and take-off
operations are busy on the runways then the
aircrafts are kept waiting till the runways
become free.
Abbreviations
• ICAO : International Civil Aviation Organization
• AAI : Airports Authority of India
• IAAI : International Airports Authority of India.
• DGCA : Director General of Civil Aviation
• NAA : National Airports Authority
• HAL : Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
• IATA : International Air Transport Association
• ACI : Airports Council International
Site Selection for Airport
• Regional plan
• Airport use
• Proximity to other airports
• Ground accessibility
• Topography
• Obstructions
• Visibility
• Wind
• Noise nuisance
• Grading, drainage and soil characteristics
• Future development
• Availability of utilities from town
• Economic considerations
• Regional Plan: The site selected should fit well in
to the regional plan, thereby forming it an integral
part of the national network of airport.
• Airport Use: the selection of site depends upon
the use of an airport i.e. whether for civilian or
military operations however, during the
emergency, civilian airports are taken over by the
defence.
• Proximity to the other airports: The site
selected at a considerable distance from the
existing airports so that the aircraft landing in one
airport does not interfere with the movement of
aircraft at other airport.
• Ground accessibility: the site should be so selected
that it is readily accessible to the users. The airline
passenger is more concerned with his door-to-door time
rather than the actual time in air travel. The time
required to reach an airport in car from business or
residential centers, should not exceed 30minutes.
• Topography: This includes natural features like ground
contours, trees, streams etc. A raised ground e.g. a hill
top is usually considered to be an ideal site for an
airport. The reasons are:
1. Less obstruction in approach zones and turning zones
2. Natural drainage, low land may result in flooding
3. More uniform wind
4. Better visibility due to less fog
• Obstructions: when aircraft is landing and take off,
if it loses or gains altitude very slowly as compared
to the forward speed. For this reason long clearance
areas are provided on either side of runway known
as approach areas over which the aircraft can safely
gain or loose altitude. The areas should be kept free
of obstructions like trees, poles, buildings, fences
etc.
• Visibility: Poor visibility lowers the traffic capacity
of the airport. The site selected should therefore be
free from visibility reducing conditions such as fog,
smoke and haze. Fog generally settles in the area
where wind blow is minimum e.g in a valley.
• Wind : Runway is so oriented that landing and
take off is done by heading in to the wind. Wind
data i.e., direction, duration and intensity of wind
should be collected over a minimum period of
about 5 years.
• Noise nuisance : the extent of noise nuisance
depends upon the type of engine propulsion and
the gross weight of aircraft. The problem
becomes more acute with jet engines. Therefore
site should be selected such that it should be free
from residential or industrial development.
• Future development : considering air traffic will continue
to increase in future, more number of runways may have to
be provided. Similarly more facilities may be required for
processing of passengers, baggage and cargo , additional
traffic control devices may also have to be installed.
• Availability of utilities from town : An airport has to be
provided with facilities like water supply, sewer,
telephone, electricity etc. in the selection of site, the
availability of these utilities from the town should be given
due consideration.
• Economic consideration : The cost estimates should be
prepared for the entire airport construction considering
both initial and ultimate stages. This should include land
cost, grading of land, drainage, removal of hazards,
paving, lighting and parking areas
Surveys for site selection
• Traffic survey: To determine the amount of air
traffic including the anticipated traffic for future.
• Meteorological survey : To determine direction,
duration and intensity of wind, rainfall, fog,
temperature and barometric pressure etc.
• Topographical survey :
a) To prepare contour map showing other natural
features such as trees, streams etc.
b) To prepare a map showing such constructed
objects as pole lines, building, roads etc.
• Soil survey : to determine soil type and ground water
table. This assists in the design of runway, taxiway,
terminal building and drainage system
• Drainage survey :
a) To determine the quantity of storm water for drainage.
b) To locate possible outlets for drain wate in the vicinity
of the site.
c) To study the possibility of intercepting or diverting
the natural streams or nallas flowing towards the site
under consideration.
• Material survey : to ascertain the availability of
suitable construction materials at a reasonable cost and
mode of transportation of these materials to the site.
Aircraft characteristics
• Type of propulsion
• Size of aircraft
• Minimum turning radius
• Minimum circling radius
• Speed of aircraft
• Capacity of aircraft
• Aircraft weight and wheel configuration
• Jet blast
• Fuel spillage
• Noise
• Type of propulsion : Size, circling radius,
speed, weight and noise depends upon type of
propulsion of aircraft. The performance
characteristics of aircrafts, which determine the
basic runway length also depends upon type of
propulsion.
• Size of aircraft : the size of aircraft involves
wing span, fuselage length, height, distance
between main gears, wheel base and tail width
• Minimum turning radius : in order to decide the radius
of taxiways, the position of aircrafts in loading aprons
and hangars and to establish the path of the movement of
aircraft, it is very essential to study the geometry of
turning movement of aircrafts.
• Minimum circling radius : there is certain
minimum radius with which the aircraft can take
turn in space. This radius depends upon the type
of aircraft, air traffic volume and weather
conditions.
• Speed of aircrafts : the speed of aircraft can be
defined in two ways i.e. cruising speed and air
speed. Cruising speed is the speed of aircrafts
with respect to the ground. Air speed is the speed
of aircraft relative to the wind.
• Aircraft capacity : the number of passengers,
baggage, cargo, and fuel that can be
accommodated in the aircrafts depends upon the
capacity of aircraft.
• Weight of aircraft & wheel configuration :
weight of the aircraft directly influences the length
of the runway as well as structural requirements
i.e., thickness of the runway, taxiway, apron and
hangars.
• Jet blast : At relatively high velocities, the aircraft eject
hot exhaust gases. The velocity of jet blast may be as
high as 300kmph. This high velocity causes
inconvenience to the passengers travelling in the
aircraft. Bituminous pavements are affected by the jet
blast.
• Noise : noise generated by aircraft create problems in
making decisions on layout and capacity. The correct
assessment of future noise patterns to minimize the
effect of surrounding communities, it is essential to the
optimal layout of the runways.
• Fuel spillage : at loading aprons and hangars it is
difficult to avoid spillage completely, but effort should
be made to bring it within minimum limit.
Airport Classification
• The geometric standards of an airport depend upon
the performance characteristics of the aircrafts that
will use the airport
• The weather conditions and the services rendered by
the airport i.e. domestic or international.
• The airport classification helps in the design of
airport and to establish the uniformity in the design
standards.
• It also assists the pilots in identifying the size and
services which the airport can provide
ICAO classification
• ICAO classifies the airports in two ways.
• Based on the runway length of the airport and
classification done from A to E. in which A type of
the airport has the longest runway length and E
type has the shortest.
• Second classification is based on Equivalent Single
Wheel Load (ESWL) and the tyre pressure of the
aircraft which will use the airport. This
classification is done by using numbers from 1 to 7.
Based on runway length
Airport types Basic runway length Runway width Maximum
longitudinal
grade
Maximum (m) Minimum (m) meters %
A 2100 45 1.5
B 2099 1500 45 1.5
C 1490 900 30 1.5
D 899 750 22.5 2.0
E 749 600 18 2.0
Based on ESWL
Code ESWL (kg) Tyre Pressure (kg/cm2)
1 45,000 8.5
2 34,000 7.0
3 27,000 7.0
4 20,000 7.0
5 13,000 6.0
6 7,000 5.0
7 2,000 2.5
Runway orientation
• Runway is usually oriented in the direction of
prevailing winds. The head wind i.e. the direction of
wind opposite to the direction of landing and take-
off.
• It provides greater lift on the wings of the aircraft
when it is taking-off. The aircraft rises above the
ground much earlier and in shorter length of runway.
• During landing, the head wind provides a breaking
effect and the aircraft comes to a stop in smaller
length of runway.
Wind Rose
• Wind data i.e. direction, duration and intensity
are graphically represented by a diagram called
wind rose.
• The wind data should usually be collected for a
period of at least 5years and preferably of
10years, so as to obtain an average data with
sufficient accuracy.
• As far as possible, these observations should be
taken at or near site selected, since the wind
conditions may vary considerably with location.
Types of wind rose
• Type 1 : direction and duration of wind
• Type 2 : direction, duration and intensity of wind
Type 1: In this type, the radial lines indicate the wind
direction and each circle represents the duration of wind.
Type 2 : Each circle represents the wind intensity to some
scale. The values entered in each segment represents the
percentage of time in a year during which wind of
intensity blows from respective direction.
Wind data
Type 1
Type 2
Unit-VI
RUNWAY
Basic Runway Length
• It is the length of runway under the following
assumed conditions:
i. Airport altitude is at sea level.
ii. Temperature at the airport is standard 15°C.
iii. Runway is levelled in the longitudinal direction.
iv. No wind is blowing on runway.
v. Aircraft is loaded to its full loading carrying capacity.
vi. Enroute temperature in standard.
• The basic runway length is determined from the
performance characteristics of the aircraft
using the airport. The following cases are
usually considered:
– Normal landing case
– Normal take-off case
– Engine failure case
Basic Runway Length
• The landing case requires that aircraft
should come to a stop within 60percent of
the landing distance. The runway of full
strength pavement is provided for the entire
landing distance.
Basic Runway Length
• The normal take-off case requires a clearway
which is an area beyond the runway and is in
alignment with the centre line of runway. The
width of clearway is not less than 150m and is
also kept free from obstructions.
Basic Runway Length
• The engine failure case may require either
a clearway or a stop way or both. Stop way
is described as an area beyond the runway
and centrally located in alignment with the
centre line of runway. It is used for
decelerating the aircraft and bringing it to a
stop during a aborted take-off.
Basic Runway Length
• The strength of stop way pavement should
be just sufficient to carry the weight of
aircraft without causing any structural
damage to the aircraft.
• If the engine has failed at a speed, less than
the designated engine failure speed, the
pilot decelerated the aircraft and makes use
of the stop way.
• If, however, the engine fails at a speed
higher than the designated speed, there is
no other option to the pilot except to
continue to take-off.
• The pilot may later take a turn in the turning
zone and land again for a normal take-off.
Corrections for elevation,
temperature and gradient
• The basic runway length as discussed earlier, is for
mean sea level elevation having standard atmospheric
conditions. Necessary corrections are therefore
applied for any change in elevation, temperature and
gradient for the actual site of construction.
• Correction for elevation
– As the elevation increases, the air density reduces. This is in
turn reduces the lift on the wings of the aircraft and the
aircraft requires greater ground speed before it can rise
into the air.
– To achieve greater speed, longer length of runway is
required.
– ICAO recommends that the basic runway length should be
increased at the rate of 7 per cent per 300m rise in
elevation above the mean sea level.
Corrections
• Correction for temperature
– The rise in airport reference temperature has the
same effect as that of the increase in elevation.
Airport reference temperature is defined as the
monthly mean of average daily temperature( Ta )
for the hottest month of the year plus one third
the difference of this temperature ( Ta ) and the
monthly mean of the maximum dailyTm Tatemperature
( Tm ) for the same month ofTthe
a
year.
3
– Thus airport reference temperature=
– ICAO recommends that the basic runway length
after having been corrected for elevation, should
be further increased at the rate of 1 percent for
every 1°C rise of airport reference temperature
above the standard atmospheric temperature at
that elevation.
Corrections
• Check for total correction for elevation
plus temperature
– ICAO further recommends that, if the total
correction for elevation plus temperature exceeds
35percent of the basic runway length, these
corrections should then the further checked up
by conducting specific studies at the site by
model tests.
Corrections
• Correction for gradient
– Steeper gradient results in greater consumption
of energy and as such longer length of runway is
required to attain the desired ground speed.
– ICAO does not recommend any specific correction
for the gradient.
– FAA recommends that the runway length after
having been corrected for elevation and
temperature should be further increased at the
rate of 20 % for every 1 percent of effective
gradient.
– Effective gradient is defined as the maximum
difference in elevation between the highest and
lowest points of runway divided by the total
length of runway.
Runway Geometric Design
• Factors considered in geometric design of
runways:
i. Runway length
ii. Runway width
iii. Width and length of safety area
iv. Transverse gradient
v. Longitudinal and effective gradient
vi. Sight distance
Runway Cross-section
Runway Geometric Design
i. Runway length: The basic runway length
as recommended by ICAO for different
types of airport are given in the table
below. To obtain the actual length of
runway, corrections for elevation,
temperature
Airport and gradient
Basic Runway length are applied
Runway Maximum to
the basic
Types runway length.
Maximum, Minimum,
pavement longitudin
width,m al grade %
m m
A 2100 45 1.5
B 2099 1500 45 1.5
C 1490 900 30 1.5
D 899 750 22.5 2.0
E 749 600 18 2.0
Runway Geometric Design
ii. Runway width
– ICAO recommends the pavement width varying
from 45 m to 18m for different types of airport.
– The aircraft traffic is more concentrated in the
central 24m width of the runway pavement.
– Another consideration in determining the runway
width is that the outermost machine of large jet
aircraft using the airport should not extend off the
pavement on to the shoulders. This is because the
shoulder is usually of loose soil or established soil
etc which is likely to get into the engine and
damage it.
– The outer engines of a large jet transport are about
13.5m from the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.
– As such a pavement width of 45m will provide
adequate protection to the engine from the
shoulder material during normal operations.
Runway Geometric Design
iii. Width and length of safety area
– Safety area consists of the runway, which is a
paved area plus the shoulder on either side of
runway plus the area that is cleared, graded and
drained.
– The shoulders are usually unpaved as they are a
used during emergency. They may at the most be
prepared of stabilized soil or turfed.
– Another advantage of providing shoulders on
either side of runway is that they impart a sense of
openness to the pilot and improve psychology
during landing and take-off.
– ICAO recommends that for non-instrumental
runway, the width of safety area should be at least
150m for A, B,C, and 78 m for D and E types and
for instrumental runway, it should be minimum
300m.
Runway Geometric Design
iv. Transverse gradient
– This is essential for quick drainage of surface
water. If surface water is allowed to pond on the
runway, the aircraft can meet severe hazards.
– ICAO recommends that the transverse gradient
of runway pavement should not exceed
1.50percent for A, B, C and 2 percent for D and
E types. It does not specify the minimum limit of
the transverse gradient.
– ICAO recommends that the transverse gradient
of portion of the shoulder should not exceed
2.50percent.
– Transverse gradient of the remaining portion of
the shoulder should not exceed 5 percent.
Runway Geometric Design
v. Longitudinal and effective gradient
– The longitudinal gradient of runway increases
the required runway length. ICAO gives the
following recommendations for the maximum
longitudinal gradient and the maximum
effective gradient.
– For longitudinal gradient:
A, B and C types: 1.50 percent
D and E types: 2.00 percent
– For effective gradient
A, B and C types: 1.00 percent
D and E types: 2.00 percent
Runway Geometric Design
vi. Rate of change of longitudinal gradient
– The abrupt change of longitudinal gradient restricts
the height distance and may also cause premature
lift-off of the aircraft during the taking-off operation.
– The premature lift-off of aircraft will affect its
performance of aircraft during its take-off and can
also develop structural defects in the aircraft.
– Too many changes in the gradients over a small
length of runway can also restrict the sight distance
and increase the runway length.
– The changes in gradients should be smoothened by
vertical curves.
– ICAO recommends that the rate of change of
gradient should be limited to a maximum of 0.10
percent per 30m length of vertical curve for A and B
types, 0.2 percent for C type and 0.4 percent for D
and E types of airports.
Runway Geometric Design
[Link] distance
– Where two runways or a runway and taxiway
intersect each other, there are chances of
collision of aircraft, if sufficient sight distance
are not available.
– ICAO recommends that for A, B and C types of
aircrafts, any two points 3m above the surface
of runway should be mutually visible from a
distance equal to half the runway length.
– For D and E types of runway there should be
unobstructed line of sight from any point 3m
above runway and to all other point 2.1m above
the runway within a distance of at least one half
the length of runway.
Taxiway Design
• Factors controlling taxiway layout: The main function
of taxiway is to provide access to the aircrafts from the
runways to the loading apron or service hangar and back.
The following considerations decide the layout of taxiway.
i. Taxiways should be so arranged that the aircrafts which have
just landed and are taxiing towards the apron, do not
interfere with the aircrafts taxiing for take-off.
ii. At busy airports, taxiways should be located at various points
along the runway so that the landing aircraft leaves the
runway as early as possible and keeps it clear for use by
other aircrafts. Such taxiways are called exit taxiways.
iii. The route for taxiway should be so selected that it provides
the shortest practicable distance from the apron to the
runway end.
iv. As far as possible, the intersection of taxiway and runway
should be avoided.
v. Exit taxiways should be designed for high turn off speeds.
This will reduce the runway occupancy time of aircraft and
thus increase the airport capacity.
Design standards Taxiway Design
• The speed of an aircraft on taxiway is much
lower than its speed on a runway during the
landing or take-off. Thus the design
standards for a taxiway are not as rigid as
they are for runway and can be listed as :
i. Length of taxiway
ii. Width of taxiway
iii. Width of safety area
iv. Longitudinal gradient
v. Transverse gradient
vi. Rate of change of longitudinal gradient
vii. Sight distance
[Link] radius.
Taxiway Geometrics Taxiway Design
Airpo Taxiwa Maximu Minimu Maximum rate Safet
rt y m m of change of y area
Types width longitudi Transver longitudinal width
(m) nal se gradient (%)
gradient gradient
(%) (%)
A 22.5 1.5 1.5 1
Turfed or
paved
B 22.5 1.5 1.5 1 shoulders
are not
C 15 3 1.5 1 mandatory
but are
D 9.9 3 2 1.2 suggested
if need
E 7.5 3 2 1.2 exists
Design standards of Taxiway
i. Length of taxiway: It should be as short as
practicable. This will save the fuel
consumption. No specifications are
recommended by any organisation for
limiting the length of taxiway.
ii. Width of taxiway: It is observed that the
width of a taxiway is much lower than the
runway width. This may be because, when
aircrafts run on a taxiway they are not air
borne. The speed of the aircraft on a taxiway
is also lower than the speed that the aircraft
may maintain on a runway. The pilot can,
therefore, comfortably manoeuvre the
aircraft over a smaller width of taxiway than
on a runway.
Design standards of Taxiway
iii. Width of safety area: While the arrival of jet
aircrafts, the erosion problem of shoulder
material due to high speed jet exhaust has
become more complex. When jet aircraft of
transport category occupies even the central
position on a taxiway pavement, it is
observed that the outboard engines of the
aircraft project the pavement on to the
shoulders.
It is felt that certain width of shoulders,
adjacent to pavement edge, should be paved
with light strength material.
The surface must be impervious, smooth and
should not disintegrate due to the hot blast of
the jet engines.
Design standards of Taxiway
iv. Longitudinal gradient: If the gradient is steep,
there will be greater fuel consumption. ICAO
recommends that the longitudinal gradient
should not exceed 1.5percent for A and B types
and 3 percent for other types of airports.
v. Transverse gradient: This is essential for quick
drainage of surface water. ICAO recommends
that for taxiway pavement like runway, the
transverse gradient should not exceed a value of
1.5 percent for A, B and C types and 2 percent
for D and E types of airports.
ICAO does not specify any value for the
transverse slope of taxiway shoulders. FAA
recommends, that it should be 5 percent for the
first 3m and 2 percent thereafter,, for all types of
airports.
Design standards of Taxiway
vi. Rate of change of longitudinal gradient:
This directly affects the available sight
distance on the pavement. ICAO recommends
that rate of change of slope in longitudinal
direction should not exceed 1 percent per 30m
length of vertical curves for A, B and C types
and 1.2 percent for D and E types of airports.
[Link] distance: Since the speed of aircraft on
taxiway is lower than on runway, smaller value
of sight distance will be sufficient on taxiway.
ICAO recommends that the surface of a
taxiway must be visible from 3m height for a
distance of 300m for A, B and C types and
distance of 250m must be visible from 2.1m
height for D and E types of airports.
Design standards of Taxiway
[Link] radius: Whenever there is a
change in the direction of a taxiway, a
horizontal curve is provided. The curve is
so designed that the aircraft can negotiate
it without significantly reducing the speed.
Circular curve of large radius is suitable
for this purpose.
Design of Exit Taxiway connecting
runway and parallel taxiway
• The following principles govern the design of
taxiway:
i. The most significant factor effecting the turning
radius is the exit speed of aircraft.
ii. Slightly widened entrance of 30m gradually
tapering to the normal width of taxiway is
preferred. The widened entrance gives to the
pilot more latitude in using the exit taxiway.
iii. Total angle of turn of 30° to 45° can be
negotiated satisfactorily.
iv. For the smooth and comfortable turn, the
turning radius should be determined from the
equation V2/125f.
Design standards of Taxiway
v. A high turn-off speeds of 65 to 95 kmph, a
compound curve is necessary to minimise
the tire wear on the nose gear. Therefore,
the main curve radius R2 should be preceded
by a larger radius curve of R1 as shown in
figure.
vi. The length of larger radius V 3 curve can be
L2 following relation:
roughly obtained from the 45.5 CR2
Value of C is 0.39
Design standards of Taxiway
[Link] distance must be provided to
comfortably decelerate an aircraft after it
leaves the runway. This distance may be
based on an average deceleration rate of 1
m/sec2 . The stopping distance may be
obtained from the
S .D following equation :
2
V
25.5 d
where d is the deceleration in m/sec2 .
The stopping distance should be measured
from the edge of the runway pavement
along the exit taxiway.
Design standards of Taxiway
Separation Clearance
• From the view point of safety, the two
parallel traffic ways should be separated by
an adequate distance from each other.
• The separation distance depends upon type
of airport, the wing span of aircraft and the
navigational aids available at the airport.
• The traffic ways also should be separated
sufficiently from the adjacent obstructions
e.g. building.
• A and B it is 210m , C 150m , D and E is
120m.
Visual Aids
• The pilot needs visual aids while landing or taking-off during
all weathers and at every time.
• The pilot usually takes help of the perspective view of the
runway and other ground reference marks during the landing
operations.
• Runway threshold, runway edges and the runway centre line
are amongst the most essential items which should be clearly
visible to the pilot.
• Inorder to enhance the daytime visibility, runways, taxiways
and other allied structures are marked with lines and
numbers.
• All markings should be clear and should provide the maximum
practicable contrast under all conditions.
• In the day time during poor weather conditions, or at night the
visibility reduces considerably.
• It is essential to provide adequate lighting in the airport which
should convey the similar information's to the pilot during
visibility conditions, as the markings do in day time.
Airport Marking
• Airport area is marked in a simple manner so that
the pilots can easily spot and recognise to the
various airport elements.
• The pilot this should distinctly identify the landing
area and should also know the wind direction. For
this identification, marking and wind direction
indicators are essential at airport.
• The airport markings are divided into the
following :
– Runway marking
– Taxiway marking
– Runway and taxiway shoulder marking
– Apron marking
– Wind direction indicator
– Landing direction indicator.
Airport Lighting
• During landing, the pilot should have the following
guidance: alignment guidance, height information,
distance estimation and roll guidance.
• The airport lighting can be divided into following
elements:
– Rotating beacon
– Code beacon
– Boundary lighting
– Approach building
– Threshold lighting
– Runway lighting
– Taxiway lighting
– Apron and hangar lighting
– Lighting of wind direction indicator
– Lighting of landing direction indicator.
Instrument Landing System (ILS)
Instrument Landing System (ILS)