Skid resistance of aircraft tire on wet runway pavements with different grooves

Abstract: Skid resistance of airport runway is one of the major safety measures in airport operation as it directly affects the braking distance during aircraft landing. The FAA has a standard specification for transverse runway grooving. Recently, the FAA initiated a study to evaluate an alternative trapezoidal-shaped grooving on runway pavement surface This FAA-sponsored study aims to evaluate safety performance of aircraft tire on wet runway pavements with different groove configurations through laboratory testing and numerical modeling. The scope of work includes: 1) Design and build laboratory test platform for braking test of a reduced scale tire; 2) Measure friction coefficients on the track surface with different grooves and water depths on the laboratory test platform; 3) Develop analytical models for simulating aircraft tire-groove interaction; 4) Develop finite element models for simulating aircraft tire-water-pavement interaction. Finally, the influence of groove configurations on safety performance of aircraft tire is concluded based on experimental and modelling results. The findings from laboratory experiments and analytical modeling show that the square and trapezoidal grooves on runway pavements can provide similar skid resistance to aircraft tire at wet conditions in general. The simulation results suggest that the trapezoidal groove may provide greater friction at high speeds and water film depths.