AOS Team Aids Haitian Earthquake Recovery

  • Published
  • By Heyward Burnette
  • Materials and Manufacturing
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  In their development and subsequent application of a new chemical system for rubber removal, Air Force Research Laboratory materials specialists were able to remove dangerous buildup from a runway at Port-au-Prince's Toussaint Louverture International Airport. Compact, lightweight, and requiring no in-theater support other than fuel and water, the new system provides an environmentally safe and effective chemical means for cleaning rubber deposits left on runway surfaces by landing aircraft.

According to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report, 141 runway accidents happened worldwide between 1998 and 2007. Included in these events were situations wherein aircraft ran off the end (i.e., the departing side) of a runway, resulting in fatalities. Eighty-five percent of the incidents took place during landings, with runway rubber buildup cited as a contributing factor to the ensuing accidents. When an aircraft lands, its tires are not spinning. Friction between the tires and pavement surface causes a chemical reaction that transforms some of the rubber into a sticky substance that adheres to the pavement, hardens, and becomes slick when wet. Each time an aircraft lands, over 1 lb of this substance (per tire) spreads over the runway, accumulating in layers. Consequently, repeated landings can cause a runway surface to become extremely slippery, rendering the process of landing and stopping both difficult and unsafe.

Following Haiti's 7.0 magnitude earthquake in January 2010, airport traffic increased from 13 to 200 flights per day. The discovery of medium-to-heavy rubber buildup on the runway prompted the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency (AFCESA) and US Southern Command to leverage the unique expertise and capabilities of the Tyndall Air Force Base (Florida)-based Airbase Technologies Division's Aircraft Operating Surfaces (AOS) team. Accordingly, the AOS engineers created a system comprising two primary pieces of equipment: a Bobcat® Toolcat™ (equipped with a broom and skid-loaded spray attachment) as the main vehicle and a PBM Supply & Manufacturing, Inc., nurse trailer (equipped with dust-control spray nozzles to provide water in the absence of a water vehicle at the site). The AFCESA-funded system's secondary equipment included pumps for dispersing detergent and the water, as well as detergent and water applicators for keeping the runway damp during agitation.

In approximately three, 8-hour shifts, four AOS team members cleared 125,000 ft2 of rubber buildup from the runway's west end and 75,000 ft2 from the east end without damaging the pavement surface. This project contributed to Haiti's recovery as a part of Operation UNIFIED RESPONSE. It also demonstrated the unique capabilities of AFRL's AOS team and, further, served as an opportunity for evaluating the system under real-life conditions. Having successfully addressed the Haitian runway challenge, the AOS team is currently investigating high-pressure and ultra-high-pressure water systems in order to provide additional rubber removal options.