AIRPORT DESIGN

Runway orientation: In the direction of the prevailing wind, determined from the Wind Roses in order there
are no obstructions from all approaches and no noise problems from aircraft landing or taking-off.
Runway length: It is calculated from the basic length for the design aircraft (as given by ICAO and respective
corrections recommended by ICAO). Example for Boeing 737:
Wing span 35,8m; Length of aircraft 39,5m; Height 12,6m; Turning radius 25m; Basic runway 2540m
Correction from the meteorology of the site: Altitude and maximum temperature.
- Altitude: Runway length to be increased at a rate of 7% per 300m rise in elevation above mean sea level
- Temperature: Length corrected for temperature increasing at a rate 1% for every 1% rise in temperature.
Gradients: For quick drainage of surface water ICAO recommends a maximum gradient of 1,5% for category
A airports, and the longitudinal gradient of runway increases and the maximum is also 1,5%.
Taxiways: Length short as possible; width 22,5m, max longitudinal & transverse gradients 1,5%,Turning
radius 120m, distance to runway 150m, distance to terminal building 150m, exit of turns best at 300.
Aerodrome reference code:
Code number Ref. field length Code letter Wing span
1 Less than 800m A < 15m
2 800m = or <1200m B 15= or <24m
3 1200 = or <1800m C 24= or <36m
4 1800 = or more D 36= or <52m
- - E 52= or <65m
- - F 65= or <80m
Classification by runways: ICAO classifies runways by length, width, tyre pressure etc. According to
category, safety area is specified as 150m widths and an extension of 60m on either side of the runway.
(i) Classification by pavement type: Rigid pavement – Code R; Flexible pavement – Code F
(ii) Sub-grade strength category: a) High strength: k=150MN/m3; CBR=13-15 – Code A
b) Medium strength: k=80MN/m3; CBR=8-13 – Code B
c) Low strength: k=40MN/m3; CBR=4-8 – Code C
d) Very low strength: k=20MN/m3; CBR=3-4 – Code D.
(iii) Maximum allowable tyre pressure: - High – no pressure limit – Code W
- Medium – up to 1,5MPa – Code X
- Low – up to 1,0 MPa – Code Y
- Very low – up to 0,5MPa – Code Z
(iv) Evaluation method (Code): a) Technical evaluation – T; b) Using aircraft experience – U
Example: PCN 80/R/B/W/T: Bearing strength of airport runway rests on medium strength sub-grade assessed
to be 80 and the tyre pressure has no limitation - this is the pavement classification.
Example: PCN 50/F/A/W/U: The sub-grade strength is 50, flexible pavement, high strength, evaluation by
aircraft experience – this is the pavement classification.
The reading of Pavement Classification Number is: PCN No of airport; k-sub-grade strength, pavement type,
sub-grade strength, tyre pressure, evaluation method.
Table 1. Airport classification
Type Basic runway length (m) Pavement width (m) Maximum longitudinal gradient (%)
Maximum Minimum
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
Table 2. Taxiway geometry
ICAO airport classification Width Max. longitudinal gradient Min. transverse gradient
A 22,5 1,5 1,5
B 22,5 1,5 1,5
C 15,0 3,0 1,5
D 9,9 3,0 2,0
E 7,5 3,0 2,0

1
Speed (km/h) for exit taxiway 65 80 95
Taxiway Radius (m) 517 731 941
Table 3. Conversion factors according to wheels
To convert from To Multiply departures by
Single wheel Dual wheel 0.8
Single wheel Dual tandem 0.5
Dual wheel Dual tandem 0.6
Double dual wheel Dual tandem 1.0
Dual tandem Single wheel 2.0
Dual tandem Dual wheel 1.7
Dual wheel Single wheel 1.3
Double dual tandem Dual wheel 1.7
Steps in runway length determination: It is calculated from the basic length for the design aircraft.
1. Assume the type of aircraft and the particular conditions, including cruise altitude, standard conditions of
climb and decent en-route, headwind in cruise, speed, airport altitude, airport surface wind, runway slope,
airport temperature, operating mass empty, payload and fuel reserve.
2. Summarize the operating mass empty, payload and fuel reserve to find the landing mass, which should not
exceed the maximum structural landing mass as specified in the aircraft manual and tables.
3. Summarize the fuel required to climb to cruise altitude, fuel to decent and fuel to cruise to specified altitude
at a specified speed to find the total quantity of fuel burnout.
4. Add this quantity of fuel to the mass found in step 1 to find the take-off mass, which should not exceed the
specified maximum take-off structural mass.
5. Using the approved flight manual of the design aircraft, check if the climb-limited mass is less than the
maximum take-off structural mass. It is usually not. Then, determine the runway length using the airport
conditions which are listed initially in the problem as in step 1.
6. Using the relevant tables, determine the length, width and shoulders acc. to wing span, longitudinal and
transverse slopes, gradients etc.
Determination of the aircraft and annual departures for pavement design:
1. The needed input includes: aircraft types with the respective gear types, forecast annual departures and
maximum take-off weight, including the wheel load weight.
2. For determination of the design aircraft, a comparison of the required thickness for all different aircrafts
using design curves and relevant data should be done. One requiring the greatest thickness is the design one.
3. Group the forecast traffic into landing gear groups and convert all aircraft types into the gear of the design
aircraft, using the appropriate table. All aircraft should be grouped into this configuration.
4. Convert the annual departures into the design aircraft configuration, using the basic expression/formula:
Log R1 = Log R2 * (W2 /W1) ½, where R1 = Annual departures of the design aircraft; R2 = Annual departures
expressed in Design Aircraft; W1 = Wheel load of Design Aircraft; W2 = Wheel load of aircraft in question.
5. Summarize to find the total equivalent annual departures by the design aircraft.
6. Use the relevant graphs for design of pavement layers for the given CBR for the sub-grade, CBR for sub-
base materials, the gross weight and number of departures. Appropriate graphs indicate the total pavement
thickness, the compaction depth, thickness of asphalt/bituminous surfacing and the drainage structure.
The design curves used determine the total pavement thickness and the surface course thickness of the
critical areas of runways. For non-critical areas for the base and sub-base thickness a factor of 0,9 is used.
The minimum permitted is 0,7 of the thickness of the base for non-critical areas.
Bituminous pavement overlays for runways: Reasons: (i) Expected overloading (ii) To maintain satisfactory
serviceable level (iii) To strengthen for heavy aircraft (iv) To the extend design life. There ate two types of
overlays: (i) Applicable to both flexible and rigid pavement to strengthen the thickness of minimum of 75mm
(ii) Applicable to either pavement: on flexible to strengthen for a dual wheel aircraft to be 75mm used on
600mm; on rigid the thickness depends on original thickness and cracking and is usually 200-250mm.
Overlays of hot-mix asphalt are most often applicable to both types designed using the CBR values of the
sub-grade and sub-base materials. The surface should be prepared by repairing potholes, irregularities, break-
ups, depressions and replacement of sub-grade of broken pavement for proper drainage. After the repair a light
tack coat or fog is used and then the layer of the hot-mix of high quality with appropriate aggregate is laid.
Hot-mix asphalt is a top choice for a smooth, durable runway because of smoothness, speed of construction,
low maintenance, less complexity than concrete entails, low initial and life-cycle cost.