vation lesign arallel Chapter 5 TAXIWAY DESIGN 5-1. GENERAL ‘The main function of taxiways is to provide access from the runways to ¢ terminal area and service hangars. It is evident that the speed of aireraft on © the taxiway will be much less than that on the runway at the time of landing or take off. The standards for the taxiway design and construction will therefore not be as rigorous as for the runway ‘An apron taxiway is a taxiway located usually on the periphery of an apron. ‘The term dual parallel laxiways refers to two taxiways parallel to each other on which airplanes can taxi in the apposite directions. A terminal taxilane is a taxiway on an Papron used for the access to the gate positions. In this chapter, the salient features associated with the taxiway design will now Ube briefly described. 5-2. LAYOUT OF TAXIWAYS Following factors or considerations govern the layout of the taxiways (1) Arrangement: ‘The arrangement of the taxiways should be such that the ireraft which has just landed does not interfere with the aircraft taxiing to take off (2) Busy airports: It is desirable to locate the taxiways at various points along, \e Tunway on busy airports. It will then be possible for the landing aircraft to eave the runway as early as possible for making it clear for use by other aircraft Such taxiways are known as exil laxiways or tura-offs For busy airports where taxiing traffic is expected to move in both directions imultancously, parallel one-way taxiways should be provided. (8) Crossing: As far as possible, the crossing or inter-section of the taxiway d active runway should be avoided. (4) Higher turn-off speeds: If exit taxiways are designed for high turn-off peeds, the runway occupancy of the landing aircraft is reduced. It will thus result we of the airport capacity. he selection of the route of taxiway should be made in such a fay that it results in the shortest practicable distance from the terminal area to nd of the runway used for the take off.Airport Engineering Art. 5 5-3. GEOMETRIC STANDARDS FOR TAXIWAY (6) Te change in Following eight elements of the geometric standards for taxiway will be discus Beet () Length of taxiway i For this p (2) Longitudinal gradient 4 can be obi (3) Rate of change of longitudinal gradient (4) Sight distance (5) Transverse gradient (6) ‘Turning radius (7) Width of safety area (8) Width of taxiway. (1) Length of taxiway: ‘The length of a taxiway depends upon the distancelfh For a between the apron and entry end or exit end of the runway. The limiting length o curvature the taxiway is nor recommended by arly organisation. But t0 save fuel consumption, the minim it should be as short as practicable. (2) Longitudinal gradient: If the longitudinal gradient is steep, there will be more consumption of fuel. The maximum longitudinal gradients recommended by the ICAO are as follows: For d and B types of airport... 15% For C, D and E types of (3) Rate of change of longitudinal gradient: The available sight distance on th Pavement is affected by the rate of change of longitudinal gradient. The maximum tes of change of slope for 30 m length of vertical curve are recommended by the ICAO as follows j For A, Band C types of airport...... 1% For D and E types of airport ........ 1.2%, (4) Sight distance: ‘The speed of the aircraft on the taxiway is lower than its 4 speed on the runway. Hence, the smaller values of sight distance will be sufficient, on the taxiway. With respect to the sight distance, the recommendations of the 10 are as follows: (For 4 and B types of airports, the surface of the taxiway should be seen for a distance of 195 m from a point 2.10 m above the taxiway. (i) For €, D and E types of airports, the comparable dimensions are 300 m Fig. 5 and 3m. 12 The FAA does not specify sight distance for the taxiways. ; vadius (5) Transverse gradient: For quick disposal of the surface water, it is necessary oe ie to provide the transverse gradient for the taxiway. The ICAO recommends the ells following maximum transverse gradients: For A, B and C types of airport ...... 1.5% For D and E types of airport ........ 2%, “The minimum transverse gradient is not specified. But it will be desirable to provide at least 0.50% of the transverse gradient. The ICAO does not specify any value for the transverse gradient of taxiway shoulders. The FAA however suggests that it should be 5% for the first 3 m width and 2% thereafter for all types of the airport,liscussed: distance ength of umption, will be mended © on the aximum aded by licient + of the 300 m ads the orovide ue for that it irport Art. 5-3] Taxiway Design 101 (6) Turning radius: A horizontal curve is to be provided whenever there is a change in the direction of the taxiway. It is necessary to design the curve in such 4 way that the aircraft can negotiate it without significantly reducing the speed. For this purpose, the circular curve of large radius is most suitable and its radius can be obtained from the following formula, R = radius of curve in m V = speed of aircraft in km p.h. J = coefficient of friction between the tyre and pavement surface (usually assumed as 0.13), For airports serving large subsonic jet planes, the minimum value of radius of Curvature is taken as 120 m, irrespective of the speed. For supersonic jet planes, the minimum radius of 180 m is recommended. Centre-line caxiway width of taxiway Edge of taxiway pavement Path of point midwa between main gear 2 ~ Centre of nose gear following centre-line of taxiway Supersonic aircraft Taxiway turning radius FIG. 5-1 Fig. 5-1 illustrates the path followed by a supersonic aircraft having wheel base 31.2 m on a taxiway having a curve of 60 m radius, According to Horonjeft radius of curve should be such that a minimum distance of 6 m is maintained ween the nearby main gear and the edge of pavement. The Horonjeff’s equation $ as follows: radius of centre-line of taxiway in m wheel base of aircraft in m width of taxiway pavement in m distance between point midway of the main gears and the edge of taxiway pavement in m,102 Airport Engineering (ch. If the pilot maintains the nose gear on the centre-line of the taxiway having radius as worked out from Horonjeff’s expression, the main gear of the aircraf would not come closer than 6 m from the edge of the pavement, If the existing airport has to be upgraded to accommodate the supersonic jet it may not be feasible sometimes to increase the radius of the existing taxiwa pavement, Under such circumstances, the taxiway widening may be carried out shown in fig. 5-2. Centrestine of unwidened taxiway ‘Taxiway widening Te 32 Following expressions are used to find out the values of R; and Ry: a 0.388 W2 fy =m (O88 4g) (0.388 W2 0.588 Hs 3) gives valueless than 037, no widesiog ff taxiway is required. If it is greater than 0.57, the radius Ry is worked out from the following equation: If the expression ( Ry = D2 + W572 + 0.30R ~ RE RT 1= BR Ry) where R, W, S$ and T as above D =3W-O.4R. If D is less than W, then W is to be used instead of D. Problem 5-1 Determine the turning radius of the taxiway for a supersonic transport aircraft with a wheel base of 30 m and tread of main loading gear as 6 m for a design turning speed of 50 km p.h. Assume coefficient of friction between tyre and pavement surface as 0.13 and width of taxiway pavement as 22.5 m Solutic a Substit @ paved extend Be followi “ i) wi from + that a be par o ii (iv @ becau[ch.5, having reraft ni jet, ag of from Art. 5-3] Taxiway Design 103 Solution: (1X) Turning radius R =F 153.85 m “75 x O13 (2) Horonjeff’s equation 0.388 W2 o5T-S wheel base of aircraft = 30 m = 22.5 m in this case ; T = width of taxiway pavement S = distance between point edge of taxiway pavement, way of the main gears and the Ans. @) The absolute minimum turning radius: The absoluce minimum turning radius for supersonic aircrafts irrespective of any speed = 180 m Adopting the highest value of the three cases mentioned above, the turning radius of the taxiway to be actually provided will be 180 m...... Ans. (7) Width of safety area: ‘The safety area of the taxiway is made up of partially "paved shoulders on either side plus the area which is graded and drained. It may extend upto a point where it intersects a parallel runway, taxiway or apron. Before the advent of jet aircrafts, the shoulders were given cither of the _ following two treatments: () natural ground protected with low growing vegetation or (ii) stabilised granular material coating where the soil or cli do not permit easy maintenance of plantation. tic conditions With the arrival of jet aircrafts, it became necessary to protect the shoulders from soil erosion due to high speed of the jet exhaust. It is therefore suggested that a minimum width of 7.5 m of shoulders adjacent to the pavement edge should ‘be paved with light strength material with the following particulars: (i) The shoulder must be thick enough to support the airport petrol vehicles P and the sweeping equipment. (ii) ‘The shoulders should normally be treated with bitumen, © ii) ‘The surface should be made of such materials that disintegration due to the hot blast of the jet engine does not occur (iv) ‘The surface should be smooth and impervious. (8) Width of taxiway: The width of a taxiway is much less than a runwayAirport Engineering, The aircrafts are not air-borne of the taxiways. The speed of the aircrafts on the taxiways is far less as compared that on the runways and hence, it is possible for the pilot to manoeuvre! asily on the small width of taxiway than on runway. ‘The taxiway widths recommended by the ICAO are as follows: For 4 and B types of airport......... 22.5 m For G type of airport 15.0 m For D type of airport. .... 4 9.9 m For E type of airport. . 7.5 m, 3 shows the typical cross-section of a taxiway for the airport of A ot B type. Paved shoulder Paved shoulder 25m Inlet drain Inlet drain Cross-section of taxiway FiG. 5-3 Problem 5-2. Determine the radius of a taxiway for a supersonic aircraft to negotiate the curve at _a turning speed of 60 km p.h. The wheel base is 30 m and the wheel tread is 7.2 m. The airport is of B type as per ICAO. Solution: As in case of problem 1, the followi 1g three values of R will be worked out: ve a) R @ R in this case W T Substituting, 3 - 349.2 Tgp 7 21.64 m (8) ‘The absolute minimum turning radius for supersonic aircrafts irrespe of any speed = 180 m. Adopting the highest value of the three cases mentioned above, the turning radius of the taxiway to be actually provided will be 221.54 m....Ans. landing o can pre of the @) down i aircraft This vs (3) by the (a) their | would exit ta 6) But ev especis 6) in app of the “ accord (8) exit sy near! the a airpoTaxiway Design 5-4. EXIT TAXIWAYS: The function of exit taxiways is to minimize the runway occupancy by the landing aircraft. The location of exit taxiways depends on the following factors (1) Air traffic control: ‘The rapidity and the manner in which air traffic control can process arrivals ix an extremely important factor in establishing the location of the exit taxiways. (2) Exit speed: ‘The aircraft will require certain length of runway to bring down its landing speed to the turn-off speed. The maximum speed with which an aircraft can turn and enter the exit taxiway is governed by the type of aircraft This value of exit speed will decide the location of exit taxiway. (3) Location of runways: The location of the exit taxiways is also influenced by the location of the runways relative to the terminal area. (4) Number of exits: The number of exit taxiways to be provided will decide ce, if only two exit taxiways are to be provided, they F would naturally be placed at the ends of runway. If there are more number of © exit taxiways, they will be suitably spaced along the length of runway. (5) Pilot variability: The rules for flying vansport are relatively precise. But even then, a certain amount of variability among pilots is bound to occur, E especially in respect to the braking force applied on the runway and the distance from runway threshold to touchdown. (6) Topographical features: ‘These include high altitude, deep valley, obstructions bin approach and turning zones, etc. They have also some impact on the location "of the exit taxiways (7) Types of aircraft: ‘The landing speeds for various aireralis are different and cordingly, the distance required to reduce the speed to the exit speed level wil also vary. The types of aircraft likely to use the runway should therefore be studied. (8) Weather conditions: The time required by the aircraft to slow down to the ‘exit speed is influenced by factors like wind, temperature, ete. 5-5. OPTIMUM LOCATION OF EXIT TAXIWAYS. The landing process of an aircraft can be described as follows: (i) ‘The aircraft crosses the runway threshold and decelerates in the air until the main landing gear touches the surface of the pavement (ii) ‘The nose gear has yet not made contact with the runway at this point. It may require about 3 seconds or so to do the contact, (iii) No form of braking can be applied until the nose gear has made contact, with the pavement. fiv) As soon as the contact with the pavement is made, the reverse thrust oF wheel brakes or a combination of both are used to reduce the forward speed of the aircraft to the exit velocity. The acceptance rate of runway with a system of the exit taxiways should be “nearly equal to the arrival rate of aircrafts, Fig. 5-4 shows the relationship between the acceptance rate and the arrival rate of the aircrafis. It is found that the Sairport can accept all the aircrafts upto a certain point and that point onwards,105, Airport Engineering the acceptance rate starts to deviate from the arrival rate. The ideal relationship of equal arrival and acceptance occurs at the balance point and it indicates the situation when the runway is loaded to its full capacity, Such a situation is referred to as the runway saturation Arrival rate / YY Wave-otis After the balance point, the airport is unable to accept all the aircrafts and few of them have to be waved off. The optimum location of the exitway is defined as the location for a given set of conditions yielding the highest possible rate of acceptance. Acceptance rate Balance point Average acceptance rate Arrival rate = Optimum location of exit taxiways FIG. 5-4 As a result of intensive study carried out on the models, the FAA has recommended the following optimum distance of the exit taxiways from runway threshold for different types of aircraft: () Twin-engine propeller driven transports and large twin-engine general aviation aircraft on + 750 m (ii) Four-engine propeller driven transports, turbo prop and twin-engine turbo jet us - 1200 m Gii) Large turbo jet transports ince : 1800 m The above distances are for a standard day at mean sea level. Following ~ correction is recommended for altitude and temperature: P 19 where Sz = Distance from the runway end to the exit taxiway on a standard day in m n= fos 9) Distance from the runway end to the exit taxiway corrected for altitude and temperature in m 50 for turbo jet and 195 for all other aircrafts tandard air pressure at the site in cm of mercury 4 = Average temperature of the hottest month at the site in °C. The above correction assumes zero wind ie. the aircraft would not miss the exit taxiway due to the wind. If the wind velocity is too high, its effect should also be considered. As a rough guide, it is assumed that a head wind of about 16 kim ph may cause approximately 13.5 per cent reduction in the distance to the exit speed, 6. DESIGN OF EXIT TAXIWAYS = a = Following are the principles governing the design of the exit taxiway connecting runway and parallel taxiway: (1) Angle of turn: Total angles of turn of 30° to 45° can be negotiated in # satisfactory manner, The smaller angles are preferable because the length of Art. 5: the cu requir not de someti @) turn-o is rela As curve speeds 65 80 95 Tr e factor exit sp angle 4 TI curve 6 i Gi & 6 to the latitncEArt. 5-6) ‘Taxiway Design 107 the curved path is reduced, sight distance is improved and less concentration is “required on the part of the pilots. The right angle or 90° exit taxiways, although not desirable from the consideration of minimizing the runway occupancy, are sometimes constructed for other reasons (2) Compound curve: [t is necessary to provide a compound curve for high “turn-off speeds of 65 to 95 km p.h. It minimizes the tyre wear on the nose gear and relatively easier to establish it in the field. Its shape is similar to that of a spiral vcerate As shown in fig. 5-5, the main curve of radius Rg should be preceded by a large curve of radius Ry. The values of Ry found experimentally suitable for different “speeds are as follows: 65 km ph... 517 m ays 80 km p-h. seeee 31m 95 km p.h. O41 m bie ‘The notations are as follows: Ry = Radius of entrance curve Ry = Radius of central curve 1, = Length of entrance curve . Lg = Length of central curve. = mat m (8) Exit speed: The most significant an factor affecting the turning radius is the exit speed of the aircraft and not the total “angle of turn nor the passenger comfort. Compound curve for exit taxiway wing FIG. 5-5 (4) Lengths L, and Ly: The values of L; and Ly icc, lengths of entrance curves | can be obtained by using the following equatio v3 ona | 11 = W5CR; nRyDo ected ae Th The value of constant C is 0.39 and Dy is the deflection angle of the central curve (8) Occupancy time: The occupancy time of an aircraft before entering the taxiway from the runway is composed of the following four components: (i) Time required for the flight from the threshold to the touchdown of mimes rea a) the main gear. Gi) Time required for the nose gear to make contact with the pavement after the main gear has made contact. It is about 3 seconds. (ii) Time required to reach exit velocity from the time the nose gear has made contact with the pavement and the brakes have been applied eae (iv) Time required for the aircraft to turn-off to the taxiway and clear the ting runway. It is about 10 seconds. (6) Shape of taxiway: A slightly widened entrance of 80 m gradually tapering | to the normal width of taxiway is preferred. The widened entrance gives more h of latitude to the pilot in using the exit taxiway din108: Airport Engineering (7) Stopping distance: It is necessary to provide sufficient distance to comfortably decelerate an aircraft after it leaves the runway. This distance is measured from | the edge of the runway pavement along the exit taxiway and is known as the Stopping distance. The equation used to find out the stopping distance is as follows: ve 3.507 The average deceleration rate d is usually taken as 1 m/sec?. SD. (8) Turning radius: ‘The turning radius for smooth and comfortable turn is calculated by the equation mentioned earlier, namely, R= ry: Problem 5-3. Design an exit runway joining a runway and a parallel main taxiway. The total angle of turn is 35° and the maximum turn-off speed is 80 km p.h. Assume the following: Radius of entrance curve = 731 m Runway width = 45 m Vaxiway width = 22.5 m. Suggest the maximum separation clearance and draw a neat sketch showing all the design elements. Solution: (1) Radius of the central curve Ra (80)? 393.85 say 394 m. Length of entrance curve gre ca BSCR, = 15x 030 -X 30 Deflection angle of the entrance curve 2 = ER EB Deflection angle of the central curve Dz = 85° ~ 5°45" = 29°15' o Le Length of the central curve KRyDy _ x $94 x 29.95 Ly = EARDa 0 BBO 2088 oot. m Stopping distance ; ve COS aa ay 25 SD. = 35 50g = aBSO SCT = 250-98, say 251 m. This distance is to be measured from the edge of the runway pavement along the centre-line of the exit taxiway. the apron for fuellir Thea Hence, (1 provide ¢ and fuel ‘The « positions to be ade Gircles of length an of airerat hour. Ger the adjac[ch.5 bs Taxiway Design, 109 mfortably For a major airport installation with instrumental landing facilities, the red from me separation clearance as specified by the ICAO a8 the = (184 + 22.50 + 11.35 + follows: eee i 217.75 m Anailable length of taxiway 217.75 _ 45 + 92.50 sin 35° i = (379.63 ~ 58.84) = $20.79 m, ‘Note teahioa\d new be: checked as thie disease tg shes S.D, ialcalibed above i bacrie Siastnos anctnaty ‘a Tactoogs Wie pariilon clearance to accommodate the S.D. within the length of the exit taxiway. — The fillets of radii 22.50 m and 60 m are provided respectively for The total 35° and 145° changes in the directions, Main taxiway showing Plan of 80 km p.h. 35° exit taxiway FIG, 5.6 Fig. 5-6 shows the design elements of 80 km p.h. 35° exit taxiway 5-7. LOADING APRONS ‘The paved area adjacent and in front of the terminal building is known as the apron and it is used for loading and unloading of the aeroplanes as well as for fuelling and minor servicing and check up of the aeroplanes, ‘The aeroplanes are berthed on the aprons before they are loaded and unloaded. F Hence, the loading apron is also known as the parking apron. It is desirable to provide cement concrete pavement for the aprons to resist the effects of jet blast and fuel spillage. the dimensions of the loading apron depend upon the number of loading positions or gate positions required, the size of aircraft and the parking system to be adopted. The aircraft loading positions or stands are designated by the Circles of varying diameters. The span of diameter depends on the wing span, length and turning radius of the aircraft which will use the airport. The number | of aircraft stands to be provided is determined from peak aircraft movements per vement hour. Generally a clearance of 7.5 m is provided between the aircrafts parked on the adjacent aireraft stands110 Airport Engineering (Gh. 5 5-8. HOLDING APRONS The portion of paved area which is provided adjacent to the ends of runway in case of busy airports is known as the holding apron. They are also sometimes referred to as the run-up or warm-up pads. The taking off aircraft coming from the loading apron is held on the holding apron for some time so that the aircraft instrument and engine operation may be checked prior to the take off of the aircraft. Following points should be noted in connection with the holding aprons: () Configuration: ‘The holding apron should be of sufficient area to accommodate three or four aircrafts of the largest size expected to be handled by the airport. There are many configurations of the holding aprons. A satisfactory method for: establishing the size of the holding apron is to make use of the plastic models of the aircraft. Fig. 5-7 shows the configuration of the holding apron for two aircrafts as suggested by the FAA, The dimensions A and B vary with the type of the aircraft Centrestine of runway 30m (min.) +15 m (max) Centrectine of taxiway Configuration of holding apron Fic. 5-7 (2) Entry to the runway: As far as possible, the holding apron should be located so as to permit aircraft departing therefrom to enter the runway at an angle less than 90° It will permit the pilot to turn the aircraft rapidly from the taxiway. (3) Facility of bypass: The holding aprons are made large enough so that if an aircraft is unable to take off due to any reason, another aircraft ready to take off can bypass it. If this facility is not provided, the damaged aircraft will have to proceed down the runway at exit at the nearest exit taxiway to reach the terminal area. This would consume more time and reduce the airport capacity. @ location at some of the « control 1 the end the byp towards 6 capacity to the ¢ is usefu 5-9. FI At intersec such a shown i unatten provide as to p If provide the air pavem while the ju! taxiway Tal airportTaxiway Design Mi These are relatively small aprons placed at a convenient location in the airport for the temporary storage of the aircraft. The number of gates at some airports may be insufficient to handle the demand during a busy period of the day. Under such circumstances, the aircrafis are routed by the air traffic control to a holding bay and they are held there until a gate becomes available. (5) Location: The airport should be permitted to enter the runway as close to the end of the runway as possible. The holding aircraft should be placed outside the bypass route so that the blast from the holding aircraft will not be directed towards the bypass route. (6) Peak demands: The peak traffic volume at many airports exceeds the capacity of a holding apron. It results in aircraft queues on the taxiway leading to the end of the runway. Despite this situation, the provision of a holding apron is useful for allowing one aircraft to bypass another. 5-9. FILLETS At the junction or —— Centredine of runway intersection of two traffic ways such as points 4 and B, as shown in fig. 5-8, cannot be left unattended. But they should be provided with corner fillets so “as to provide a smooth curve If the fillets are not Ansleof provided, the main gear of eee the aircraft may go off the pavement edge and may Centrecline of taxiway come on the taxiway shoulder while the aircraft negotiates the junction of runway and Fillets at junction of runway and taxiway taxiway. FIG. 5-8 Angle of Intersection ‘Table 5-1 shows the recommendations of FAA for fillet radii of small and large airports, TABLE 5-1 FILLET RADI Radi of fillets in mm Angle of intersection |~Simall airports serving | Large airports ening general aviation aircrafts | transport category aircrafts ose 7.50 22.50 45°-135° 15.00 30,00 More than 135° 60.00 60.00 | The ICAO recommends that the radius of the fillet should not be less than the width of the taxiway. 10. SEPARATION CLEARANCE To provide a margin of safety in the airport operating areas, the tratficways must be separated sufficiently from each other and from adjacent structures.eg Airport Engineering Fig. 5-9 shows the separation clearance for parallel taxiways. Table 5-2 shows separation clearance standards recommended by the ICAO. TABLE 5.2 STANDARDS FOR SEPARATION CLEARANCE Distance in m from centre-line to Fis Instrument | Non-instrument | Instrument 184 109 150 184 106, 150 169 95 150 - 52 150 - La 150, oa Centrestine of taxiway Contre-tine of taxiway f+ Separation clearance Separation clearance for parallel taxiways Fi. 5-9 ‘The separation clearance depends on the following three factors: (@ navigational aids available at the airport, Gi) type of airport, and ii) wing span of the aircraft. For accommodating exit taxiways and other facilities, the larger clearances than those recommended by the [CAO are sometimes provided 5-11. BYPASS OR TURNAROUND TAXIWAY In the initial stages of an airport, there may not be enough traffic for justifying the construction of parallel taxiways. For such cases, a bypass or turnaround taxiway is constructed as a substitute _ for parallel taxiway. It also serves the purpose of a holding apron 0 shows the arrangement of a typical bypass or turnaround taxiway. When the traffic increases in future, a new parallel taxiway can be constructed.