Early Life And In Service Friction Characteristics Of Runway Surface

This paper presents friction data gathered from seven regional and major international airports in the UK, covering different surface courses, from the time of installation to in service. The wet friction monitoring at these airports was carried out by using Continuous Friction Measurement Equipments (CFME) over 4 years in service. Some materials showed reduction in the wet friction values during a few days after installation but then followed by a steady increase in the values, even without traffic; this demonstrated the importance of having a good mixture design and binder selection to ensure the early life friction remains above the specified minimum friction level. Longer temporary total ungrooved runway lengths have been successfully adopted at several UK airports where the authors were involved in the resurfacing work, without any issue associated with the early-life surface friction; this resulted in early completion, reduced airfield down time and cost saving. Records to date, demonstrating the ability of well designed surfacing material to maintain very good friction characteristics since the opening of the runways, are also presented.