Keep Planes Flying With Vacuum Trucks!
Airport runways need regular maintenance to ensure that planes can safely take off from and land on the runway surface.
The area known as the ramp or apron must also be cleaned regularly as it collects a lot of litter and debris.
This must be done so that it is more accessible to staff and can continue to serve as the primary loading and unloading zone for planes.
A sweeper model vacuum truck is the universally favored tool for the job; it is employed regularly at major airports around the world due to its versatility, simplicity of operation and potent power.
By keeping pavement free from trash and rubber traces, vacuum trucks ensure the safety of the planes as well as the steady operating schedule of an airport.
Rubber Residue When heavy planes land on the runway, their tires gain "spin up speed" that is caused by the friction of tires hitting the pavement.
This added speed generates extensive heat that changes tire composition and melts the rubber of the wheels, leaving a trace of melted rubber on the tarmac that becomes trapped in its surface texture.
If too much rubber becomes stuck to the airstrip, the roughness of the surface is decreased to the extent that planes cannot safely take off and land due to the risk of hydroplaning and loss of aircraft control.
These smoother surfaces also become increasingly dangerous when wet.
Cleaning To perform the valuable task of clearing the runway surfaces, vacuum trucks must perform several tasks that require the following features.
The minimum friction survey frequency and the amount of cleaning sessions required per year depend on the number of planes that land on each runway per day.
The Federal Aviation Administration has recommendations for tarmac cleaning that covers the entire spectrum from less than fifteen landings per day for smaller airports where runway surfaces only need inspection once per year to large airports with over two hundred ten landings per day where runways must be inspected and cleaned every week.
Using vacuum trucks to perform this never-ending, ongoing task is the best way to keep planes flying!
The area known as the ramp or apron must also be cleaned regularly as it collects a lot of litter and debris.
This must be done so that it is more accessible to staff and can continue to serve as the primary loading and unloading zone for planes.
A sweeper model vacuum truck is the universally favored tool for the job; it is employed regularly at major airports around the world due to its versatility, simplicity of operation and potent power.
By keeping pavement free from trash and rubber traces, vacuum trucks ensure the safety of the planes as well as the steady operating schedule of an airport.
Rubber Residue When heavy planes land on the runway, their tires gain "spin up speed" that is caused by the friction of tires hitting the pavement.
This added speed generates extensive heat that changes tire composition and melts the rubber of the wheels, leaving a trace of melted rubber on the tarmac that becomes trapped in its surface texture.
If too much rubber becomes stuck to the airstrip, the roughness of the surface is decreased to the extent that planes cannot safely take off and land due to the risk of hydroplaning and loss of aircraft control.
These smoother surfaces also become increasingly dangerous when wet.
Cleaning To perform the valuable task of clearing the runway surfaces, vacuum trucks must perform several tasks that require the following features.
- High Velocity Air - Directed high velocity air is used to blast rubber traces and debris from the texture of the pavement.
It is passed through a centrifugal dust separator to ensure that it is clean before it is blasted in a concentrated beam onto the debris; when dislodged any debris is suctioned into the vacuum line of the truck. - Rotating Brushes - Rotating brushes on the underside of the vehicle help in the removal of particles and debris as well as collecting pieces of trash from the apron and public areas.
- Disposal - After sweeping has been completed, the truck can then be driven from the airport to dump the collected waste at a suitable disposal area.
- High-Pressure Water - Some vacuum truck models use high-pressure water systems on the pavement with very high-efficiency rates.
Water-based systems are also employed at airports to remove paint from road surfaces by using very strong water beams pressurized up to 40,000 PSI.
The minimum friction survey frequency and the amount of cleaning sessions required per year depend on the number of planes that land on each runway per day.
The Federal Aviation Administration has recommendations for tarmac cleaning that covers the entire spectrum from less than fifteen landings per day for smaller airports where runway surfaces only need inspection once per year to large airports with over two hundred ten landings per day where runways must be inspected and cleaned every week.
Using vacuum trucks to perform this never-ending, ongoing task is the best way to keep planes flying!
Source...