In the Spotlight

Jeremy Casey and Keith Bagot from FAA’s Airport Technology Research & Development (ATR) Branch attended a meeting with Siddons-Martin Emergency Group and Skeeter Emergency Vehicles in Hillsboro, Texas, on April 25, 2024. The purpose was to discuss the final production details for a new Class 1 Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle. This vehicle will have a state-of-the-art firefighting system that will allow for full adjustability for firefighting agents, flow rates, and pressures. It will provide greater flexibility to use environmentally friendly fluorine-free foams for aviation firefighting. The new vehicle will be built out on the chassis of a Ford F550 and will replace an existing obsolete vehicle.

Jeremy Casey | Jeremy.P.Casey@faa.gov

Dr. Richard Ji from FAA’s Airport Technology Research & Development (ATR) branch presented at the 2024 Annual Road Profile Users’ Group (RPUG) conference held in St. Augustine, Florida, on April 28-May 2, 2024. The theme for the conference was “New Technology for an Old World.” Dr. Ji’s presentation, Smart Tire Sensor for Verifying the Accuracy of Continuous Friction Measurement Equipment (CFME), was co-authored by Murphy Flynn from FAA’s ATR branch and Dr. Hao Wang from Rutgers University. In addition to discussing the accuracy of CFME equipment, Dr. Ji introduced the FAA guidelines and procedures for airport runway friction measurement and maintenance, and the FAA ATR branch’s mission.

The conference focused on new technologies for pavement profiles and friction measurements and their calibration procedures. Vendors exhibited traffic speed testing and three-dimensional laser imaging for pavement surface conditions and subsurface layer conditions. These new tools are beneficial for evaluating runways and taxiways.

 Dr. Richard Ji | Richard.Ji@faa.gov

Dr. Navneet Garg from FAA’s Airport Technology Research & Development (ATR) branch participated in the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Sustainable Pavements Technical Working Group (SPTWG) meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on April 24-25, 2024. Dr. Garg updated the group on airport pavement sustainability-related research efforts that are in progress at ATR. Other topics covered in the meeting included implementation efforts to apply Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Green Public Procurement (GPP) to sustainable pavements. There were 100 in-person participants and 200 online attendees.

Navneet Garg | Navneet.Garg@faa.gov

Dr. Navneet Garg from FAA’s Airport Technology Research & Development (ATR) branch coauthored a paper, with Dr. Dario Batioja and Dr. Hasan Kazmee from Applied Research Associates, entitled Laboratory and Field Performance Evaluation of Cracking of Airfield Warm Mix Asphalt with Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement at the National Airport Pavement and Materials Research Center. The paper was published in the Transportation Research Record (TRR): Journal of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), a peer-reviewed journal. The primary objectives of this study were to understand the cracking susceptibility of the P-401 Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) and Warm Mix Asphalt with 20 percent recycled asphalt pavement (WMA+RAP) mixtures using laboratory cracking performance tests, and to conduct a preliminary evaluation of pavement responses from Accelerated Pavement Tests (fatigue traffic tests). 

The permanent link for the article is https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981241242071.

Dr. Navneet Garg | Navneet.Garg@faa.gov

Dr. Wesley Major from FAA’s Airport Technology Research & Development (ATR) branch, Safety Section, shadowed a Part 139 airport certification inspector at Orlando International Airport on April 21-26, 2024. Dr. Major learned about the role of airport certification inspectors and their contribution to safe aviation operations, and the processes of preparing, executing, and debriefing after an inspection. He made connections with the airport’s operations team and the wildlife biologist and wildlife specialists. This knowledge will enhance the ongoing safety research at the FAA Technical Center.

Dr. Wesley Major | wesley.major@faa.gov