Airport design

.....blueprints of a new airport which would have two separate runways and is seen as the most beneficial project that could be carried out in the region especially considering financial, environmental and security implications. This airport would have two runways running parallel to one another which will be in use concurrently. This runway will be built to 4-E specification, which comfortably accommodates all present day commercial plane designs and those whose designs are still in infancy. Aircraft parking spaces, taxi roads as well as several passenger terminal buildings will also be constructed. The major passenger terminal would be where normal passenger activities such as baggage checks, baggage claim for arrivals, ticket processing and passport inspection as well as customs will be carried out. After this, the screened passengers will then make their way to their respective terminals via boarding trains. These will be located all across the airport with openings to every terminal.

These are the plans for a new airfield which will have two runways and is seen as the most beneficial project that could be carried out in the region especially considering financial, environmental and security implications (Watabe & Noguchi, 2011). These plans will also feature parking spaces, traffic controls, emergency facilities, passenger terminals and the control tower.

This airport would have two runways running parallel to one another and both will be in use concurrently. This runway will be built to 4-E specification, which comfortably accommodates all present day commercial plane designs and those whose designs are still in infancy. The projected yearly human traffic of the airport is 20 -- 30 million travellers. The earmarked site is 1.5 kilometres wide, an estimated 4 kilometres long and at seas level. At the north and east of the site, the landscape slopes down to sea level steeply. In the design, the two planned runways will be 3.8 kilometres long. Separating them will be aircraft packing spaces, passenger terminals, and short strips serving as taxiways. . The major passenger terminal would be where normal passenger activities such as baggage checks, baggage claim for arrivals, ticket processing and passport inspection as well as customs will be carried out (Ashford, Mumayiz & Wright, 2011). After this, the screened passengers will then make their way to their respective terminals via boarding trains. These will be located all across the airport with openings to every terminal. Both runways will have minimum Grade 1 systems which will aid landing in whatever weather condition.

It is foreseen by experts that air travel can only improve and get better due to the consistent development of more advanced planes with lower fuel and cost of operation requirements. They also believe, that in no time, it will be the undisputed mode of travelling long distances. The gently rising number of vacation and work flights undertaken by people calls for construction of advanced airport buildings and structures to aid the sector (Ballis, 2003).

As previously stated, two runways will be built in the airport which will be constructed via two major processes in which just one runway will be built per process and fitted with all its needed air and land equipment and facilities. The factor which will determine the development of both runways is the level of traffic and this will bring about the planned rise in travellers transported from the 20 million yearly estimate for stage A runway to 35 million for both Stages A and B.

• Two runways, 3.8 kilometres long and 60 metres wide with additional 7.5 metres on both sides.

• 60 meters allowance will be allowed at each runway edge

• The length separating the axes of both runways -- 1.194 kilometres

• Geographic angle of runways is 018 -- 198.

• The runways are 5 -- 25 metres high and they have a gradient smaller than 1%.

The real length the runway possesses can be measured via a check of the needs of its planned serviced aircrafts as well as environmental and geographical factors. This 3.8 km runway has all it needs to handle the needs of most planes present today and it contains features which makes it suitable for future aircraft designs.

Following the CASA standards for Aerodrome Reference Code 4F, the planned breadth of the runway will be 60 metres. Additionally, runway shoulders would be installed. The standard length of this following Code 4F will be 7.5 metres, which would join perfectly with the runway and be of equal breadths on the two ends. These shoulders should be built with high grade asphalt which is able to prevent aeroplane engine blast erosion and keep an aeroplane which skids off the runway in motion, without destroying any part of it.

The runway strip is the last factor which the runway width is dependent on. It is 150 metres in length and the runway is located through its middle. The strip is designed to be a safe area for aircrafts and they are built without any form of fixed equipment or structures apart from aircraft guidance lights. These lights are built to be lightweight and they are also not totally fixed; these measures are to assure minimum destruction if it happens that they were hit by a plane. The strip is covered with grass or vegetation with gentle gradients joining with the runway shoulders and it is designed with an extensive drainage network to prevent pooling of rainwater.

Declared distances:

LDN

ASDA

TODA

TORA

RUNWAY

02

20

Taxiways -- These are located parallel to the runway. They have a breadth of 25 metres and 3 exits on each side making 6 total exits. These taxiways are needed by the airplane to navigate between the runway and the airport structures. They must be designed to move the plane around quickly, with little emphasis on distance while elasticity should be enhanced. These taxiways have several contributing forms such as quick exit taxiways and parallel taxiways among several others which have specialized uses.

Apart from the taxiway pavement, there needs to be shoulders on both sides. These shoulders should be 17.5 m wide and should be placed at both edges of the taxiways in accordance with Aerodrome Reference Code 4F aircraft. They must be able to withstand aircraft engine blast erosion (Odoni & De Neufville, 2003). Just like the runway strips, there should be taxiway strips for each taxiway which should be covered with grass and all forms of blockages and objects removed. Finally, a waiting and passing zone should be located at the head of both runways.

Runway paths: These are 3.92 kilometres in length (3.8 + 0.06 + 0.06) and 0.3 km in breadth.

Runway and safety area (RESA) paths: A safe area is needed at the ends of both runways. This area called the Runway End Safety Area (RESA), describes a surplus area which can comfortably support an aircraft which leaves the runway for emergency reasons. The RESA is not considered when the length if a runway is examined. It should be built into the ends of the runway strip as a form of safeguard in case the aircraft overruns or even doesn't reach the runway. Based on CASA guidelines, the RESA should be 90 m long and must not have any form of fixed equipment save for lights and guiders for the pilot which must be lightweight and loosely held to reduce damage if hit by the craft.

A. Southern direction: Distance from the runway head should be 3 km with a slope of 1:50, then a distance of 3.6 kilometres with a slope of 1:40 and then a distance of 8.4 kilometres with slope being 1:50.

B. Northern direction: Distance from the runway head should be 0.3 km with slope of 1:50, then the distance should be 3.6km with a slope of 1:40 and then a horizontal distance of 8.4 km. The take-off position needs additional distance based on the landing and take-off safety guidelines and works with a breadth of 0.18 km, sporting a combined gradient of 1:62.5 when a distance of 15 km is considered.

Transition Planes: Located at a gradient of 1:7 to the horizontal height.

Horizontal Plane: Located at a vertical height of 0.045 km over the topmost runway strip and possessing a 4km radial distance from the facility organizing take-off and landing flight safety distances and its associated specializations.

The Conical Plane: Located at a 6km radius and a gradient of 1:20 from the facility organizing take-off and landing flight safety distances and its associated specializations.

Bird Restriction areas: Bird Zone A is located at a 1.5 km radius from the facility organizing take-off and landing flight safety distances and its associated specializations while Bird Zone B. is located at a 5 km radius from the facility organizing take-off and landing flight safety distances and its associated specializations. Birds often pose a huge threat to planes especially during the migration periods.

Passenger Terminals (inside every stage): An estimated 16000 sq. metres and height of two floors would be needed for the contour zone.

Branches: There will be two major facilities which would house the planes' breadths comfortably and these will be located in a 40,000 sq. metres wide and a minimum height of two floors contour zone.

There will also be a traveller branch which would handle short flights and this will require an area of 4,000 sq. metres and a minimum height of two floors.

Lastly, a branch exclusively for General Aviation passengers will cover an area of 1,400 sq. meters and a minimum height of two floors.

Freight Terminal: A contour area with dimensions of 18,000 sq. metres and a minimum height of two floors will be needed.

Control Tower and a Rescue and Fire Service Area: A contour area with dimensions of 1.400 sq. metres with a limitless height for the tower will be required

Operational Fuel Area: A contour area estimated at 6,400 sq. metres is needed.

Boarding Trains for Passenger Service: There will be two railroads available horizontally or stacked above one another that will run between the major terminal and the farthest branch, an estimated distance of 4 kilometres.

Parking Lots: There will be vehicle parking facilities located right in front of the passenger terminal and this will occupy a contour area of 11,500 sq. metres. Its height (based on floors) will be estimated later.

Internal Roads -- These will be constructed and aligned parallel to the boarding trains.

Figure 1. The Airport schematic plan (adopted from Gertner et al., 2011)

The weather condition of the area the airport is to be sited is quite gentle and relaxed all through the year. This region called the Lower Plains is referred to as warm-temperature subtropical area and it experiences rain in 200 out of 365 days in a year. This high rainfall makes the problem of run-off a genuine concern. Furthermore, the temperature of this area could be very erratic and this is due to the poor land cover of the area. It is not common to experience lasting freezing temperatures however temperatures could go as high as 40oC several times within a day. Another weather element to consider is wind. The plains formation allows huge winds to develop especially during the time between seasons; the distribution is 093 degrees 75% of time, 140 degrees 20% of time while the air is gentle for the remaining 5%.

Figure 2. Drainage (adopted from Hennington, 1998)

HENNINGTON, B. (1998)

Passenger movement within the airport terminal must be designed based on several elements. The plan for this airfield is to have "decentralized" planning which means attending to passengers within specified zones. Specifically, the designs of this airport will apply the linear gate arrival structure. In this arrangement, vehicles can get very close to the aircraft gate openings thus travellers don't need to walk long distances to board their flights and this arrangement would aid growth. Nevertheless, this configuration has a disadvantage in the long distances present between the gates. This disadvantage comes to the fore when combined flights have at least thirty gates between them. It is necessary to install a transportation medium such as a tram for quick movement of travellers.

The term "vertical circulation" as regards air travel refers to the movement patterns taken by the arriving and departing travellers. The volume of travellers an airport experiences is the main factor that tells if circulation path separations will be required and just how much separation is needed. For single level systems, every passenger processing requirements are carried out in one location. This system is efficient when the airport is small in size and traffic even though it makes security and getting travellers on/off airplanes quite difficult. For the two-level system, passenger processing is carried out much quickly and it helps to keep the circulation paths apart. The arriving and leaving terminal processes are designed apart in the two-level system, bringing about much easier paths to the planes via the upper routes while the lower area serves as car rental and baggage claim zones.

When the two-level system is in use, transporting travellers from the upper to the lower area or vice versa could become problematic and this can be tackled using;

I. Stairs -- These are low-cost methods for moving people quickly between levels, however, they could be too much stress for handicapped persons.

II. Escalators -- These are an efficient and fast way of transporting people between levels. Due to their movement in a specified direction, it is needed to configure them so as to align with the other movement (circulation) patterns applied in the terminal.

III. Elevators -- These are used in public buildings where levels are located and thus, they should be built to follow the basic terminal layout.