Numerical Prediction Model of Runway-Taxiway Junctions for Optimizing the Runway Evacuation Time

It is vital to ensure efficient and fast connection networks that guarantee the development of society in the global atmosphere. Air transport and airport operations play fundamental roles that help to achieve the needs of globalized society, constituting a pillar for providing essential services to a great number of passengers and goods around the world. In the coming years, air industry is expected to expand due to the imminent increase of passengers. This growth in air passenger journeys demands several measures to be applied in airports worldwide. Air traffic must comply with great levels of safety and efficiency according to existing standards to guarantee optimal airport operations. Moreover, airport infrastructures, such as runways and taxiways, should be continuously improved to minimize the possible costs and probability of associated risks, and to maximize their capacities by re-evaluating their designs to cope with the demands derived from the growth in traffic forecasted for the future. In this regard, a prediction model to simulate the behavior of aircraft in landing was developed, allowing to predict the optimum locations of runway-taxiway junctions, enhancing the efficiency of the runway, and minimizing the runway evacuation time. This model is based on tire-fluid-pavement interactions that govern the dynamic behavior of the aircraft during landing in wet and dry pavement conditions. The results provide the accurate landing distance required for operating aircraft inside the airport, which can be used to design enhanced capacity runways, while guaranteeing the safety of operations by minimizing the related accidents probabilities.