26.01.2021
Aluminium alloy coatings are included in the Code of Rules 'Aerodromes and Landing Sites with Lightweight Coatings. Design Rules' developed by the Russian Ministry of Construction. For the first time, the document sets out requirements for the design of lightweight pavements for newly-built and renovated aerodromes and take-off sites for aircraft and helicopters of regional airlines.
According to Dmitry Volkov, Deputy Minister of Construction, Housing and Public Utilities of the Russian Federation, the new Code of Rules uses positive foreign and domestic experience, as well as results of scientific and research work. 'The new Code of Rules has significantly expanded the toolkit for designers to construct new and renovate the existing network of aerodromes of local airlines, heliports and landing sites, with the possibility of their year-round operation in difficult natural and climatic conditions. This will improve their safety, reliability and durability, as well as significantly increase the mobility of people in northern regions of the country,' emphasised Dmitry Volkov.
A Mi-26 helicopter lands on an aluminium site
The Code of Rules takes into account the advantages of designing artificial coatings from metal, including aluminium plates, for aerodromes in hard-to-reach areas with difficult climatic conditions in the absence of material resources and technical base, where it is economically unreasonable to build capital landing strips. Mobility is one of the main advantages of all ready-made aluminium platforms, which can be transported in containers and assembled by hand without any heavy special equipment. The weight of one plate made aluminium alloys does not exceed 11 kg, while the weight of similar products with a concrete coating reaches 350 kg.
In the future, aluminium plates can be used to build not only aircraft parking, but also taxiways and landing strips. All relevant researches will be carried out this year.
The new document provides an opportunity for a more detailed study of construction organisation projects and cost estimates, and also reduces the need for developing special technical conditions (STU) by introducing regulatory requirements in the field of designing lightweight coatings.
According to expert estimates, the use of lightweight coatings for aerodromes of local airlines, where the operation of class 3 and 4 aircrafts is envisaged, will reduce construction expenses by 30-50%, by decreasing the cost and construction time.
The Code of Rules was developed by the authors' teams of CJSC PROMTRANSNIIPROEKT and JSC NTK Aerotechnical Centre with the active participation of the Ministry of Transport of Russia and organisational support of FAU Federal Standardisation Centre (FTsS). The document successfully passed the expert examination in TK 465 and was approved by an order of the Ministry of Construction of Russia in December.