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A Note on the Undercarriage Aquaplaning of Aircraft Landing on Water-covered Runways

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

G. E. Gadd*
Affiliation:
Ship Division, National Physical Laboratory

Summary

When an aircraft lands on a runway on which there are extensive puddles, it appears that sometimes the water exerts a large upwards force on the wheels, so preventing them from making contact with the ground. The wheels are then said to “aquaplane”. In the aquaplaning condition the braking effectiveness of the wheels is reduced virtually to zero, and even at touch-down speeds insufficient to cause aquaplaning, when there is some contact between the wheels and the ground, water on the runway may cause appreciable reductions of runway friction forces. This note offers some tentative suggestions concerning the nature of the water flow when aquaplaning occurs, and is put forward as a basis for discussion of this important practical problem.

Type
Technical Notes
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1963

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References

1.Harrin, E. N. Low Tire Friction and Cornering Forces on a Wet Surface. N.A.C.A. Tech. Note 4406, September 1958.Google Scholar
2.Sawyer, R. H., Batterson, S. A. and Harrin, E. N. Tire– to–Surface Friction, Especially Under Wet Conditions. N.A.S.A. Memo 2–23–59L, TIL 6313, March 1959.Google Scholar
3.Horne, W. B., Joyner, U. T. and Leland, T. J. W. Studies of the Retardation Force Developed on an Aircraft Tire Rolling in Slush or Water. N.A.S.A. Tech. Note D–552, September 1960.Google Scholar