Optimization of International Roughness Index Model Parameters for Sustainable Runway

Yu Tian, Shifu Liu, Le Liu and Peng Xiang
Additional contact information
Yu Tian: Key Laboratory of Road and Traffic Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
Shifu Liu: Key Laboratory of Road and Traffic Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
Le Liu: Key Laboratory of Road and Traffic Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
Peng Xiang: Key Laboratory of Road and Traffic Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: Pavement roughness is a critical airport pavement characteristic that has been linked to impacts such as safety and service life. A properly defined roughness evaluation method would reduce airport operational risk, prolong the life of aircraft landing gear, and optimize the decision-making process for pavement preservation, which together positively contribute to overall airport sustainability. In this study, we optimized the parameters of the International Roughness Index (IRI) model to resolve the current poor correlation between the IRI and aircraft vibration responses in order to adapt and extend the IRI’s use for airport runway roughness evaluation. We developed and validated a virtual prototype model based on ADAMS/Aircraft software for the Boeing 737–800 and then employed the model to predict the aircraft’s dynamic responses to runway pavement roughness. By developing a frequency response function for the standard 1/4 vehicle model, we obtained frequency response distribution curves for the IRI. Based on runway roughness data, we used fast Fourier transform to implement the frequency response distribution of the aircraft. We then utilized Particle Swarm Optimization to determine more appropriate IRI model parameters rather than modifying the model itself. Our case study results indicate that the correlation coefficient for the optimized IRI model and aircraft vibration response shows a qualitative leap from that of the original IRI model.

Keywords: sustainable runway; pavement service life; airport; International Roughness Index (IRI) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/2184/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/2184/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:2184-:d:501308

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().