Research on Estimation Method for Airport Runway Friction Coefficient Based on Numerical Analysis

Runway friction coefficient is a crucial parameter that reflects the airworthiness of airport runway and measuring the runway friction coefficient is a prerequisite for ensuring flight safety. Many studies have been conducted on the measurement methods for runway friction coefficient, but most of them are still at the theoretical research level. Although new methods and ideas are constantly being proposed, they are still in the conceptual design and exploration stage. A method based on numerical simulation for runway friction coefficient measurement is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the numerical analysis method is used to explore the interaction mechanism between tire and runway. Based on finite element analysis (FEA), multi-physics field coupling analysis is carried out to reveal the influence of different working conditions on friction coefficient, and to obtain the variation law. Secondly, a friction coefficient measurement method is proposed based on the analysis results, and the friction coefficient estimation models are constructed to achieve a new measurement method that only relies on the tread frictional stress to estimate the friction coefficient with specific working condition. Finally, a friction coefficient measurement system is constructed and used to validate the method. The experimental results indicate that the error between the estimated and actual measurements is from 2.47% to 4.13%. The experiments have verified the effectiveness and accuracy of the estimation model based on numerical analysis method, providing ideas for researching runway friction coefficient measurement methods.