The artificial turf provides DTW with a stabilized shoulder, enhanced visual delineation for pilots, and reduced maintenance.
Runway safety areas, shoulders and ramps at airports around the world have been making the switch from natural grass to artificial grass. The airports are considering an alternative to solve problems like lack of drainage, soil erosion, jet blast, foreign object debris (FOD) reduction, visual enhancement and wildlife mitigation. These issues could not be solved by typical conventional measures in a cost-effective manner.
AvTurf has been tested and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. The testing was conducted using input from various artificial turf manufacturers. The majority of the airports’ concerns with moving forward with synthetic turf installation were jet blast resistance, environmental and fuel resistance, safety vehicle load bearing, skid and fire resistance and access for lighting and equipment maintenance.
Artificial turf remains attractive all year long and helps aircraft remain stable on aprons, runways and taxiways with low maintenance. There is no need to perform the constant maintenance that natural grass requires, therefore greatly reducing maintenance costs.
At Detroit’s Metro Wayne County International Airport, AvTurf was installed to solve two major issues on its airfield — standing water on the main carrier runway and jet blast FOD near a runway threshold. The airport previously addressed these problems by installing topsoil and hydroseeding, which proved to be a short-term resolution in both instances.
In the first location, AvTurf was successfully installed on the shoulder of the main carrier runway to address a drainage problem that was causing water to pool. Airport personnel stated there have been no problems with water pooling at this location since the installation.
On the second plot, AvTurf was installed to solve a FOD issue due to jet blast near a runway threshold, presenting a safety risk for aircraft taking off or landing, and creating flight delays and lost revenue. This solution minimized delays in takeoff and landings, and also minimized lost revenue due to runway closure to remove the debris.
The Wayne County Airport Authority has since implemented AvTurf in numerous construction projects.
Act Global is a world leader in synthetic turf technology, with manufacturing facilities on three continents and sales in more than 70 countries. The company carries a full range of products for sports (Xtreme Turf and Xtreme Grass), landscaping (Xtreme Lawn), aviation (AvTurf) and land reclamation (LiteEarth). Act Global is a FIFA Preferred Producer for Football Turf, Synthetic Turf Council Certified Manufacturer, World Rugby Preferred Turf Producer, FIH Preferred Supplier, and holds ISO 9001 Certification. Its products have undergone hundreds of independent laboratory tests for quality, durability, safety, environmental soundness and performance. For more information, visit http://www.actglobal.com
Shelby Becker is a creative content creator and marketing specialist at Act Global. She’s an animal rights activist, avid concert-goer, and scary movie enthusiast. Follow her on LinkedIn .
For more information, contact marketing at sbecker@actglobal.com