BACKGROUND

Jet blast at and near airports poses a risk in areas where aircraft are operating in proximity to vehicles, equipment, employees, passengers, and the public (e.g., aprons, near construction sites, adjoining public areas).  Incorporating jet blast assessment in the design and layout of these areas would enhance safety, but literature and data on jet blast exposure are limited, and little guidance has been developed on jet blast hazard assessment.  Research is needed to develop a tool to help practitioners improve their estimates of jet blast exposure based on local parameters.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research is to develop a jet blast estimation tool and accompanying user guide.  The tool should, at a minimum:

• Allow users to consider:
  • Specific airport conditions (e.g., terrain, meteorology);
  • Typical air carrier, general aviation, and military aircraft/engine makes and models; and
  • Common thrust settings (i.e., idle, breakaway, multi- and single-engine taxi, and takeoff);
• Provide an easy-to-use interface (e.g., dropdown menus, text boxes, callouts);
• Permit input and output to be presented in imperial and metric units; and
• Produce output in tabular and graphic (e.g., isotherms, isobars, grids) formats capable of being exported, to the extent feasible, to airport planning and design tools (e.g., ArcGIS, AutoCAD).

The user guide should include, at a minimum:

• Instructions for using the tool and exporting output to airport planning and design tools;
• Suggested default settings;
• Sources for input data;
• Case study examples;
• Description of tool data sources, assumptions, and limitations; and
• Glossary.

STATUS

Research is underway.