Skip to main content

Removing runway rubber

When Dubai Airport contacted Waterblasting Technologies it faced a number of challenges.
February 20, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
When Dubai Airport contacted Waterblasting Technologies it faced a number of challenges.

One was finding a waterblasting system that would operate successfully in the 42º-52ºC daylight heat of the summer and also to find the fastest and most productive waterblasting system because of very limited runway closure time.

Chemicals, shotblasting and other waterblasting equipment had been tried on the runways, but eventually engineers and management chose the Stripe Hog SH8000T manufactured by 362 Waterblasting Technologies.

The system, which can be built on a variety of truck chassis, uses needle sharp water jets to quickly remove all types of roadway and airfield marking paint as well as runway rubber deposit build-up.

According to the company the Dubai airport runways is probably the most challenging rubber removal environment in the world with an average of 800-plus movements a day with summer-time peaks of 1,100/day and an average of only 5-10 days of rain each year.

"With the ability to remove runway rubber deposits on average of 1,672m²/hour and the ability to operate in the extreme heat without breaking down, the SH8000T became the product of choice for the Dubai airport," says Waterblasting Technologies, which also offers the SH8000T or the new SH8000R with optional, on-board water recycling.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Airport runway rebuild at Bologna
    May 15, 2019
    Rebuilding a runway requires special attention to detail to maximise efficiency and safety Airport runways face special challenges with regard to the loads they carry on a daily basis, particularly when aircraft are landing. A modern jet aircraft will typically land at speeds of around 240-260km/h, with a laden 747 weighing as much as 265tonnes at the end of a long flight. The stresses these large aircraft place on runway surfaces are enormous and not just with the massive impact forces exerted during
  • Advances in bitumen technology: new applications
    February 16, 2022
    This month, we look at four very different pavement technologies in four very different applications
  • When the rain comes
    July 18, 2012
    Statistics show that wet weather and the dark is not the best mix for driving, but road markings offer a safety solution While good road markings are essential any time of the day, it is perhaps at night when roads are wet that they can offer extra guidance. Statistics are said to reveal that an estimated 50% of all accidents happen during the night when it rains but such conditions occur only 10% of the time and when there are usually less vehicles on the road. Indeed, at the 1st Road Marking Symposium hel
  • Ammann pushes the utilisation rate of recycled asphalt even higher
    December 16, 2016
    The Ammann team was confident it had a game-changer on its stand when the 2007 bauma exhibition opened in Munich. The company’s RAH100 asphalt dryer was about to take a massive step forward for the global highway industry – and to lead the market for years to come Ammann’s RAH100 wasn’t a simple upgrade of an existing product. It was much bigger than that. The dryer offered the ability to utilise 100% recycled asphalt … a benefit no other competitor could match. “That 100% utilisation rate was a miles