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

  • Preformed tapes show the way
    February 27, 2012
    Swarco Industries, a division of Swarco America, has unveiled its new wet reflective temporary construction zone tape Director-2 WR.
  • Texas certification of RetroTek-MU operator a first
    July 27, 2018
    Striping Service and Supply is the first US contractor certified by the Texas Department of Transportation to operate the RetroTek-MU road striping Retroreflectometer. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute stringent certification programme provides a quantitative basis for evaluating the ability of a contractor to operate the RetroTek-MU retroreflectometer. The vehicle-mounted RetroTek-MU - manufactured by Reflective Measurement Systems, based in Dublin, Ireland - measures the retroreflectivity of lo
  • Fast and efficient asphalt paving for rural road rebuilds
    January 22, 2013
    The rural roads near Brandýs nad Labem, in the heart of the Czech Republic, may not be as heavily travelled as their counterparts in Prague, about 25km (15.5 miles) to the southwest, but they are nevertheless crucial pipelines to the rural and agricultural areas of the country. An assessment by regional authorities indicated that these roads are in need of repair. That led to cold planing and paving work on a series of rural roads near Brandýs nad Labem. Regional authorities have two key requirements: The r
  • Earthmoving solutions on Portugal's longest road
    February 17, 2012
    Portuguese contractor Mota-Engil Group has been awarded the construction of a 270km Douro Interior Highways project in the north-east of Portugal, one of the longest highway projects ever awarded in the country.