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

  • Safety issues fuel interest at PIARC’s tunnel conference in Lyon
    June 4, 2019
    Alternative fuel and automated vehicle issues occupied minds at PIARC’s first international road tunnel safety conference. David Arminas reports from Lyon More than ever, tunnel management must done in a wholistic fashion, said Andre Broto, president of PIARC, the World Road Association, based in Paris. With those sentiments, Broto kicked off PIARC’s first International Conference on Tunnel Operations and Safety. One of the first speakers, Sandrine Bernabei Chinzi, head of transport infrastructure at Fr
  • Benin airport job for Topcon’s RD-M1 scanner
    May 13, 2022
    A $16 million runway project at Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport needed Topcon Positioning’s RD-M1 road scanner to ensure precise milling and quality resurfacing.
  • Hot-to-hot paving upgrades Bremen City Airport runway
    September 30, 2013
    A new high quality runway surface has been laid at Bremen City Airport. This has provided a much-needed replacement at the airport as the old runway was laid over 20 years ago and was suffering from cracking and potholes. Laying the new surface required the airport to be closed, with the work having to be carried out in a tight time schedule. Contractor Heitkamp Erd- und Straßenbau was brought in to carry out the work as the firm had experience in runway rehabilitation projects having carried out pavemen
  • Asphalt plant innovations from key firms
    June 12, 2017
    Asphalt plant builders continue to develop new technologies to meet different demands from clients. Marini says that in addition to developing new and more sophisticated asphalt plants, the firm is also meeting demands from customers looking to upgrade existing asphalt plants with the addition of new systems. These can be used to boost output and material quality, while also delivering new grades of mixes. At the same time, plant upgrades can reduce the environmental profile of a plant, while improving its