Maximizing Throughput at Soft Airfields

31 Pages·2013·1.08 MB·English

by  Christopher A. Mouton

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Research Report
Maximizing Throughput
at Soft Airfields
Christopher A. Mouton
PROJECT AIR FORCE
www.rand.org
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RR-148-AF

Research Report
Maximizing Throughput at Soft Airfields
Christopher A. Mouton
RAND Project AIR FORCE

Prepared for the United States Air Force
Approved for public release; distribution unlimited
The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States Air Force under
Contract FA7014-06-C-0001. Further information may be obtained from the Strategic
Planning Division, Directorate of Plans, Hq USAF.
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ISBN: 978-0-8330-7865-0
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Preface
Aircraft operations on soft fields are limited due to field rutting. Each subsequent aircraft
pass, defined as one takeoff and one landing, increases field rutting until the field reaches a point
where further aircraft operations are no longer permissible. The ability of aircraft to operate on
soft fields is often expressed as a function of aircraft landing weight and the California Bearing
Ratio (CBR) of the field, which measures the ability the soil to resist compressive loads. Because
soft fields can support only a limited number of takeoffs and landings, it is important to
understand how to maximize the cargo throughput at these soft fields. This document shows that
there exists an optimum landing weight that allows for maximum cargo delivery. This optimum
landing weight is found to be constant and independent of field CBR.
This document reports the soft-field operation findings of a larger fiscal year (FY) 2010
RAND Project AIR FORCE study “Support to the Joint Future Theater Lift Analysis of
Alternatives.” One of the three objectives of this study was to inform important analytic trade-
offs. Understanding the ability of aircraft to operate from soft fields is one of these important
trade-offs.
This document details the mathematical calculations used to determine the optimum landing
weight that allows for maximum cargo delivery. It should be of interest to analysts studying
cargo operations in austere locations.
The research described in this report was sponsored by Major General Susan Desjardins,
AMC/A5/8, Robert M. (Mike) Maxwell, AF/A8X, and Richard K. Hartley, SAF/FMC. The
study was performed within the Force Modernization and Employment Program of RAND
Project AIR FORCE.
RAND Project AIR FORCE
RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF), a division of the RAND Corporation, is the U.S. Air
Force’s federally funded research and development center for studies and analyses. PAF
provides the Air Force with independent analyses of policy alternatives affecting the
development, employment, combat readiness, and support of current and future air, space, and
cyber forces. Research is conducted in four programs: Force Modernization and Employment;
Manpower, Personnel, and Training; Resource Management; and Strategy and Doctrine.
Additional information about PAF is available on our website:
http://www.rand.org/paf/

iii
Contents
Preface ............................................................................................................................................ iii
Figures............................................................................................................................................. v

Table .............................................................................................................................................. vi

Summary ....................................................................................................................................... vii

Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... x

Nomenclature ................................................................................................................................. xi

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1
Purpose and Organization of This Report .......................................................................................... 2

2. Calculating Optimum Landing Weight ....................................................................................... 3
3. Boeing C-17A Analysis .............................................................................................................. 7
4. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 14

References ..................................................................................................................................... 15

iv
Figures
Figure S.1. Allowable Range of C-17A Landing Weight Given a Total Cargo Delivery
Requirement ......................................................................................................................... viii
Figure 2.1. Critical Values of Landing Weight and Total Cargo Delivered ................................... 6

Figure 3.1. Curve Fit of C-17A Number of Passes Data ................................................................ 8

Figure 3.2. Layout of Airfield Ground Operations ......................................................................... 9

Figure 3.3. Number of Passes and Payload Capacity as a Function of Landing Weight and

CBR for the C-17A ............................................................................................................... 10
Figure 3.4. Total Cargo Delivery as a Function of Landing Weight and CBR for the C-17A ..... 10

Figure 3.5. Allowable Range of C-17A Landing Weight Given a Total Cargo Delivery

Requirement .......................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 3.6. Number of C-17A Missions Required to Deliver a Given Amount of Cargo ............ 12

Figure 3.7. Maximum Cargo Deliverable by C-17A to a Field of a Given CBR ......................... 13

v
Table

Table 2.1. Landing Weights for Various Delivery Requirements .................................................. 5

vi