High Performance Drainage for Perth Airport from ACO Polycrete

Perth Airport, like any major airport, plays an integral role in a region's economic activity. In this instance, it is particularly important because of Perth's distance to other major cities in Australia and major towns in WA. Its contribution to the economy is heavily contingent on its capacity to operate efficiently.

The booming WA economy has contributed to a significant increase in domestic passenger traffic impacting on the ability of the airport's infrastructure to cope, especially with regard to domestic apron space. This has driven Westralia Airports Corporation (WAC), the operators of Perth's airport, to invest over $AU100 million yearly on aeronautical infrastructure, including the extension of taxiways, the construction of new aerobridges, and the upgrade of baggage screening and terminals. The apron extension is designed to facilitate the movement of aircraft.

During construction, engineers specified over 200 metres of ACO's POWERDRAIN™ S300K (300mm wide) trench drain to be installed across the hangers and apron areas. Constant movement of very heavy loadings on airport hardstand areas imposes severe stresses on the pavements making the POWERDRAIN™ system an ideal solution due to its heavy duty construction.

The trench comprises interlocking precast channels made from polymer concrete, a durable resin composite with excellent flow characteristics. The system's ductile iron grates meet class G900kN (AS3996). For this application, the channels were assembled in a sloped configuration to allow for the efficient removal of liquid from the apron's expansive level pavements.

Constant movement of very heavy loadings on airport hardstand areas imposes severe stresses on the pavements making the POWERDRAIN™ system an ideal solution due to its heavy duty construction.

During the design phase, the project's engineers concluded that ACO's Australian made off-the-shelf precast systems were considerably cheaper than traditional grate & frame insitu drainage systems. This is when all labour and material costs were taken into account.