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Role of sintering in snow construction

1966; Elsevier BV; Volume: 3; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0022-4898(66)90105-4

1879-1204

RenéO. Ramseier,

Space Exploration and Technology

BECAUSE of the almost complete lack of roads in the polar regions, the ability to land aircraft on snow has always been of great importance in polar operations. In Greenland the first operation that utilized aircraft landings on snow was that of Ellsworth and Amundsen with Riiser-Larsen and Dietrichson as pilots in 1925. The following year Byrd flew his ski-equipped Fokker trimotor to the North Pole with Floyd Bennett as pilot. In 1928-29 the skiplane was introduced to the Antarctic by Byrd [1]. Since then landing on skis in Greenland and the Antarctic has gradually become a routine matter. Since World War II, prepared runways where large aircraft without skis can operate have predominated. The demand for prepared runways increased with the construction of the early warning sites in Greenland and the Antarctic phase of IGY in 1956. Presently, the large aircraft being used in polar operations are the C-124 (Globemaster) and the C-130 (Hercules), both with wheeled landing gear. The latter is also equipped with a ski-wheeled type modification for Greenland and Antarctic use; however, this reduces the load-carrying capacity. Since not all aircraft are equipped with skis the capability of landing wheeled aircraft on snow runways has become of considerable interest. In addition wheels are much lighter than skis, cause less drag on take off, and have no air drag. For ski-equipped aircraft longer runways are needed to lift the same amount of weight and air speed is lowered appreciably by air drag. A snow runway was constructed at Site II, Greenland, in 1955 and was successfully used for landing wheeled aircraft with cargo (C-124, C-47) and personnel (C-54) [2]. Similar attempts have been made in the Antarctic, but without success. It is the purpose of this paper to theoretically and experimentally analyze the problem of snow runways and establish criteria permitting adequate site evaluation and effective construction of landing strips. The results are applicable not only to polar regions but also to temperate areas with a heavy annual snow accumulation.