Ground Run-Up Enclosure (GRE) at the Wayne County Airport Authority in Romulus, Mich.,
Posted
09/25/2012
The
purpose of the Ground Run-Up Enclosure (GRE) at the Wayne County
Airport Authority in Romulus, Mich., is to reduce the impact of
noise generated from jet engine testing on surrounding communities.
At 304 feet wide by 317 feet deep and 40 feet tall, the structure
is capable of accommodating commercial aircraft up to and including
a B747-800. Aircraft are able to run their engines up to full
take-off power for testing inside the facility. The facility's
interior is lined with noise absorbing panels that reduce the noise
levels outside the building. Engine maintenance and testing
typically occurs overnight when the aircraft are not in service.
Following maintenance and prior to returning the aircraft to
service, it is necessary to test the engines, often up to full
power. At night when the ambient noise levels are low, the noise
impact of these tests on the surrounding communities can be
significant.
The entire GRE structure is metal, and everything except the
cladding is galvanized steel. McElroy Metal supplied more than
25,000 square feet of 24-gauge Multi-Rib panels in Slate Gray
Kynar. McElroy also supplied 2,000 feet of 16-gauge channel and
4,600 feet of 16-gauge hat section. There were concerns that radar
signals from the ground radar system would bounce off the GRE's
exterior and produce false readings.
To address this concern, the Multi-Rib panels were mounted
horizontally on a triangular assembly of rollformed channel. Each
horizontal run was tipped out at approximately 7 degrees at the
top. The resulting exterior geometry serves to reflect any radar
signals down toward the ground rather than back to the receiving
antenna to prevent false readings.
General contractor/installer: Blast Deflectors
Inc., Reno, Nev.
Metal wall panels: McElroy Metal, Bossier City,
La., www.mcelroymetal.com,