LED Taxiway Lighting System Testing and Monitoring

The introduction of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) fixtures to airport applications provides an opportunity for energy efficiency, the potential for reduced maintenance on the lighting systems, and the capability for “non-traditional” fixtures (e.g., shaped LED sources, rather than point sources). The behavior of LED light fixtures different from traditional incandescent fixtures, and LED installation provides potential to move away from a “one-size-fits-all” airport lighting electrical system/circuit. This project will install and test of LED fixtures on a taxiway electrical system/circuit at KLAF (Purdue University Airport) using the existing buried conduit, as “prototype” of a retro-fit airport system. The work will test different infrastructure concepts for how LED fixtures perform when installed on existing airport electrical systems. The project will be performed in two stages. In stage one, the project will develop and test necessary electronic hardware and software. During stage two, the project will monitor and analyze data to evaluate performances of the new system. To automate the data collection, the project will develop a centralized data acquisition system with wireless communication and data storage capabilities. Four sub systems that will be developed are: (1) Base Data Collector (BDC); (2) Field Data Collector (FDC); (3) wireless network; and (4) User interface. The work will support previous efforts of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Visual Guidance program and the Electrical Infrastructure Research Team to assess how LED fixtures behave when installed on an existing system and circuitry, along with how the electrical system responds once these fixtures are operating. The data and subsequent analysis will inform the FAA about possible alternative airport lighting system architectures that could make LED installation easier for small airports that serve general aviation. In turn, those smaller airports can then benefit from the reduced energy consumption – both addressing airport cost and environmental concerns – and reduced maintenance costs. Findings may also support electrical system guidance at larger airports.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Centers of Excellence - Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility, and Sustainability

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $139,844.12
• Contract Numbers:

  12-C-GA*PU-013, 022,031,046

  12-C-GA-PU-059

  12-C-GA-PU-091

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Aviation Administration

  William J. Hughes Technical Center, Atlantic City International Airport
  Atlantic City, NJ  United States  08405
• Project Managers:

  Gallagher, Donald

• Performing Organizations:

  Purdue University, Polytechnic

  401 N. Grant Street
  West Lafayette, IN  United States  47907
• Principal Investigators:

  Leon-Salas, Walter Daniel

• Start Date: 20140717
• Expected Completion Date: 20171231
• Actual Completion Date: 20171231
• Source Data: PEGASAS Project 10

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airport operations; Aviation safety; Data collection; Electrical systems; Landside operations (Airports); Light emitting diodes; Lighting systems; Taxiways; Wireless communication systems
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Data and Information Technology; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01587297
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability
• Contract Numbers: 12-C-GA*PU-013, 022,031,046, 12-C-GA-PU-059, 12-C-GA-PU-091
• Files: RIP, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 19 2016 4:03PM