Optimizing transverse groove dimensions to mitigate hydroplaning on airport runway in Vietnam

Hydroplaning is a hazardous skidding phenomenon that occurs when a layer of water forms between a tire and the pavement surface, preventing direct contact and significantly reducing friction. To mitigate this risk, the construction of transverse grooves on pavement surfaces has been widely recognized as a practical and effective engineering solution. Many countries have established standards for transverse grooving with different dimensional specifications. In Vietnam, only industry-level standards are currently applied, which are mainly adopted from the guidelines of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Therefore, it is necessary to develop a national standard supported by scientific justification to determine appropriate groove dimensions. This research employs computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis using ANSYS Fluent to evaluate the influence of groove width, depth, and spacing on hydroplaning behavior. The numerical model was calibrated according to NASA experiment results. A total of 80 scenarios of transverse groove dimensions were investigated, including widths of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mm, depths of 2, 4, 6, and 8 mm, and spacings of 20, 32, 38, and 52 mm. The influence of each groove geometry on hydroplaning behavior was quantified by constructing graphs showing the relationship between each transverse groove parameter and the pressure beneath the tire. The effectiveness of transverse groove dimensions was evaluated by comparing the pressure beneath the tire with the tire inflation pressure. The results indicate that transverse grooves with dimensions of 6 × 6 × 38 mm provide effective hydroplaning prevention while satisfying both technical and economic requirements