ACRP IdeaHub Research Projects

Further guidance on how to approach the design of airport infrastructure that is more resilient to climatic change is required. Efforts are underway both nationally and internationally to address identification of vulnerabilities and incorporating into planning documents; but there remains a gap in procedures to evaluate and determine design criteria for engineers and architects that may be more readily endorsed by funding... more »

How can airports set up incubators unit to create a space for innovators to solve airport problems based on challenges placed on them from different departments? Then, using the resulting solution, partner (in terms of equity) with the innovators. Help them form companies that the airport can partner with. Then market to other airports.

Develop a simplified airport emissions inventory tool for criteria pollutants.

Accurate predictions of the noise environment in communities surrounding airports and spaceports from launch and reentry vehicle operations require models that have been validated over a range of vehicle types, operations, and atmospheric conditions. Research is needed to validate the commercial space operations noise models developed under ACRP 02-66 using the community noise measurement database collected under ACRP... more »

Guidance on holisitic master planning that goes beyond just future

facility and infrastructure that includes the sub categories such as IT,

Operations, Security and Maintenance as examples. It would also provide guidance on how to develop a "plan" for the ancillary operating areas and how important components may be rolled into a true master plan

Conduct research to update the state-of-the-science regarding the feasibility of reducing or eliminating noise in communities from aircraft departures, specifically behind the start of takeoff roll, with active noise reduction technology.

The proposed research project would evaluate carbon removal strategies that could be deployed at airports to help achieve "Net Zero Emissions" in order to align with global emission reduction targets and to address increasing public scrutiny. Carbon removal strategies include both natural (e.g., tree plantings and agricultural soil management) and technological approaches (e.g., carbon-absorbing concrete and direct air... more »

Airports have for decades been managing and remediating contamination of soil and groundwater resulting from past practices. However, within the past two years airports have been surprised by a previously unrecognized environmental threat from a family of compounds found in firefighting foam known as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). A synthesis study to provide necessary education on the subject is proposed. It is... more »

Conduct research on airport noise and emissions regulations,

requirements, programs in place at U.S. airports, including the impetus

for each, legal authority and impact.

Air travel is facing increasing threats to operations and facilities from climate changes, but there is not clear guidance on how airports should prepare. This study would examine the potential impacts and offer guidance on how best to defend against these threats.

We propose an ACRP guidebook and associated tools to help airports plan and implement EV charging stations. Specific topics of the guidebook could include: station siting, codes and standards, costs and benefits, pricing electricity use, payment systems, future-proofing investments, ADA requirements, signage, and incorporation with airport emission goals and airport master plan.

To develop carbon offset methodologies for both commercial and general aviation airports that generate revenue.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a drastic reduction (in some cases over 95%) in air traffic operations at airports around the country. The only other time such extreme conditions occurred was after 9/11 (with three days of a total ground stop). The current situation presents an opportunity to collect significantly more data from a longer time period for both noise and air emissions to understand baselines, and the... more »

The research would identify the best persuasive strategies, language, and media, supported by behavioral science, for successfully encouraging customers to separate waste materials at the source and reduce contamination. This would reduce the number of costly waste hauls; help rehabilitate international scrap materials markets; reduce the amount of materials being sent to landfills and incinerators; promote composting... more »

Develop a guidebook that provides strategies (best management practices) that airport operators and other stakeholders can use to manage demand placed on landside facilities (e.g. ground transportation infrastructure) in a constrained environment. The guidebook reviews existing and proposed operational, financial and logistical strategies that airport operators or other entities are permitted to use to encourage efficient... more »