Dr. Melania Suweni Muntini explains the standing water detector in the FGD at ITS

ITS Campus, ITS News – A team of researchers from the Research and Development Agency (Litbang) of the Ministry of Transportation (KEMENHUB) collaborating with the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) continuously seeks to develop innovation in aviation to support air transportation safety. To meet the established certification standards, the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) is implemented to socialize the research results that have been conducted to obtain input from several related parties held in the main courtroom, In ITS Rectorate Building, Friday (13/12).

FGD titled the Development of Wind Shear Detector and Standing Water Detector for the fulfillment of this certification is organized as an advanced step for the research of two prototypes of aviation innovation. Both of these prototypes are believed to be the solution to the airplane accident, especially when landing and take off.

The research scope on wind shear detection includes whether the wind around the airport could potentially cause a side wind or not. When the direction and big wind arises from various directions with high speed, then this condition will potentially the emergence of wind shear. The estimated emergence of wind shear was carried out using software developed with the input of wind data acquisition in the airport area.

While research on the development of prototypes to measure the height of water puddle (Standing Water) at the runway refers to ICAO Doc 9137, Airport Services Manual, Part 2, Surface Conditional Parement and has been carried out the design stage, test Laboratory, and field trials.

Considering the importance of the safety of passengers on board, the head of the Program and the evaluation of the Research and Development center of Air transportation, Dr. Eny Yuliawati SE MT said Indonesia in 2019 received an audit result of 81 percent of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). “This is a remarkable achievement in the aviation world for Indonesia,” she said.

Head of Program dan Evaluasi Pusat Penelitian dan Pengembangan Transportasi Udara , Dr. Eny Yuliawati SE MT Center for Research and Development of Air transport in FGD

As said by Eny, the problem in the aviation world is complex and allows for accidents or incidents. This is due to the three main factors, namely human, operational, and weather. “And these three factors correlate with each other,” Eny recalls.

Eny also explained, that to overcome the problems in the aviation world, the Government invites the academic institutions to develop equipment that supports the quality of air transportation in Indonesia. “ITS together we have succeeded in realizing a puddle-and-wind side-detection tool on the runway,” she said.

Dr. Lila Yuwana explained about the Wind Shear Detector results of his team research in FGD at ITS

FGD which is the second time presented also presents some competent speakers. Among other things, the head of the research team WindSshear Detector also lecturer of Departement of Physics ITS, Dr. Lila Yuwana, head of the research team Standing Water Detector who is also the lecturer of Departement of Physics ITS, Dr. Dra Melania Suweni Muntini MT, researcher of the Air Transportation Center Technology and Transportation Management field Tito Yusmar ST MT MSc, researcher of the Air Transportation Center of Research and Development of Transportation Arman Mardoko SP SE MT, as well as Airport Inspector Yuli Ardianto ST MM.

ITS rector Prof. Mochamad Ashari gave the opening speech of FGD

To be known, wind shear is one of the causes of accidents or incidents in the aviation world. According to Tito Yusmar, wind shear or wind side can occur in every level of the atmosphere, especially under 500 meters. “It can interfere with the take-off process and landing the airplane,” he explained.

Tito also added that, with a wind share detector tool, it can provide enormous benefits in the aviation world. One of them is achieving criteria that suit the needs of the aviation operations. “This tool is also useful for safety during the flight,” says Tito.

While standing water detector equipment aims to know there is a puddle of water on the runway. According to Melania Suweni Muntini, in the last 15 years, a total of 12 aircraft in Indonesia experienced an incident of the aircraft tire, due to a puddle of water. “This caused the aircraft wheel to be lifted from the runway,” he said.

The research team demonstrates how the prototype of the Wind Shear Detector and Standing Water Detector works

The development of a wind shear detector and standing water detector must be through the certification stage to be implemented in 300 airports in Indonesia. On the occasion of the discussion, Yuli Ardianto said that to obtain the certification, it must go through several conditions. “These requirements must be fulfilled for the equipment to be suitable for use,” he said.

The man who is often called Ardianto said that the terms are identity and image data, technical documents in the form of specifications and operational standards of usage and maintenance procedures, and the last requirement is the document Testing and calibration results. “If the conditions are met, then we will test to make sure,” he said.

The two studies, for ITS laboratory tests, were conducted in instrumentation Laboratory, Department of Physics, ITS science faculty. The field trials have been conducted at Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA) Kulonprogo in November 2019. With this FGD, it is hoped that the compliance can be fulfilled immediately, and the work of the nation can be utilized concerning the standards and regulations. (sen/rev/ITS Public Relations)

A prototype of a Low-Level Wind Shear Detector and a prototype Standing Water Detector exhibited on the sidelines of the FGD at ITS