GENERAL
The Runway Friction Meter (Mu-Meter) Mk6 is a surface friction measuring and reporting system for testing airport runways, taxiways and road surfaces. The equipment consists of a small three-wheeled trailer incorporating electronic measuring systems, which operate in conjunction with a computer carried in the chosen towing vehicle. The trailer systems produce signals which are presented on the laptop screen, and processed for later down loading to an office printer.

In addition the recorded data can be exported via the laptops RS232 serial port or stored on the supplied Memory Key. This feature provides the ability to down load the data to an IBM compatible computer for data storage and analysis at a later time.

WATER DELIVERY SYSTEM
A water delivery system is available as 'Customer Extra' and can be supplied to supplement the Mu-Meter when it is required in dry weather to classify runways as defined in the appropriate authority classification specification.

CORROSION PROTECTION
The components of the Mu-Meter Mk6 are corrosion protected against all normal conditions & materials encountered at modern airports.

General
Information sensing, conditioning, processing, recording, storing and visual display are all actioned by the electronic system. It is contained in discrete items; these are: the load cell, distance sensor encoder and the central control unit mounted on the trailer. The marshaling enclosure and laptop processor are mounted in the towing vehicle.

Electrical connections between the units are made through conventional electrical interface connectors giving protection from the ingress of moisture to IP68 standards. A stowage socket is fitted to the back face of the trailer towing plate adaptor to accommodate the trailer-to-towing vehicle connector when the measuring system is not in use.

LAPTOP PROCESSOR
The processor comprises a 400 MHz computer with 64 Mbytes of SDRAM, and a 8.4" (TFT) color Touchscreen facility. Digital information is passed from the central control unit to the laptop processor screen for constant 'real time' evaluation, during the measuring run.

The laptop processor can store 999 programmed friction runs, including 999 full classification surveys in accordance with:-

1. ICAO FAA Annex 14, Volume 1, Attachment A,

Section 7, Para 7.1 of the International Civil Aviation Organization Airport Services Manual Part 2 (Third Edition-July 1999).

2. Civil Aviation Authority CAP 683, Procedures for Runway Friction Classification and Monitoring.

The user also has the ability to create 999 custom runs. On power-up the laptop carries out a functional check on itself, then loads the operating system. The user is then presented with a Password screen before entering the Main Software Menu.

Memory Key
A 16 Mbyte USB Memory Key is supplied as standard for exporting data for archiving or data transfer.
The Memory Key is capable of storing approximately 100 X 4,500 meters (15,000 feet) of runway friction measurement runs.
The Memory Key can be inserted into any desktop PC for archiving.

Hard Disk Drive
The fixed hard disk drive has the capacity to store over 60,000 runway friction measurement runs. Specialist shock-damping materials are used to isolate the hard disk drive to help protect the data should the Processor Unit be accidentally dropped.

Display
The Processor Unit's Touchscreen lets you operate the polysilicon LCD even with gloves on.
New anti-reflection coating technology reduces reflectivity. The display is the main user interface. From here the user can display Menus, Programs, Run information and friction/distance graphs. The user can also perform basic analysis of the test runs. A zoom and pan function allows for close inspection of the graph down to a resolution of 200 mm of the runway.
This can be conducted immediately after the run has been conducted or later back in the office.