The meeting day, held at the Air Force Aeronautical Engineering Department and organized by the 2nd Department, was dedicated to the topic “Airport infrastructures and the environment”
In a general context of increasing attention from institutional and economic operators to sustainable development, the conference represented an opportunity for all technical personnel in the infrastructure sector of the Air Force of the Italian Defence Department to meet, deepen their technical knowledge and exchange experiences. Given the size of the Armed Forces’ installations, the improvement of the management of water networks and treatment plants for clear and dark water becomes a priority objective. At the same time, attention to the environment, in a time of absolute necessity to contain public spending, can and must become an opportunity to study and pursue every possible strategy aimed at reducing the impact of infrastructure on the territory and the state budget.
The Chief Logistic Officer, Air Force General Maurizio Lodovisi, intervened to open the proceedings and emphasized that the safeguarding of the environment has always been an absolute priority for the Armed Forces, citing as examples of excellence in the field Repartiche that have achieved quality certifications on par with those of private production facilities and urging the pursuit of high-quality standards in the environmental field to respond promptly to the growing attention of the media and industry professionals. The scheduled interventions, with speakers from the 1st Milan Reparto Genio A.M. and the 2nd Ciampino Reparto Genio A.M. (RM), as well as technicians from various companies operating in the sector, touched upon various environmental issues, ranging from noise pollution to the management of drainage systems, from the recovery of demolition materials to new techniques for the construction of airport pavements.
In particular, during the first intervention, Lieutenant Colonel Engineer Giovanni Colmayer focused on the problems of noise pollution, going into detail about the current regulations and outlining possible measures to be adopted during the construction of infrastructure to achieve “silent buildings”, concluding with a proposal for self-regulation regarding military airports.
The second section of the day was dedicated to water and airport discharges. Engineer Gianluca Bove analyzed the concept of “Green Airport”, namely an infrastructure management approach that aims to identify and implement the necessary interventions to obtain the environmental certification of the airport system. Engineer Fabio Gaburro, on the other hand, illustrated the model for managing the water distribution networks, which would allow, through continuous online monitoring, analytical controls and the detection and management of leaks, to produce a tangible effect in terms of energy savings, understood both as a reduction in water and therefore primary resources consumption and as a reduction in electricity consumption for distribution. Finally, the engineer Massimiliano Naso spoke about the systems for treating rainwater and flushing the parking lots, involving prefabricated “turn-key” plants of high technological standards for drinking water and wastewater.
The third section developed the theme of optimizing the resources used to construct the airport pavements. Major Engineer Claudio De Marchis introduced the regulatory framework for the reuse of “waste” resulting from construction and demolition, providing the starting point for the subsequent presentation, by Lieutenant Colonel Engineer Marco Frontoni, of an example of on-site recovery of the bituminous conglomerate derived from the milling of the secondary runway at Decimomannu Airport (CA), using the “foamation” technique to create the foundation/base layer of the new pavement.
Finally, Major Antonello Germinario recounted two practical experiences related to the construction of foundations for flight pavements using lime stabilization of the soil, emphasizing the advantages, from a technical and economic perspective, that resulted from them. APisa, with the flight surfaces of the national air hub, and in Grazzanise (CE), with the semi-prepared runway for the training of personnel navigating off-site operations.
At the conclusion of the presentations, the Head of the Aeronautics Infrastructure Service, General Inspector of the Air Force Engineering Corps Marcello Di Lauro, emphasized the importance of these events, which constitute an essential instrument for professional growth, not only through the presentation of technical topics by qualified speakers, but also and above all thanks to the exchange and analysis of the “know-how” acquired within the Armed Forces. The day concluded with a lunchtime session of questions and in-depth discussions among the participants.
