scholarly journals In-Flight Aircraft Trajectory Optimization within Corridors Defined by Ensemble Weather Forecasts

Aerospace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Lindner ◽  
Judith Rosenow ◽  
Thomas Zeh ◽  
Hartmut Fricke
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Trajectory Optimization ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Parameter Uncertainties ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Fuel Savings ◽  
Flight Plan ◽  
Aircraft Trajectory

Today, each flight is filed as a static route not later than one hour before departure. From there on, changes of the lateral route initiated by the pilot are only possible with air traffic control clearance and in the minority. Thus, the initially optimized trajectory of the flight plan is flown, although the optimization may already be based upon outdated weather data at take-off. Global weather data as those modeled by the Global Forecast System do, however, contain hints on forecast uncertainties itself, which is quantified by considering so-called ensemble forecast data. In this study, the variability in these weather parameter uncertainties is analyzed, before the trajectory optimization model TOMATO is applied to single trajectories considering the previously quantified uncertainties. TOMATO generates, based on the set of input data as provided by the ensembles, a 3D corridor encasing all resulting optimized trajectories. Assuming that this corridor is filed in addition to the initial flight plan, the optimum trajectory can be updated even during flight, as soon as updated weather forecasts are available. In return and as a compromise, flights would have to stay within the corridor to provide planning stability for Air Traffic Management compared to full free in-flight optimization. Although the corridor restricts the re-optimized trajectory, fuel savings of up to 1.1%, compared to the initially filed flight, could be shown.

scholarly journals Advanced Flight Planning and the Benefit of In-Flight Aircraft Trajectory Optimization

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1383
Author(s):  
Judith Rosenow ◽  
Martin Lindner ◽  
Joachim Scheiderer
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Trajectory Optimization ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Aircraft Trajectory

The implementation of Trajectory-Based Operations, invented by the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research program SESAR, enables airlines to fly along optimized waypoint-less trajectories and accordingly to significantly increase the sustainability of the air transport system in a business with increasing environmental awareness. However, unsteady weather conditions and uncertain weather forecasts might induce the necessity to re-optimize the trajectory during the flight. By considering a re-optimization of the trajectory during the flight they further support air traffic control towards achieving precise air traffic flow management and, in consequence, an increase in airspace and airport capacity. However, the re-optimization leads to an increase in the operator and controller’s task loads which must be balanced with the benefit of the re-optimization. From this follows that operators need a decision support under which circumstances and how often a trajectory re-optimization should be carried out. Local numerical weather service providers issue hourly weather forecasts for the coming hour. Such weather data sets covering three months were used to re-optimize a daily A320 flight from Seattle to New York every hour and to calculate the effects of this re-optimization on fuel consumption and deviation from the filed path. Therefore, a simulation-based trajectory optimization tool was used. Fuel savings between 0.5% and 7% per flight were achieved despite minor differences in wind speed between two consecutive weather forecasts in the order of 0.5 m s−1. The calculated lateral deviations from the filed path within 1 nautical mile were always very small. Thus, the method could be easily implemented in current flight operations. The developed performance indicators could help operators to evaluate the re-optimization and to initiate its activation as a new flight plan accordingly.

scholarly journals Predicting Fuel Consumption Reduction Potentials Based on 4D Trajectory Optimization with Heterogeneous Constraints

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7043
Author(s):  
Fangzi Liu ◽  
Zihong Li ◽  
Hua Xie ◽  
Lei Yang ◽  
Minghua Hu
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Trajectory Optimization ◽  
Fuel Efficiency ◽  
Upper Bounds ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Beijing City ◽  
Fuel Consumption Reduction ◽  
Consumption Reduction

Investigating potential ways to improve fuel efficiency of aircraft operations is crucial for the development of the global air traffic management (ATM) performance target. The implementation of trajectory-based operations (TBOs) will play a major role in enhancing the predictability of air traffic and flight efficiency. TBO also provides new means for aircraft to save energy and reduce emissions. By comprehensively considering aircraft dynamics, available route limitations, sector capacity constraints, and air traffic control restrictions on altitude and speed, a “runway-to-runway” four-dimensional trajectory multi-objective planning method under loose-to-tight heterogeneous constraints is proposed in this paper. Taking the Shanghai–Beijing city pair as an example, the upper bounds of the Pareto front describing potential fuel consumption reduction under the influence of flight time were determined under different airspace rigidities, such as different ideal and realistic operating environments, as well as fixed and optional routes. In the congestion-free scenario with fixed route, the upper bounds on fuel consumption reduction range from 3.36% to 13.38% under different benchmarks. In the capacity-constrained scenario, the trade-off solutions of trajectory optimization are compressed due to limited available entry time slots of congested sectors. The results show that more flexible route options improve fuel-saving potentials up to 8.99%. In addition, the sensitivity analysis further illustrated the pattern of how optimal solutions evolved with congested locations and severity. The outcome of this paper would provide a preliminary framework for predicting and evaluating fuel efficiency improvement potentials in TBOs, which is meaningful for setting performance targets of green ATM systems.

scholarly journals STUDIES OF FLIGHT TRAJECTORY OPTIMIZATION AND THE WORKLOADS OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL OFFICERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-86
Author(s):  
Weiyang Sun ◽  
Wei-Chuen Wallace Ong ◽  
Zhao-Wei Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Trajectory Optimization ◽  
Air Traffic Control ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Flight Trajectory ◽  
Fuel Savings ◽  
Medium Range

We studied a methodology for flight trajectory optimization, and also the workloads of air traffic control officers (ATCOs). Case studies were conducted through simulations for flight trajectory optimization. The aircraft model was A320-200s, which is pre-dominantly utilized in Southeast Asia for short to medium range flights. Fuel savings were computed for selected routes, and were compared with that of existing operations and flights simulations, which revealed significant fuel savings. The research also determined the coefficients of ATCOs’ workloads and demonstrated dynamic sectorization in selected airspace of Southeast Asia. It was found that dynamic sectorization was more efficient than static sectorization in balancing the workloads of ATCOs, reducing the standard deviation by 50% and the balance of workloads among sectors by 12.9%.

Ensuring the implementation of the modernized structure and automation of air traffic control processes in the area of responsibility of the Moscow district of air traffic control

2018 ◽  
pp. 46-54
Author(s):  
A. V. Strukova
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Air Traffic Control ◽  
Management System ◽  
Air Traffic Management ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Security System ◽  
System Description ◽  
Functional Capabilities ◽  
Traffic Management System

The article considers the new automated air traffic management system «Synthesis AR4», as well as a system description for ensuring the implementation of a modernized airspace structure, navigation and surveillance that provides technical capabilities. A number of functional capabilities and advantages of the airspace security system are presented.

scholarly journals Key Aspects of Occupational Health and Safety towards Efficiency and Performance in Air Traffic Management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Dimitriou ◽  
Stylianos Zantanidis
Keyword(s):  
Quality Management ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Air Traffic Control ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Air Traffic Management ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Key Aspects

This paper/chapter deals with the key drivers for adopting and developing an Occupational Health and Safety System (OHS) with a special focus on air traffic management and traffic controller’s workplace. A such system includes regulation and legal compliance procedures, actions and monitoring for ensuring workplace safety, incentives and motivation for the air traffic controller and associate personnel health and wellbeing. By a systemic approach, the key characteristics of OHS towards air traffic management are presented, highlighting the key aspects for implementing a quality management system in air traffic control, which is the cornerstone of airport operation efficiency and productivity on one hand; and the nature of job and the intensive working environment is well recognised. Based on air traffic providers functional analysis the key occupational aspects for air traffic control are taken into consideration, providing the benefits for implementing quality management systems (QMS) and OHS is real business. Conventional wisdom is to highlight the importance for establishing and incorporating a modern custom-made OHS system in accordance with the requirements addressed by OHSAS 18001 to develop and implement a QMS for air traffic services. Contribution of this paper is to highlight the key priorities for managers and decision makers in field of air traffic services providers, depicting ways and recommendation for adopting an efficient path for implementing OHS in a QMS environment.

Development of a Probabilistic Convective Weather Forecast Threshold Parameter for Flight-Routing Decisions

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1175-1187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kapil Sheth ◽  
Thomas Amis ◽  
Sebastian Gutierrez-Nolasco ◽  
Banavar Sridhar ◽  
Daniel Mulfinger
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Traffic Data ◽  
Threshold Parameter ◽  
Probability Threshold ◽  
Convective Cells ◽  
Convective Weather

Abstract This paper presents a method for determining a threshold value of probabilistic convective weather forecast data. By synchronizing air traffic data and an experimental probabilistic convective weather forecast product, it was observed that aircraft avoid areas of specific forecasted probability. Both intensity and echo top of the forecasted weather were synchronized with air traffic data to derive the probability threshold parameter. This value can be used by dispatchers for flight planning and by air traffic managers to reroute streams of aircraft around convective cells. The main contribution of this paper is to provide a method to compute the probability threshold parameters using a specific experimental probabilistic convective forecast product providing hourly guidance up to 6 h. Air traffic and weather data for a 4-month period during the summer of 2007 were used to compute the parameters for the continental United States. The results are shown for different altitudes, times of day, aircraft types, and airspace users. Threshold values for each of the 20 Air Route Traffic Control Centers were also computed. Additional details are presented for seven high-altitude sectors in the Fort Worth, Texas, center. For the analysis reported here, flight intent was not considered and no assessment of flight deviation was conducted since only aircraft tracks were used.

scholarly journals Selected Aspects of Using the Telemetry Method in Synthesis of RelNav System for Air Traffic Control

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milan Džunda ◽  
Natália Kotianová ◽  
Peter Dzurovčin ◽  
Stanislav Szabo ◽  
Edina Jenčová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computer Simulation ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Navigation System ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Air Traffic Control ◽  
Air Traffic Management ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Relative Navigation ◽  
Positioning Accuracy ◽  
Satellite Navigation System

Accuracy is an important factor in air traffic management which is why high requirements are necessary for each navigation system. The aim of this article is to describe the principles of the RelNav system and telemetry and their accuracy. We present the algorithms of the relative navigation system, which could be used for air traffic control in the case of the unavailability of satellite navigation system signals. This article sums up the different positioning methods, and deals with the accuracy of the relative navigation system (RelNav). Furthermore, the article considers the factors that influence the positioning accuracy. For this task, a computer simulation was created to evaluate the accuracy of the telemetric method. Next, we discuss the principles of telemetry and algorithms for calculating the position of the flying object (FO).

Simple Models for Airport Delays During Transition to a Trajectory-Based Air Traffic System

2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Brooker
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Queuing Theory ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Paradigm Shifts ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Operational Feature ◽  
The Impact

It is now widely recognised that a paradigm shift in air traffic control concepts is needed. This requires state-of-the-art innovative technologies, making much better use of the information in the air traffic management (ATM) system. These paradigm shifts go under the names of NextGen in the USA and SESAR in Europe, which inter alia will make dramatic changes to the nature of airport operations. A vital part of moving from an existing system to a new paradigm is the operational implications of the transition process. There would be business incentives for early aircraft fitment, it is generally safer to introduce new technologies gradually, and researchers are already proposing potential transition steps to the new system. Simple queuing theory models are used to establish rough quantitative estimates of the impact of the transition to a more efficient time-based – four-dimensional (4D) – navigational and ATM system. Such models are approximate, but they do offer insight into the broad implications of system change and its significant features. 4D-equipped aircraft in essence have a contract with the airport runway – they would be required to turn up at a very precise time – and, in return, they would get priority over any other aircraft waiting for use of the runway. The main operational feature examined here is the queuing delays affecting non-4D-equipped arrivals. These get a reasonable service if the proportion of 4D-equipped aircraft is low, but this can deteriorate markedly for high proportions, and be economically unviable. Preventative measures would be to limit the additional growth of 4D-equipped flights and/or to modify their contracts to provide sufficient space for the non-4D-equipped flights to operate without excessive delays. There is a potential for non-Poisson models, for which there is little in the literature, and for more complex models, e.g. grouping a succession of 4D-equipped aircraft as a batch.

scholarly journals Challenges Caused by the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in the Air Traffic Management

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsolt Sándor
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Unmanned Vehicles ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Aviation Industry ◽  
Operational Environment ◽  
Flight Operations ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Operational Issues

The increasing number of unmanned aerial vehicle poses new challenges in the aviation industry especially the air traffic control, which is responsible for the safe flight operations in the controlled airspaces. In order to protect the conventional aircraft a new operation environment has to be created, which guarantee the safe flying and the possibility of the fulfilment of the flight. In the article drone related safety and operational problems are highlighted. All issue connected to the coexistence of manned and unmanned aircrafts are critical, thus their management have significant importance.Spread and wide use of unmanned aerial vehicle traffic management systems (UTM) can manage the critical operational issues, but is has to be defined that what is the problem, what is the scope, what is the operational environment. Services and functions related to the operation of the UTM system are defined, which are necessary for the safe flying fulfilled by the unmanned vehicles.

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