1,371 research outputs found
Improved Prediction of Runway Usage for Noise Forecast
No full textThe research deals with improved prediction of runway usage for noise forecast. Since the accuracy of the noise forecast depends on the robustness of runway usage prediction, improved accuracy of runway usage prediction will result in improved accuracy of noise load prediction. The main motivation behind this research is that the current method for runway usage prediction does not account for certain factors such as anticipating changes in weather forecast, additional meteorological phenomena, operational disturbances, which influence the controllers in the runway configuration selection decision-making process. The main objectives of the research are to develop runway usage models with increased accuracy of runway usage prediction compared to the current models and to investigate the effect of the developed models on the results of the computations of the noise load around the airport. The novelty of this research comes from improving the accuracy of runway usage prediction and noise forecast and identification of the main factors that influence runway usage. Most of the recent research in this area focuses on runway usage prediction for tactical and strategic planning. There has been very few research carried out on runway usage prediction for noise forecast and this research aims to fill that knowledge gap. Based on literature study, it was identified that modeling with the use of historical data (empirical modeling) can be used to predict runway usage more accurately since it includes the controller’s decision-making patterns. Two prediction algorithms were chosen for the development of runway usage models: Nearest Neighbor and Neural Networks. Two approaches were chosen for runway usage prediction: determination of runway usage directly and determination of runway usage from runway combination prediction. The combination of the prediction algorithms along with approaches was used to develop four runway usage models. The main factors that influence runway usage were identified and used as predictors for the models. The developed models were verified by a comparison with the actual runway usage. Various predictors were analysed to see if it improves the runway usage prediction accuracy. The developed runway usage models were compared with each other in terms of noise forecast accuracy. Based on the effect of the developed runway usage models on the results of the noise load computations around the airport, the runway usage model that resulted in the highest noise forecast accuracy was identified to be the model developed using neural networks that determines runway usage from runway combination prediction. The main factors that influence runway usage were identified to be – wind direction, wind speed, visibility, period of the day, required capacity, type of operation (landing/take-off), and origin/destination. The developed runway usage models were validated for Schiphol airport and can be applied for other complex multi-runway airports like Schiphol airport. This will aid in noise load prediction around the airport for transparency with surrounding communities, determining annual usage plan and analyzing noise mitigation measures.Air Transport and OperationsControl and OperationsAerospace Engineerin
Runway Pressure Research: The effect of en-route delay absorption on the runway throughput
No full textMajor airports in Europe experience a number of arrivals close to the maximum of their capacity throughout the day. Multiple aircraft arrive at the airport in a short time window and often have to be delayed in the airspace surrounding the airport before they are cleared to land. A higher fuel burn and costs for the airlines is the result, but it also has a negative effect on the environment in terms of additional pollution and noise. The Cross-border Arrival Management (XMAN) project, which is part of the Single European Sky program, tries to reduce the negative effects of delay in the proximity of airports. The main idea is to shift the necessary delay in the Terminal Manoeuvring Area (TMA) or holding towards the cruise flight phase by reducing the speed of aircraft. If an aircraft is inbound for an airport and the expected arrival time is too close to the arrival time of a leading aircraft, the trailing aircraft can be asked to slow down such that it arrives at the airport when the runway is available. The speed reduction or gaining additional flight time is referred to as ‘delay absorption’. Although the shift of delay absorption from the TMA to the en-route phase shows promising results for fuel consumption and reduced emissions, the question rises whether this En-Route Delay Absorption (ERDA) can also have a negative impact on the runway efficiency. If aircraft are delayed too much in an earlier flight phase due to e.g. inaccuracy of the expected arrival times, so called gaps appear in the landing sequence. As a result, the total number of aircraft that actually landed per time period decreases. The idea is that in order to maintain an optimal runway throughput, some expected delay should be left in the TMA for the approach controller to absorb. In that case, the approach controller can fine-tune a tight landing sequence without any gaps that would result in an underused runway when the demand for landings is high. This phenomenon is defined as Runway Pressure. The main goal of this research project is to investigate the effect on the runway throughput when the expected delay is absorbed in the en-route phase. To achieve this goal, different fast time simulations are performed with a model of both Schiphol and Charles de Gaulle airport. The amount of expected delay that needs to be absorbed in an earlier flight phase is calculated in analogy with the working principles of the inbound planning system of both Schiphol and Charles de Gaulle airport. The expected arrival time at the runway is given for an aircraft and compared with the expected arrival time and minimum required separation time of the previous aircraft in the inbound planning. If the trailing aircraft is expected to arrive too soon at the runway, it has to be delayed prior to passing the Initial Approach Fix (IAF). How the aircraft is delayed, is not researched in this project. However, a maximum of five minutes delay absorption in an earlier flight phase is set, based on previous research on this topic. One simulation scenario consists of a period of two hours where the amount of demand for arrivals changes throughout the inbound peak. The demand exceeds the maximum runway capacity for a certain period of time in each arrival peak. The landing sequence order does not change. A comparison is made between scenarios with the same amount of demand throughout the inbound peak, but with all aircraft either experience En-Route Delay Absorption or not. The outcome of the simulations is the average amount of delay in the ? per 20 minutes and the amount of landings per rolling hour. A rolling hour consists of three consecutive time periods of 20 minutes. Based on the simulation outcomes, it can be concluded that ERDA can result in a small decrease of runway throughput, with a maximum of one aircraft per rolling hour. However, a decrease does not always occur. By the end of the inbound peak, the actual landing time of an aircraft with ERDA is between 30 and 90 seconds later than the same aircraft with no ERDA. So the inbound peak is extended in time and shifted backwards with approximately one extra landing when ERDA is applied. The benefit is that aircraft have to spend up to four minutes less in the TMA. An important parameter that determines the runway throughput, is the inter-arrival separation. This separation between different aircraft wake vortex categories is translated from distance to a time based separation. The same time interval at the threshold is used for the interval times between aircraft passing the IAF. The required passing time at the IAF can be calculated by one average flight time for each aircraft category, where a distinction has to be made between the flight time of jet and turboprop engine aircraft. If the total flight time in the TMA between aircraft categories deviates more than one minute, it can be necessary to use different approach paths to the final approach fix for each aircraft category, in order to maintain safety and a sufficient runway throughput. It is important that the calculations of the inter-arrival times at the threshold and IAF are as accurate as possible. If the inter-arrival time for each aircraft is wrongly increased by five to ten seconds, the throughput decreases with two landings per hour. It is meaningful to take this into account when a dynamic time based separation for the threshold is calculated and compensated for strong headwinds. The definition of runway pressure suggests that there is a minimum amount of delay that should be left for the approach controller to absorb, in order to guarantee sufficient runway throughput. From the results of this research, it can be concluded that there will always be a minimum amount of delay that needs to be absorbed in the TMA to optimize the landing sequence. However, the minimum amount of delay in the TMA is a consequence of the difference in flight time between aircraft types and the accuracy of the actual time passing the IAF. If the inter-arrival times at the IAF are set correctly, a minimum amount of delay is not required to maintain sufficient runway throughput. Although a minimum amount of delay in the TMA is not required to maintain runway throughput, not all delay can always be absorbed in earlier flight phases. Therefore, it is recommended to investigate the effect on the workload of air traffic controllers and the delay absorption capacity of the different airspace sectors along the route. If the expected delay is divided and absorbed in the different flight phases along the trajectory towards the airport, the arrival process is easier to manage for all controllers involved.Profile II: ATM, Airports and SafetyControl and OperationsAerospace Engineerin
Effect of EGTS on airport taxi movements at AAS
No full textKLM and Schiphol Group have requested an investigation into the impact of EGTS on the entire airport operations. Previous research into this technology has shown that the potential benefits for airlines, airports and society are decreased noise and emissions, fuel savings, and autonomous pushback possibilities that allow for greater versatility on the apron area. Drawbacks of the technology at this point, however, are the fact that the maximum speed of the aircraft is limited while utilizing EGTS, possibly impacting other airport traffic and even leading to taxiway congestion. Taking this problem statement as a starting point, this research is aimed at generating an impact study into the effects of EGTS on the airport operations with all the key stakeholders. In order to achieve this, the traffic situation at Schiphol airport is simulated in scenarios with and without EGTS traffic, results are compared and verified, and stakeholder discussions are subsequently held to validate the results. The main research aim is to provide Schiphol and KLM with a tangible tool that translates the concerns and interests of the main stakeholders into a value model, that can aid them in their further decision making process regarding the implementation of EGTS.Management of TechnologyManagementTechnology, Policy and Managemen
Cost benefit and environmental impact assessment of autonomous eTaxi
No full textOne of the proposed methods of decreasing fuel consumption and emissions at airport is by equipping aircraft with electric motors for movement on the ground. In this paper a high level determination is given on what the potential average and marginal fuel savings and impact on emissions is for some of the larger airports and airlines in Europe and North America. The system could potentially be deployed on a selected sub fleet of aircraft, but fleet wide integration is not likely to result in cost covering benefits. The system is shown to be most beneficial on shorter flights between large airports, provided aircraft are not towed there
TPMagic, a universal airport surface traffic planning analysis and optimization tool
No full textAdding runways and taxiways is a way of solving capacity problems at major airport. As this also increases the intensity of airport ground operations, safety and efficiency might be compromised. This is one of the main reasons why a significant amount of research has been done in this field, such as research with respect to Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems. A taxi planning model developed at the TU Delft uses MILP techniques, combined with pre and processing to allow simulation and optimization of the routing of aircraft on taxiways for major airports. A study of Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport shows the benefits an Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems can have.Aerospace Structures & Design MethodologyAerospace Engineerin
Evaluation of anchorage international airport using the airport business suite
No full textAerospace Engineerin
Tailored SID & Profile Allocation for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
No full textCurrently, only one Standard Instrument Departure (SID) track and one flight procedure is used per runway departure fix combination. In contrast to tailored arrivals, the potential benefit of tailored departures has been left relatively undiscovered. The research objective is to quantify the potential benefit of tailored SID-s and profile allocation for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol by developing a model that is capable of simulating departure trajectories per runway departure fix and optimize the overall allocation of departing aircraft for noise and fuel consumption. The proposed methodology includes a two-step modelling framework. The two models involve the design of novel tailored departure trajectories using a multi objective genetic algorithm and the computation of optimal flight allocation by means of Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP). A case study is presented and serves as proof of concept.Aerospace EngineeringAerospace Transport & Operation
Improved Flexible Runway Use Modeling: A Multi-Objective Optimization Concerning Pairwise RECAT-EU Separation Minima, Reduced Noise Annoyance and Fuel Consumption at London Heathrow
No full textA minimization of disturbance caused by aircraft noise events and a reduction of fuel consumption during the initial and final phase of flight. These are the two objectives that play an important role in the Flexible Runway Allocation Model. By taking into account fuel consumption alongside noise annoyance, this model enables to analyze and optimize runway allocation from a broader perspective. This study aims to identify the improvements that can be made with respect to the initial Flexible Runway Use Model. Accordingly, these enhancements should be implemented and quantified in order to establish the Improved Flexible Runway Allocation Model. The improvements that are found in this study relate to both objectives in the mixed integer linear programming optimization as well as particular linear constraints. A major contribution is made to the runway occupancy constraint, which has shown a transition from a single aircraft computational method to a pairwise flight separation approach based on RECAT-EU. The proposed Improved Flexible Runway Allocation Model is applied to a case study that represents daily operations at London Heathrow Airport. This model shows that, by assigning a small delay to inbound and/or outbound flights, significant contributions can be made with respect to noise annoyance in the vicinity of the airport as well as the overall fuel consumption from the airline’s perspective. By allowing opposite direction operations, flexibility is added to the use of the airport’s runway ends, which results in a more efficient utilization of the available capacity. The results of this analysis are visualized by means of a Pareto front, indicating the Pareto optimal solutions to a runway allocation assignment based on a differentiation in objective weights.Aerospace EngineeringControl & OperationsAir Transport & Operations (ATO
Flexible Arrival & Departure Runway Allocation Using Mixed-Integer Linear Programming: A Schiphol Airport Case Study
No full textRunway capacity of a complex runways system can be limited by several factors. Currently, the runway usage at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AAS) is described by a preference list established by multiple stakeholders. It makes an important trade-off between minimizing noise exposure to the environment and maximizing capacity. The existing model does not take into account fuel burn and the ensued emissions for the current and future demand in flights. This study tries to address this issue. A model has been developed using Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) by which flights can be allocated to runways, while optimizing for fuel and noise. The research has the following research question: Can fuel burn be significantly reduced for aircraft operating at Amsterdam Airport by utilizing a novel flexible arrival and departure runway allocation model, using a predefined set of variables and rules, accounting for noise annoyance, runway capacity and the current and future demand of flights? The runway allocation model developed for this study is able to assign aircraft to runways based upon an optimization trade-off between fuel usage and noise exposure to the environment. Selecting a shorter flight- or taxi route may result in lower fuel burn and emissions, while separation- and noise regulations are maintained. A multitude of scenarios is simulated using the allocation model. Different runway configurations are tested. Additionally, different peak moments varying during the day are compared to see when flexible allocation is feasible and most profitable. A set of Pareto optimal solutions can be evaluated in order to determine the most optimal runway allocation distribution. The conclusion that can be drawn from this research is that flexible allocation can have significant impact on both fuel usage and emissions, while adhering to the current regulations. Depending on the flexibility of available runways, mainly restricted by separation- and noise regulations, runway demand, local conditions and maintenance, savings are possible. For scenarios where there is room for flexibility, savings are evident. For restricted scenarios, due to wind- or visibility conditions, potential savings exist, although to a lesser extend. The level of runway demand plays a role, as most flexibility and potential savings are obtainable during off-peaks. Annual savings can amount to significant fuel and emission reduction. The described runway allocation tool has the generic abilities of being scalable to wide variety of airports and their characteristics. Other airports, a larger set of aircraft and aircraft types, different arrival and departure operations can all be added to the model due to the generic characteristics. This aids further research and eventual application of flexible arrival and departure runway allocation in the aviation industry.Air Transport & OperationsControl & OperationsAerospace Engineerin
The Potential Impact of Electric Aircraft Taxiing: A Probabilistic Analysis and Fleet Assignment Optimization
No full textOn-board electric motors can be used to drastically reduce the fuel usage during the taxiing phase of aircraft, leading to cost reductions for airlines and lower amounts of harmful emissions. This study analyses the current state of this innovation and its potential impact on aviation. On a global level, full adoption of electric aircraft taxiing is expected to cause a reduction in jet fuel usage of 846 million kg per year, equivalent to 186 million euros of reduced costs and 2.67 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. This results in a reduction of 0.3% of the total global carbon dioxide emissions of the aviation sector. Locally, airports and their surroundings will benefit significantly from the reduced emissions, because a substantial fraction of airport emissions are due to the taxiing phase. Analysis of the effect of electric aircraft taxiing to key stakeholders such as airlines shows that American airlines would reap substantially larger benefits than European competitors because of consistently higher taxi times in the United States. Low-cost carriers are expected to see smaller impact than traditional hub-and-spoke airlines, due to short taxi times in the secondary airports they predominantly fly to. KLM could save 17.3 million kg of jet fuel annually, representing a cost of 3.8 million euros, which would potentially increase profits by 3%, and a carbon dioxide emission of 55 million kg. Since the road to full adoption is still long, a strategic analysis of the fleet shows the marginal yearly cost reduction per installed electric taxiing system starts at 82 thousand euros for the first product, which reduces to 10 thousand after 100 systems have been installed. Especially the flights between Amsterdam and London, Paris and Manchester should be assigned to aircraft with electric taxiing systems, because these flights would have the most impact given their relatively low flight distance and high taxi times.Air Transport & Operation
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