Enhancement of a time and energy management algorithm for continuous descent operations

Menéndez, Xavier Prats; Batlle, Marcos Pérez; Barrado, Cristina; García-Gascon, Santi Vilardaga; Bas, Isidro; Birling, Florent; Verhoeven, Ronald; Marsman, Adri

doi:10.2514/6.2014-3151

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…This simplified schedule (in a sense that it does not involve pilot -air traffic control interaction) was developed by taking into account standard requirements for the aircraft descent to the given runway, see e.g. (Prats et al, 2014). In development of this schedule it was assumed that the localizer (LOC) signal extends 18 nm away from and 4500 ft above the antenna site (see e.g.…”

Section: Flight Phasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fast optimization for aircraft descent and approach trajectory

et al. 2017

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We address the problem of online scheduling of the descent aircraft trajectory. The problem is considered in a general framework of the multiphase optimal control. First, we obtain solution of this problem using traditional approach. Next, we develop novel solution algorithm using two key components: (i) inference of the dynamical and control variables of the descending trajectory from the low dimensional flight profile and (ii) solution of the resulting low-dimensional optimization problem using efficient local search. We show that the developed algorithm is much faster than the traditional one and discuss its future application to the simultaneous optimization of the runway throughput and the descent trajectory for each aircraft in convective weather conditions.

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Section: Flight Phasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fast optimization for aircraft descent and approach trajectory

et al. 2017

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“…In the recent years, several research has focused on the use of energy principles to perform accurate, time-constrained, engine-idle descents to reduce the environmental impact of aviation [8,9,21]. The idea behind time and energy management is to exchange altitude for speed and vice versa to gain or lose time and energy through elevator control.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlled time of arrival windows for already initiated energy-neutral continuous descent operations

Dalmau

Prats

2017

Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies

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Continuous descent operations with controlled times of arrival at one or several metering fixes could enable environmentally friendly procedures without compromising terminal airspace capacity. This paper focuses on controlled time of arrival updates once the descent has been already initiated, assessing the feasible time window (and associated fuel consumption) of continuous descent operations requiring neither thrust nor speed-brake usage along the whole descent (i.e. only elevator control is used to achieve different metering times). Based on previous works, an optimal control problem is formulated and numerically solved. The earliest and latest times of arrival at the initial approach fix have been computed for the descent of an Airbus A320 under different scenarios, considering the potential altitudes and distances to go when receiving the controlled time of arrival update. The effects of the aircraft mass, initial speed, longitudinal wind and position of the initial approach fix on the time window have been also investigated. Results show that time windows about three minutes could be achieved for certain conditions, and that there is a trade-off between robustness facing controlled time of arrival updates during the descent and fuel consumption. Interestingly, minimum fuel trajectories almost correspond to those of minimum time.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

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“…To prevent this negative impact in efficiency and/or airspace capacity, research has been performed on the integration of CDOs in dense TMAs [2,3,4,5]. The Oceanic Tailored Arrivals program, currently in place at San Francisco airport, is another relevant example [6].…”

Section: Ataccs '15mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass Estimation for an Adaptive Trajectory Predictor using Optimal Control

Vilardaga¹,

Prats²

2015

Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Application and Theory of Automation in Command and Control Systems

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Air traffic predictability is paramount in the air traffic system in order to enable concepts such as Trajectory Based Operations (TBO) and higher automation levels for selfseparation. Whereas in simulated environments 4D conflictfree trajectory optimisation has shown good potential in the improvement of air traffic efficiency, its application to real operations has been very challenging due to the current lack of information sharing between airspace users. Consequently, such operations are still very limited in scope and rarely attempted in dense traffic situations. Better predictability of other traffic future states would be an enabler for each aircraft to fly its user preferred route without decreasing safety in a self-separation context. But this is not an easy task when basic aircraft parameters such as aircraft weight, performance data or airline strategies are not available at the time of prediction. In this paper the authors propose to compensate this hindrance by continuously integrating the state of the surounding traffic to improve the ownship's knowledge of other aircraft's dynamics. Specifically, conventional position (and velocity) messages, as coming from Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B), are integrated at the ownship. Then, an optimisation problem is formulated, using optimal control theory, that minimises the error with the known states, having the parameters of study (i.e. mass) as decision variables. A scenario with two departing trajectories is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of this parameter estimation method. In it, the take-off mass of the potential intruder is estimated onboard the ownship and its impact to conflict detection and resolution is presented, demonstrating the big improvements in predictability and safety.

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Enhancement of a time and energy management algorithm for continuous descent operations

Cited by 10 publications

References 14 publications

Fast optimization for aircraft descent and approach trajectory

Fast optimization for aircraft descent and approach trajectory

Controlled time of arrival windows for already initiated energy-neutral continuous descent operations

Mass Estimation for an Adaptive Trajectory Predictor using Optimal Control

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