Trajectory Specification to Support High-Throughput Continuous Descent Approaches

Continuous descent approaches (CDAs) have demonstrated the ability to reduce aircraft fuel burn and noise, while trajectory-based operations (TBO) have been shown to improve the predictability and throughput of aircraft flows. Prior work has recognized the difficulty of implementing CDAs in high-density terminal areas due to an increase in uncertainty, which can result in a decrease in throughput. This thesis investigates whether increased throughput afforded by trajectory-based operations can be combined with continuous descent approach profiles to achieve high-throughput CDA operations. The proposed method in this thesis first determines a CDA profile via trajectory optimization, and then locates waypoints with required time of arrival (RTA) constraints along this profile, to optimize a combination of throughput and fuel burn. For representative terminal-area descent profiles at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), we find that by specifying intermediate waypoints with RTAs, it is possible to use intermediate waypoints with RTAs to increase the throughput by as much as 70%, while incurring an additional fuel burn penalty of 2% per flight.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Fasoro, Titilayo

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Balakrishnan, Hamsa

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
• Copyright MIT

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/145179

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/145179