Effectiveness of Conflict Resolution Methods in Air Traffic Management

Anrieta Dudoit,Jacek Skorupski,Vytautas Rimša,Marijonas Bogdevičius

doi:10.3390/aerospace9020112

Anrieta Dudoit, Jacek Skorupski + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9020112

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Abstract

Aircraft fly en route under concurrent event situations (conflicting situations), which occur when they operate in the same airspace but are too close to each other in the same time frame. Hence, the safe horizontal distance between them is not less than the standard 5 nm. Free route airspace is such a concept, where such concurrent events need to be resolved when the location and number of such event “hotspots” are random in comparison with fixed route (conventional) airspace. This paper proposes two approaches to solving the traffic conflict in the sector by performing horizontal resolution maneuvers. The first of them uses the Dubins trajectory, while the second one uses a three-fold change of heading (3HC) method (for two types of angles). Apart from maintaining safe separation, we compared them, taking as a criterion the extension of the flight path of aircraft involved in the conflict, as the length of the flight is the primary factor determining flight time/delays and the increase in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. There may be other algorithms depending on the different data that can be identified through further research.

Highlights

Giannopoulos, KonstantinosThe air navigation service provider, mainly air traffic control (ATC) services, is responsible for aircraft operations in controlled airspace
Because of increased traffic demand and modifications in the ATM system and the contribution to the increase in safety, there is a rationale to analyze aircraft conflict detection and resolution methods and their effectiveness
It is evident from the results presented for both methods (when the angle at the starting point of the simulation is 35◦ ) that they are very similar, but a slightly smaller additional distance has to be covered while using the method of conflict resolution based on the Dubins trajectories

Summary

Introduction

The air navigation service provider, mainly air traffic control (ATC) services, is responsible for aircraft operations in controlled airspace. The key roles of ATC are determined by ICAO’s established three goals to prevent aircraft collision, to provide an orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic [1]. Because of increased traffic demand and modifications in the ATM system (which requires a fundamental shift in cognitive processing from the air traffic controllers) and the contribution to the increase in safety, there is a rationale to analyze aircraft conflict detection and resolution methods and their effectiveness. The study was triggered by and aligned with the following performance objectives set by EUROCONTROL and the European Commission: (1) to improve ATM safety whilst accommodating air traffic growth; (2) to increase ATM network efficiency; (3) to strengthen

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