Dynamic reconfiguration for en-route airspace

As the air traffic demand is anticipated to be increased significantly in the near future,dynamic and effective allocation of the airspace resource is becoming a world-wide focus in the research field of air traffic management（ATM）.Taking the U.S.targeting the en-route airsapce,a dynamic airspace configuration（DAC） algorithm to reconfigure the airspace in consideration of higher efficiency and safety is presented.First,a modeling technique based on graph theory is proposed to generate a mathematical model for the airspace,and then,the graph model is partitioned into subgraphs for the purpose of sectorizatoin.The final step generates sector configuration with desirable geometry shape.Through analysis on the Cleveland airspace center（ZOB） in the U.S.,the algorithm is proved to be robust to time-varying traffic load.

Research on Operation of UAVs in Non-isolated Airspace

In order to explore the safe operation of UAVs in non-segregated airspace,a collision risk model for cylindrical UAVs based on conflict areas was constructed and the risk of conflict between manned and unmanned aerial vehicles was researched.According to the results of risk analysis,a strategy for solving the conflict of aircraft is proposed,and the risk assessment experiment of unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)in non-isolated airspace conflict is carried out.The results show that under the experimental conditions,large unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with ADS-B,TCAS and other airborne sensing systems will indeed interfere with other aircraft in airspace when they enter non-isolated airspace.Especially when the number of aircraft in airspace is large,the automatic avoidance system of UAV will increase the avoidance time and trigger the safety alarm,but the safety level is still acceptable.This indicates that it is relatively safe for UAVs to enter non-isolated airspace under limited conditions.The results can be used as a reference for the safe operation of unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)in non-isolated airspace.

Beamforming of Whole Airspace Phased Array TT&C System Based on Linear Subarrays

The whole airspace phased array telemetry,track and command(TT&C)system is regarded as the development tendency of next generation TT&C system,and the distribution of the antenna units and the beamforming technology have sparked wide interest in this field.A method for antenna distribution is proposed based on the linear subarrays technology.A symmetrical truncated cone conformal array is composed of the linear subarrays placed on the generatrix.The impact of truncated cone bottom radius and elevation angle on beamforming are studied and simulated.Simulation results verify the system design.

Analysis on Potential Conflict Frequency of Intersected Air Routes in Terminal Airspace Design

In order to obtain accurate conflict risks in terminal airspace design,the concept and calculation model of potential conflict frequency for intersected routes are proposed.Conflict frequency is represented by the product of horizontal conflict frequency and vertical conflict probability.The horizontal conflict frequency is derived from the probability density distribution of conflicts in a period of time.Based on the recorded radar trajectory data,the concept and model of ROUTE distance are proposed,and the probability density function of aircraft height at a specified ROUTE distance is deduced by kernel density estimation.Furthermore,vertical conflict probability and its horizontal distribution are achieved.Examples of three intersected arrival and departure route design schemes are studied.Compared with scheme 1,the conflict frequency values of the other two improved schemes decrease to53% and 24%,respectively.The results show that the model can quantify potential conflict frequency of intersected routes.

Dynamic airspace sectorization via improved genetic algorithm

This paper deals with dynamic airspace sectorization （DAS） problem by an improved genetic algorithm （iGA）. A graph model is first constructed that represents the airspace static structure. Then the DAS problem is formulated as a graph-partitioning problem to balance the sector workload under the premise of ensuring safety. In the iGA, multiple populations and hybrid coding are applied to determine the optimal sector number and airspace sectorization. The sector constraints are well satisfied by the improved genetic operators and protect zones. This method is validated by being applied to the airspace of North China in terms of three indexes, which are sector balancing index, coordination workload index and sector average flight time index. The improvement is obvious, as the sector balancing index is reduced by 16.5 %, the coordination workload index is reduced by 11.2 %, and the sector average flight time index is increased by 11.4 % during the peak-hour traffic.

Optimization of a Route Network in Dakar Airspace: Surface Navigation

In this paper, the map of a network of air routes was updated by removing the non-optimal routes and replacing them with the best ones. An integer linear programming model was developed. The aim was to find optimal routes in superspace based on performance-based navigation. The optimal routes were found from a DIJKSTRA algorithm that calculates the shortest path in a graph. Simulations with python language on real traffic areas showed the improvements brought by surface navigation. In this work, the conceptual phase and the upper airspace were studied.

Design of Simulation System for Effectiveness Evaluation of Future Airspace Window Shooting

Future Airspace Window Shooting is a newly developed technology, which needs effectiveness evaluation before widely used. Future airspace window shooting technology, simulation system development principles and software chosen to develop the simulation system are introduced in the first. And then the overall design of the system, realization of the system and effectiveness evaluation through simulation are discussed in detail. Through the simulation, it is known that the FAW shooting has more superior performance when facing maneuvering targets.

Chronic airspace disease:Review of the causes and key computed tomography findings

Chronic airspace diseases are commonly encountered by chest,body or general radiologists in everyday practice.Even though there is significant overlap in the imaging findings of different causes of chronic airspace disease,some key clinical,laboratory and imaging findings can be used to guide the radiologist to the correct diagnosis.The goal of this article is to review and compare these features.

An Improved AOMDV Routing Protocol for Airspace Communication Network

The airspace communication network based on spacecraft has a wide range of applications in regional information enhancement and emergency communication. In this paper, a routing algorithm for congestion degree detection of multipath routing (CD_AOMDV) is proposed. The method of combining the whole congestion degree detection and local congestion degree detection before service initiation is adopted. Timely and accurate judgment of the congestion degree reduced the loss rate of the hot nodes, so the average packet loss rate reduced. Simulation results show that compared with the traditional AOMDV protocol, the CD_AOMDV proposed in this paper has reduced the packet loss and improved delay performance, which is more suitable for the airspace communication network.

Performance Evaluation of Terminal Airspace System Safety, Delay and Predictability of Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos, Nigeria

This paper outlines a multi-dimensional user-oriented performance metrics approach in evaluating the operation of the terminal airspace system to aid in the airport and airspace planning and decision making. Safety, delay and predictability metrics contribute to the analytical framework. From the findings, the occurrence of air incidence has a high severity level at departure, and arrival phases of flight, higher likelihood at the radar room and much of the incidences were as a result of faulty equipment and inherent absence of modern airspace infrastructure. Also, in Lagos terminal airspace, the number of incidences has no close correlation with the level of traffic complexity. Total schedule arrival delay ranges from 1 - 392 minutes representing an average of 7.8 - 17.9 minutes per aircraft that arrived Lagos airport at that period. Besides, the total approach contact time ranges from 1 - 57 minutes, translating to 4.6 - 7.1 minutes per aircraft. However, variability in arrival time of 1 - 5 minutes is common from published airline arrival scheduled time. In the same vein, the variability of 1 - 5 minutes is common from approach contact times of aircraft. These figures indicate sound arrival predictability signature for Lagos airport. Also, departure time variability above 30 minutes is familiar from the ATC clearance time for the various routes under study. However, there is about or more 25% variability of more than 15 minutes, and this indicates possible inconsistency of predicting departure times from the times Air Traffic Control (ATC) clearance was acquired. Above all, the predictability of departure times in Lagos airport is weak compared to those of the arrival. Taken by it, this may be a sign of airspace congestion or ATC deficiencies at the Lagos airport. This is an indication of the lack of users’ confidence in Nigeria’s air transport industry to deliver just-in-time service.

Collision risk assessment of reduced aircraft separation minima in procedural airspace using advanced communication and navigation

With the advancement of Communication,Navigation and Surveillance(CNS)technolo-gies such as space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast/Contract(ADS-B/C),large separation minima may be reduced in procedural airspaces.It is of great significance to know the upper limit of the Reduced Separation Minima(RSM)for a procedural airspace and the corre-sponding consequences on collision risk with specifics of the advanced ADS-B and control interven-tion model.In this work,an interactive software is first developed for collision risk estimation.This software integrates the International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO)collision risk models for lateral and longitudinal collision risk calculation for the Singapore procedural airspace.Results demonstrate that the lateral and longitudinal collision risk of Singapore procedural airspace with respect to current control procedures meets the ICAO Target Level of Safety(TLS)standard.Moreover,the feasibility of reducing the horizontal separations implemented in the Singapore pro-cedural airspace with respect to advanced CNS techniques is investigated.It is found that if advanced CNS technologies are applied,then the current 50-NM lateral and longitudinal separa-tion standards can be reduced to 22 NM(1 NM=1.825 km)and 20 NM,respectively,to meet the TLS standards based on current demand.A method is then devised to expand the traffic demand by p for p∈[10%,200%].It is found that the minimum lateral and longitudinal separa-tions can be reduced from 50 NM to be within the range of[23,31]NM,and 20 NM,respectively,for p∈[10%,200%],while the collision risk still meets the TLS standards.

A data-driven approach to modeling high-density terminal areas：A scenario analysis of the new Beijing,China airspace

Airports are being developed and expanded rapidly in China to accommodate and promote a growing aviation market.The future Beijing Daxing International Airport（DAX） will serve as the central airport of the JingJinJi megaregion,knitting the Beijing,Tianjin,and Hebei regions together.DAX will be a busy airport from its inception,relieving congestion and accommodating growth from Beijing Capital International Airport（PEK）,currently the second busiest airport in the world in passengers moved.We aim to model terminal airspace designs and possible conflicts in the future Beijing Multi-Airport System（MAS）.We investigate standard arrival procedures and mathematically model current and future arrival trajectories into PEK and DAX by collecting large quantities of publicly available track data from historical arrivals operating within the Beijing terminal airspace.We find that（1） trajectory models constructed from real data capture aberrations and deviations from standard arrival procedures,validating the need to incorporate data on historical trajectories with standard procedures when evaluating the airspace and（2） given all existing constraints,DAX may be restricted to using north and east arrival flows,constraining the capacity required to handle the increases in air traffic demand to Beijing.The results indicate that the terminal airspace above Beijing,and the future JingJinJi region,requires careful consideration if the full capacity benefits of the two major airports are to be realized.

Dynamic airspace configuration method based on a weighted graph model

This paper proposes a new method for dynamic airspace configuration based on a weighted graph model. The method begins with the construction of an undirected graph for the given airspace, where the vertices represent those key points such as airports, waypoints, and the edges represent those air routes. Those vertices are used as the sites of Voronoi diagram, which divides the airspace into units called as cells. Then, aircraft counts of both each cell and of each air-route are computed. Thus, by assigning both the vertices and the edges with those aircraft counts, a weighted graph model comes into being. Accordingly the airspace configuration problem is described as a weighted graph partitioning problem. Then, the problem is solved by a graph partitioning algorithm, which is a mixture of general weighted graph cuts algorithm, an optimal dynamic load balancing algorithm and a heuristic algorithm. After the cuts algorithm partitions the model into sub-graphs, the load balancing algorithm together with the heuristic algorithm transfers aircraft counts to balance workload among sub-graphs. Lastly, airspace configuration is completed by determining the sector boundaries. The simulation result shows that the designed sectors satisfy not only workload balancing condition, but also the constraints such as convexity, connectivity, as well as minimum distance constraint.

Flight safety measurements of UAVs in congested airspace

Describing spatial safety status is crucial for high-density air traffic involving multiple unmanned aerial vehicles （UAVs） in a complex environment. A probabilistic approach is proposed to measure safety situation in congested airspace. The occupancy distribution of the airspace is represented with conflict probability between spatial positions and UAV. The concept of a safety envelope related to flight performance and response time is presented first instead of the conventional fixed-size protected zones around aircraft. Consequently, the conflict probability is performance-dependent, and effects of various UAVs on safety can be distinguished. The uncertainty of a UAV future position is explicitly accounted for as Brownian motion. An analytic approximate algorithm for the conflict probability is developed to decrease the computational consumption. The relationship between safety and flight performance are discussed for different response times and prediction intervals. To illustrate the applications of the approach, an experiment of three UAVs in formation flight is performed. In addition, an example of trajectory planning is simulated for one UAV flying over airspace where five UAVs exist. The validation of the approach shows its potential in guaranteeing flight safety in highly dynamic environment.

Civil unmanned aircraft system operation in national airspace: A survey from Air Navigation Service Provider perspective

Unmanned Aircraft Systems(UASs) have advanced technologically and surged exponentially over recent years. Currently, due to safety concerns, most civil operations of UAS are conducted in low-level uncontrolled area or in segregated controlled airspace. As the industry progresses, both operational and technological capabilities have matured to the point where UASs are expected to gain greater freedom of access to both controlled and uncontrolled airspace. Extensive technical and regulatory surveys have been conducted to enable the expanded operations. However, most surveys are derived from the perspective of UAS own operating mechanism and barely consider interactions of their non-segregated activities with the Air Traffic Management(ATM) system. Hence, to fill the gap, this paper presents a survey conducted from the perspective of Air Navigation Service Provider(ANSP), which serves to accommodate these new entrants to the overall national airspace while continuing flight safety and efficiency. The primary objectives of this paper are to:(A) describe what typical ANSP-supplied UAS Traffic Management(UTM) architecture is required to facilitate all types of civil UAS operations;(B) identify three major ANSP considerations on how UAS can be accommodated safely in civil airspace;(C) outline future directions and challenges related with UAS operations for the ANSP.

Dynamic airspace configuration by genetic algorithm

With the continuous air traffic growth and limits of resources, there is a need for reducing the congestion of the airspace systems. Nowadays, several projects are launched, aimed at modernizing the global air transportation system and air traffic management. In recent years, special interest has been paid to the solution of the dynamic airspace configuration problem. Airspace sector configurations need to be dynamically adjusted to provide maximum efficiency and flexibility in response to changing weather and traffic conditions. The main objective of this work is to automatically adapt the airspace configurations ac- cording to the evolution of traffic. In order to reach this objective, the airspace is considered to be divided into predefined 3D airspace blocks which have to be grouped or ungrouped depending on the traffic situation. The airspace structure is represented as a graph and each airspace configuration is created using a graph partitioning technique. We optimize airspace configurations using a genetic algorithm. The developed algorithm generates a sequence of sector configurations for one day of operation with the minimized controller workload. The overall methodology is implemented and successfully tested with air traffic data taken for one day and for several different airspace control areas of Europe.

Air route network optimization in fragmented airspace based on cellular automata

Air route network optimization,one of the essential parts of the airspace planning,is an effective way to optimize airspace resources,increase airspace capacity,and alleviate air traffic congestion.However,little has been done on the optimization of air route network in the fragmented airspace caused by prohibited,restricted,and dangerous areas（PRDs）.In this paper,an air route network optimization model is developed with the total operational cost as the objective function while airspace restriction,air route network capacity,and non-straight-line factors（NSLF） are taken as major constraints.A square grid cellular space,Moore neighbors,a fixed boundary,together with a set of rules for solving the route network optimization model are designed based on cellular automata.The empirical traffic of airports with the largest traffic volume in each of the 9 flight information regions in China's Mainland is collected as the origin-destination（OD） airport pair demands.Based on traffic patterns,the model generates 35 air routes which successfully avoids 144 PRDs.Compared with the current air route network structure,the number of nodes decreases by 41.67%,while the total length of flight segments and air routes drop by 32.03% and 5.82% respectively.The NSLF decreases by 5.82% with changes in the total length of the air route network.More importantly,the total operational cost of the whole network decreases by 6.22%.The computational results show the potential benefits of the model and the advantage of the algorithm.Optimization of air route network can significantly reduce operational cost while ensuring operation safety.

Dynamic Air Route Open-Close Problem for Airspace Management

Dynamic airspace management plans and assigns airspace resources to airspace users on demand to increase airspace capacity. Although many studies of air traffic flow management （ATFM） have sought to optimally allocate air traffic to get the best use of given airspace resources, few studies have focused on how to build an efficient air traffic network or how to adjust the current network in real time. This paper presents an integer program model named the dynamic air route open-close problem （DROP）. DROP has a cost-based objective function which takes into account constraints such as the shortest occupancy time of routes, which are not considered in ATFM models. The aim of DROP is to determine which routes will be opened to a certain user during a given time period. Simulation results show that DROP can facilitate utilization of air routes. DROP, a simplified version of an air traffic network constructing problem, is the first step towards realizing dynamic airspace management. The combination of ATFM and DROP can facilitate decisions toward more reasonable, efficient use of limited airspace resources.

停机位分配的多商品网络流模型及离散粒子群算法

本文建立了停机位分配的多商品网络流模型,并以航空器总场面运行时间最小为目标,建立数学模型。将机场场面分为若干区域,建立区域—机位两级分配策略,以降低问题规模。设置机位外等待时间,以省去区域容量相关约束。在传统粒子群算法的基础上,设计离散粒子群算法,对模型进行求解。选取乌鲁木齐机场某日240架航班和109个机位进行实验,证明了与现有研究中的典型模型相比,多商品网络流模型能使运算时间减少10.1%,并能达到与典型模型相同的精度。全空域和机场模型(total airspace and airport modeller,TAAM)仿真结果表明,和现行机位分配方案相比,多商品网络流模型的机位分配结果能使航空器的场面调配运行时间减少7.49%,延误时间减少8.87%。算例结果进一步表明,提高机场场面运行效率的关键在于均衡航班的进离港滑行距离,同时避免停机位密集分布。