Graph-Search Descent and Approach Trajectory Optimization Based on Enhanced Aircraft Energy Management

Overview & Synopsis

Air Traffic growth requires a modernization of current Air Transportation System in order to cope with the increasing demand, and thereby its impact on the environment poses aviation development at risk. Under this context, trajectory optimization projects constitute a relevant mean to reduce fuel consumption and decrease the likelihood of go-around events as a result of a non-stabilized approach. The generation of a continuous optimal trajectory would provide flight crews with an useful tool to manage aircraft flight path or directly automate the trajectory management. This papers proposes a novel methodology based on a tailored version of A* algorithm that generates upstream optimal trajectories with the certainty of terminating at current aircraft position, and solves energy errors during the approach phase through flap and airbrakes adjustments. Three use cases are presented: two concerning the calculation of the vertical profile for a complete arrival procedure and one regarding the computation of a trajectory that dissipates the excess of energy of an aircraft located close to the runway threshold. On one hand, results show fuel savings of 6% and 12% for the analyzed case studies accompanied by a reduction of 3% descent time, which are obtained due to enhanced energy management; on the other hand, during high-energy situations the function design prioritizes safety instead of fuel optimization, and proposes a flight strategy to stabilize the aircraft energy-state before landing.