IMPROVING ATM CAPACITY WITH "DUAL AIRSPACE": A PROOF OF - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

IMPROVING ATM CAPACITY WITH "DUAL AIRSPACE": A PROOF OF CONCEPT STUDY FOR ASSESSING CONTROLLERS' ACCEPTABILITY

EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre Innovative Research

Jean-Yves GRAU - SynRjy Didier DOHY - NeoSys Laurent GUICHARD – EUROCONTROL Sandrine GUIBERT - EUROCONTROL

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006
• European organization for the safety of Air Navigation:

European organization for the safety of Air Navigation:

Development of a seamless, pan Development of a seamless, pan-

• European ATM system

European ATM system in

• rder to cope with the forecast growth in air traffic, while

maintaining a high level of safety, reducing costs, and respecting the environment

• 36 member states

36 member states

• Headquarters at Brussels (Belgium)

Headquarters at Brussels (Belgium)

• Experimental Centre at

Experimental Centre at Brétigny/Orge Brétigny/Orge (France): (France):

• Carry out research and development to improve ATM in Europe

Carry out research and development to improve ATM in Europe

• Test and validate new concepts through simulation facilities

Test and validate new concepts through simulation facilities

EUROCONTROL

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Dual Airspace Concept: WHY?

In high traffic density areas, the traffic control is limited by the ability of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCos) to simultaneously manage a number of aircrafts'. The way to cope with the traffic growth is to reduce the size of sectors of control. This way is now reaching its limits :

ATCo's workload has been increased by numerous intersector co-ordinations Control actions are constrained by the decreasing over-flight time over a

sector (from 5 to 10 mn.)

Anticipative aircrafts' management is replaced by reactive one's

• Dual Airspace Concept :

Dual Airspace Concept :

• Another way for splitting up airspace into control units

Another way for splitting up airspace into control units

• Based on

Based on functional division of the traffic and not only on geographical segmentation

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Dual Airspace: HOW?

Why a functional division?

Traffic is non homogenous Main traffic flows

CLIMB CRUISE DESCENT Throughput Regularity Shape Complexity

Airport Variable Airport Steady Variable Steady Diverging Flow Converging High Low High

Volume

Large Small Large

Different working methods

Freedom Efficiency Constraints Capacity

Free Flight Free Route Standard Routes Trunk Tube

Traffic Airspace

Low Density High Density

Capacity and operation modes

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Dual Airspace: HOW?

Dense Traffic Area Dense Traffic Area

In the same area, traffic segregation according to flights attitude and direction Cohabitation and sharing of the same geographical airspace by 2 independent and separate traffic management operation modes

HIGHWAY SECTOR

Each operation mode has its own ATCos

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Dual Airspace: HOW?

Highw ay Highw ay

Long haul flight Cruise and steady traffic Main flows in the core area Satisfying Airlines business objectives

Features :

Easy Trajectories

Challenges :

Capacity Punctuality

Airspace & ATC :

Continental scale Upper airspace Delegation to aircrafts'

Sector Sector

Airport Service, Short haul flight Long haul flight on Low flows Diverging / Converging traffic patterns

Features :

Difficult Trajectories

Challenges :

Separation Sequencing

Airspace & ATC :

Like today, with higher specialization

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

C O S H W R V A A L A P N F M Z M L B I

Examples of possible European Highways

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Managing the Cohabitation of the two systems

Independent operation modes Opacity (no shared responsibility) No Intrusion Minimum impact Transition via Airlocks

Resilience to Disruptions

Dual Airspace: HOW?

Highw ay Sector

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Dual Airspace: Expected Gains

Sector will no longer have to manage any of the aircraft allocated to the highway In the sector, more aircraft can use the flows crossing those allocated to the highway The highway structure allows the possibility for having a much higher-capacity operational system

Highw ay Sector

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Proof of Concept Study

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Proof of Concept Study Objectives

Form and volume of highway are acceptable in the sectors crossed for

• perational and safe traffic management

Impact of the highway on the ATCO's work in the sector (working method, traffic picture, conflict detection and resolution, workload,)

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Highway 1 Highway 2 Vertical Structure

370 330 310 370 330 320

With disruptions due to turbulences

Independent Variables

Westbound flow Eastbound flow

22 NM 22 NM

6 NM 5 NM 3 NM

Lateral structure

The Highway Traffic density: medium and high traffic levels Disruption due to vertical turbulence

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Dependent Variables

Variables relating to ATCos' activities: Workload Situation Awareness ("Picture") Control orders Variables relating to Safety: Loss of separation Highway infringement Variable relating to Performance: Efficiency

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Controller Working Position and Simulation

Radar Strip board

Four controllers: 2 From France 1 from Czech Republic 1 from Slovenia One-hour scenario Reference / H1 / H2 + Turbulences SIMULATION DATA COLLECTED STCA and AIW alarms ATCO's orders Time an distance for crossing the sector Self-assessment (WL – SA) Behaviors – verbalizations Post-run interviews

Proof of concept investigation: No statistical analysis Highlight tendencies

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Results

Reference H1 H2 WL 2.00 2.25 1.75 ATCO Orders 1.32 1.76 1.28 Picture 1.50 1.75 1.50 STCA 0.00 0.25 0.00 AIW 0.00 0.00 0.00 Delta-Time (s)

• 1.50

0.75

• 3.00

Delta-Dist (1/10 NM)

• 2.00

0.00

• 4.50

Traffic load & Scenarios

No difference between reference and Highways (H1 & H2) scenarios

for workload, picture, safety

Reference H1 H2 WL 2.75 3.00 3.00 ATCO Orders 1.29 1.76 1.85 Picture 3.00 3.25 2.75 STCA 0.75 0.50 0.75 AIW 0.00 0.00 0.00 Delta-Time (s)

• 2.75
• 3.75
• 3.50

Delta-Dist (1/10 NM)

• 2.50
• 2.75
• 5.75

Medium traffic load High traffic load

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Results

Normal Turbulences WL 2.25 2.50 ATCO Orders 1.76 2.06 Picture 1.75 1.50 STCA 0.25 0.50 AIW 0.00 0.00 Delta-Time (s) 0.75

• 0.25

Delta-Dist (1/10 NM) 0.00 0.00

Type of highways & Disruptions

Same Workload Same picture No Safety impact

Medium traffic load on H1 Medium traffic load on H2

Normal Turbulences WL 1.75 3.25 ATCO Orders 1.28 2.16 Picture 1.50 3.50 STCA 0.00 1.00 AIW 0.00 0.50 Delta-Time (s)

• 3.00
• 2.50

Delta-Dist (1/10 NM)

• 4.50
• 3.75

370 330 320

Workload increased Low Picture Impact on Safety (STCA and AIW)

370 330 310

• 77th. ASMA Meeting - 2006

Conclusion

1. Dual Airspace concept is acceptable. However, limitation exists in termed of blocked flight levels. 3 is acceptable and not 4. Highway 1 solution is better then Highway 2 (turbulence suitability). 2. Presence of the highway in the sector doesn't change current control methods 3. ATCos disagree with a working method where flight level constraints due to the highway are automatically managed by the Aircrafts 4. Capacity and Safety in the sector are not decrease by the highway presence and meet the hypothesis for increasing traffic capacity through the Dual Airspace concept 5. Results of the proof-of-concept study are promising and have to be go in depth:

• Developping the concept (Airspace, Airlocks,…)
• Assessing it on a full CWP simulation platform