Evaluation of an Integrated Arrival Scheduling and Automated Conflict Detection and Resolution System

Performance of a prototype, ground-based automation system capable of generating fuelefficient, continuous-descent approach trajectories for all arrival aircraft in a given airspace that are also conflict-free and conform to arrival-time metering constraints is evaluated. The prototype system is evaluated using a combination of runway time-in-trail constraints and calibrated airspeed uncertainty magnitudes. This includes a comparison of analysis of two traffic data and airport configuration scenarios (simple and complex). Three metrics are presented: the first is the percentage of cases that meet the time-in-trail constraint to within a 20-second tolerance. Under both scenarios, the performance of the system is degraded when greater airspeed uncertainty is modeled. Also, the system performs better in the simple traffic scenario indicating that traffic mixes and airport configurations might play a role in system performance. The second metric is used to study system safety by determining the minimum scheduling-time buffer necessary to achieve a 60-second minimum time-in-trail interval at the runway. For the simple traffic scenario, a smaller buffer is sufficient as compared to the complex traffic scenario. Also in both traffic scenarios, the higher the airspeed uncertainty, the larger the spacing buffer required to ensure that the minimum spacing requirement is met. The third metric is scheduling precision, which is used for investigating the need for feedback. Results show that during high traffic periods, tighter coupling of the scheduling and resolution generation system may improve performance, but further work is necessary for a definitive answer.