Research fields
- Flight Operations
- Rotorcraft
- Knowledge Based Engineering

Optimization of Flight Operations

Detailed Description

A particular emphasis in our research is on the development of Management Information Systems and Decision Support Systems, in which we use methods from the domains of Optimal Control Theory, Operations Research and Artificial Intelligence, to arrive at the best possible decisions in planning and control.The overall research focus includes:

Air Traffic Management

Today's Air Traffic Management systems are at times unable to handle the demand. The busiest airports are already saturated and there are political and environmental difficulties associated with any further airport expansion. In view of the anticipated growth in air traffic demand, there is a clear need for economically beneficial capacity improvements in an environmentally responsible manner. The required capacity growth cannot be achieved by relying on existing technology and procedures. To provide solutions for the air traffic capacity bottlenecks, our research focuses on the development of new integrated air-ground traffic management concepts.
Flight path optimization and flight guidance systems

DAR develops numerical methods for synthesizing optimal flight paths for aircraft and helicopters. Flight path optimization essentially boils down to finding the best trajectory, in some sense, for the motion of a vehicle in the three-dimensional space. In addition to the off-line calculation of optimal trajectories, research is also focused on the development of real-time flight guidance systems. Guidance relates to the on-board execution of planned trajectories. Applications are pursued in both civil and military aviation.

Airport and Airline Planning, Management and Operations

DAR explores a variety of models and optimization techniques for the solution of airport and airline scheduling and planning problems. Research efforts are primarily directed towards the application of quantitative operations research and artificial intelligence techniques to achieve the best possible use of scarce resources such as runways, gates, baggage handling systems and terminal facilities. Applications in airline planning optimization include, flight schedule design, fleet assignment, aircraft routing, maintenance manpower planning and flight crew scheduling.

Environmental impact of flight operations

DAR is engaged in research into integrated modeling and analysis tools to assess noise impacts associated with current and planned aircraft routings to and from airports. The overall research program comprises a range of projects, ranging from detailed projects focused on operational issues related to a specific noise abatement procedure, to broad projects on strategic issues related to the sustainability of the entire air transport system.