Impacts of Intermediate Cruise-Altitude Advisory for Conflict-Free Continuous-Descent Arrival

摘要

Efficient Descent Advisor (EDA) is a proposed ground-based decision-support tool for Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) sector controllers for managing arrival flows. It calculates the maneuver instructions for an arrival flight to fly a conflict-free (when able), fuel-efficient, continuous-descent trajectory and also meet a time-based metering requirement at the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) boundary. Currently, speed variations and path-stretch maneuvers are the only degrees of freedom used by EDA to find a solution. This study examined the feasibility of altitude change as an additional degree of freedom. Results of the human-in-the-loop simulation experiment showed that the altitude-advisory capability reduced the number of conflicting EDA advisories. It also reduced controller workload when the traffic situation was complex. Results also suggested that changes to EDA's user interface design and inter-sector coordination procedures are required for controllers to accept an altitude-advisory capability.