To advance air traffic control, the merging optimization method has been studied. This method simultaneously optimizes the trajectory and sequence of the arrival aircraft while maintaining a sufficient time separation at the merging point to avoid wake turbulence. In this study, the minimum time separation based on the wake turbulence category is applied to the merging optimization method. The separation standards are stipulated by the wake turbulence category based on the sizes of the leading and following aircraft. Taking into account the wake turbulence category is one of the key techniques for implementing the merging optimization method in practical air traffic control. Numerical simulations are performed to show the validity of the proposed method. The simulation results are compared with those of the merging optimization method with a specified sequence to review the optimality of the proposed method. The simulation results show that the merging optimization method is capable of optimizing the merging trajectories considering the minimum time separation based on the wake turbulence category.
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