Constraint Identification in On-Demand Mobility for Aviation through an Exploratory Case Study of Los Angeles

Hansman, R. John; Vascik, Parker D.

doi:10.2514/6.2017-3083

Cited by 37 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…There are also significant operational challenges that must be overcome for not just electric propulsion, but ODM in general. These include airspace integration, air traffic interaction, ground infrastructure, community acceptance of noise, and regulations [6]. Developing solutions for the operational challenges continues to be an active topic of research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large-scale multidisciplinary optimization of an electric aircraft for on-demand mobility

Hwang

Ning

2018

2018 AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference

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Distributed electric propulsion is a key enabling technology for on-demand electric aircraft concepts. NASA's X-57 Maxwell X-plane is a demonstrator for this technology, and it features a row of high-lift propellers distributed along the leading edge of its wing to enable better aerodynamic efficiency at cruise and improved ride quality in addition to less noise and emissions. This study applies adjointbased multidisciplinary design optimization to this highly coupled design problem. The propulsion, aerodynamics, and structures are modeled using blade element momentum theory, the vortex lattice method, and finite element analysis, respectively, and the full mission profile is discretized and analyzed. The design variables in the optimization problem include the altitude profile, the velocity profile, battery weight, propeller diameters, propeller rotational speeds, blade profile parameters, wing thickness distribution, and angle of attack. Optimizations take on the order of 10 hours, and a 12% increase in range is observed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large-scale multidisciplinary optimization of an electric aircraft for on-demand mobility

Hwang

Ning

2018

2018 AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference

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“…Previous analysis presented by Ref. [5] proposed that the severity of each constraint, defined to be the degree to which the constraint hindered UAM operations, increased with the number of UAM operations projected to occur in a geographic area (i.e. the scale of the system).…”

Section: Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling Constraints for Urban Air Mobility Operations: Air Traffic Control, Ground Infrastructure, and Noise

Vascik

Hansman

2018

2018 Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference

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The scalability of the current air traffic control system, the availability of aviation ground infrastructure, and the acceptability of aircraft noise to local communities have been identified as three key operational constraints that may limit the implementation or growth of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) systems. This paper identifies the primary mechanisms through which each constraint emerges to limit the number of UAM operations in an area (i.e. the scale of the service). Technical, ecosystem, or operational factors that influence each of the mechanisms are also identified. Interdependencies between the constraints are shown. Potential approaches to reduce constraint severity through adjustments to the mechanisms are introduced. Finally, an effort is made to characterize the severity of each operational constraint as a function of the density of UAM operations in a region of interest. To this end, a measure of severity is proposed for each constraint. This measure is used to notionally display how the severity of the constraint responds to UAM scaling, and to identify scenarios where efforts to relieve the constraint are most effective. The overall purpose of this paper is to provide an abstraction of the workings of the key UAM operational constraints so that researchers, developers, and practitioners may guide their efforts to mitigation pathways that are most likely to increase achievable UAM system scale. U 2 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics perceive to degrade their quality of life and enjoyment of their property. Local governments may use zoning or building codes to limit or prohibit aviation infrastructure development or operations. Finally, congressional representatives may compel the FAA to change ATC procedures to reduce noise, as was the case in the Los Angeles Residential Helicopter Noise Relief Act of 2013 [4]. While community acceptance of UAM activities may be influenced by numerous factors including privacy, viewshed, pollution, safety, and equity, aircraft noise has dominated recent public discourse and action and represents a key constraint for UAM operations. However, the successful implementation of helicopter-based UAM operations in São Paulo, as well as the large private and charter helicopter operations in Moscow and Mumbai, indicate that local values and expectations significantly influence the actual severity of this constraint. U.S. and European communities may exhibit increased sensitivity to aircraft noise compared to other potential UAM markets.These three operating constraints are of keen interest to researchers, potential operators, and transportation planners as they dictate if a UAM system may serve a few hundred customers per day or tens of thousands of customers per day. The contribution of this research is significant because it will support the estimation of achievable UAM system scale based upon local factors and the ecosystem of the city in which it is implemented. Furthermore, this work may support the evaluation of how potential design and operating decisi...

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“…In [3] the UAM concept is described in terms of certification needs, infrastructure, traffic management, operational challenges. [4] researches the nature of these challenges and quantifies their impact by performing a case study on Los Angeles, USA. The development of tools and analysis to support this investigation of near-to far-term evolution of UAM has been described in [5] by a study on the San Fransisco Bay Area, USA.…”

Section: Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The development of tools and analysis to support this investigation of near-to far-term evolution of UAM has been described in [5] by a study on the San Fransisco Bay Area, USA. Both [4], [5] simulate the passenger flight demand to perform their feasibility studies. A system-level model on the number of vehicles needed in the system to meet demand, the number of vehicles airborne at any given time, and the length of time vehicles may have to loiter before a landing pad has been developed in [6].…”

Section: Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

eVTOL Arrival Sequencing and Scheduling for On-Demand Urban Air Mobility

Kleinbekman

Mitici

Wei

2018

2018 IEEE/AIAA 37th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC)

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Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has the ability to reduce ground traffic congestion by enabling rapid on-demand flight through three-dimensional airspace with zero operational emissions by using electric Vertical TakeOff and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles. In the long term with more UAM flights, air traffic control is expected to limit further growth of such operations. Therefore, a first research has been performed on energy-efficient trajectory optimisation for a given required time of arrival, as the arrival phase is the most safety-critical flight phase with much higher air traffic density and limited battery energy. However, research on the computation of the optimal required time of arrival (RTA) for eVTOL aircraft has not yet been performed. Unlike fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters in commercial aviation, eVTOL aircraft have different flight dynamics, limited battery energy supply and a limited number of landing spots at a vertiport such as the top of high-rise buildings. This work is the first to utilise a mixed-integer linear program that computes the optimal RTAs for eVTOLs to safely separate them for minimum delay based on remaining battery state of charge and vertiport capacity. A concept of operations for vertiport terminal area airspace design is also proposed while making use of the existing energy-efficient trajectory optimisation tool. The research serves as a basis for further development of safe and efficient UAM operations. The mathematical model can also be applied to Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) by inserting new separation requirements and flight dynamics for smaller drones when optimising a high density arrival terminal airspace.

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Constraint Identification in On-Demand Mobility for Aviation through an Exploratory Case Study of Los Angeles

Cited by 37 publications

References 11 publications

Large-scale multidisciplinary optimization of an electric aircraft for on-demand mobility

Large-scale multidisciplinary optimization of an electric aircraft for on-demand mobility

Scaling Constraints for Urban Air Mobility Operations: Air Traffic Control, Ground Infrastructure, and Noise

eVTOL Arrival Sequencing and Scheduling for On-Demand Urban Air Mobility

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