Comercial aircraft trajectory planning based on multiphase mixed-integer optimal control.

Abstract

This book presents optimal control techniques for aircraft trajectory planning looking at reduction of fuel consumption, emissions, and overfly charges in flights plans. The flight planning problem can be regarded as a trajectory optimization problem. The most natural way to adress a trajectory optimization problem is using optimal control techniques. The multiphase nature of the problem, the non-linear dynamics of the aircraft, and the introduction of integer variables to model decision-making processes lead to the formulation of a multiphase mixed-integer optimal control problem. It is shown that the flight planning problem can be effectively tackled using mixed-integer optimal control, considering multiple phases and including decisión-making processes. Results show that the efficiency of current flights plans could be sustantially improved and that the techniques herein studied have a strong potentiality to be employed in the definition of more efficient flight plans undr future operational concepts in air traffic management.