Algorithme d'optimisation du profil vertical pour un segment de vol en croisière avec une contrainte d'heure d'arrivée requise

Abstract

This thesis presents the development of an algorithm that determines the optimal vertical navigation (VNAV) profile for an aircraft flying a cruise segment, along a given lateral navigation (LNAV) profile, with a required time of arrival (RTA) constraint. The algorithm is intended for implementation into a Flight Management System (FMS) as a new feature that gives advisory information regarding the optimal VNAV profile. The optimization objective is to minimize the total cost associated with flying the cruise segment while arriving at the end of the segment within an imposed time window. For the vertical navigation profiles yielding a time of arrival within the imposed limits, the degree of fulfillment of the RTA constraint is quantified by a cost proportional with the absolute value of the difference between the actual time of arrival and the RTA. The VNAV profiles evaluated in this thesis are characterized by identical altitudes at the beginning and at the end of the profile, they have no more than one step altitude and are flown at constant speed. The acceleration and deceleration segments are not taken into account. The altitude and speed ranges to be used for the VNAV profiles are specified as input parameters for the algorithm. The algorithm described in this thesis is developed in MATLAB. At each altitude, in the range of altitudes considered for the VNAV profiles, a binary search is performed in order to identify the speed interval that yields a time of arrival compatible with the RTA constraint and the profile that produces a minimum total cost is retained. The performance parameters that determine the total cost for flying a particular VNAV profile, the fuel burn and the flight time, are calculated based on the aircraft's specific performance data and configuration, climb/descent profile, the altitude at the beginning of the VNAV profile, the VNAV and LNAV profiles and the atmospheric conditions. These calculations were validated using data generated by a FMS platform produced by CMC Electronics - Esterline for an Airbus A310 aircraft model. The performance of the algorithm was evaluated using two aircraft models, Airbus A310 and Sukhoi RRJ, three LNAV profiles and three wind profiles.

Date	26 Aug 2013
Original language	French
Awarding Institution	École de technologie supérieure
Supervisor	Ruxandra Botez (Supervisor)