Automated Conflict Resolution – a Simulation-based Sensitivity Study of Airspace and Demand

The performance of an automated conflict resolution algorithm was investigated in terms of its sensitivity to specific airspace regions and increased traffic demand. The algorithm is envisioned as part of an automated separation assurance function in a future air traffic control system. It was tested in a non-real-time simulation of current-day and heavily increased demand scenarios, based on 24-hour data recordings from the Cleveland, Fort Worth and New York Air Route Traffic Control Centers. This traffic included the complete spectrum of aircraft types, flight phases and conflict geometries. The algorithm computes a fourdimensional conflict-resolution trajectory between two and twenty minutes prior to the projected loss of separation. The resolution trajectory begins at an aircraft’s current position and ends at a downstream point along its original flight path, while maneuvering clear of the detected conflict and causing no new conflicts. The results support two findings: (1) for traffic demand levels up to three times that of 2007, the algorithm was able to resolve all of the detected conflicts in all of the selected airspace regions; (2) the characteristics of the airspace and the traffic demand significantly influenced the operational efficiency of the resolution trajectories.