Turbulence Impact Module for ATM Planning and Research

Every day, turbulence has an adverse effect on aircraft operations and capacity of the NAS, costing the airline industry at least $100 million annually in delays, operational inefficiencies, and injuries. There is a need to research and develop traffic flow and ATM methods that mitigate the turbulence impact to NAS operations, but turbulence is poorly represented in current airspace simulation and planning tools. AeroTech proposes to improve these tools and therefore airspace operations by developing and integrating an ATM Turbulence Impact Module (ATM-TIM) into FACET and/or ACES. The module will enable researchers and planners to identify and assess the impact of actual turbulence in the NAS and examine performance capability of new ATM methods with turbulence present. A key enhancement will be the incorporation of a turbulence dimension into the ATM Weather Impact Model that enables the modeling of the impact of convective and clear air turbulence. Phase I will develop the enhanced ATM weather impact model, investigate the integration of ATM-TIM components into the simulation tools, and perform a proof of concept study. By Phase III, the integrated ATM-TIM will improve planners understanding of turbulence's impact on ATM and assist in evaluating new TFM ideas in a turbulent NAS.