Trajectory Design Method for Less Noise and Fuel Consumption from Aircraft Operations

National audienceAircraft noise and air pollution are considered to be one of the most significant environmental concerns on the local community of modern cities, affecting people living in particular near airports during landings and takeoffs. This study aims to analyze benefits due to optimization of flight parameters in order to reduce noise impact and fuel consumption during takeoffs and landings. The three-dimensional motion of a commercial aircraft over a few minutes time span is described by a dynamic system. A thermodynamic analysis for a turbofan engine is carried out to obtain the state parameters which are useful to express the jet noise and the fuel consumption functions. The obtained model is an optimal control problem (OCP) including a consumption function, an overall sound pressure level, a dynamic system and flight related constraints. A pseudospectral method is suggested and implemented to solve this OCP problem. Results are presented and discussed