Climate Impact Mitigation Potential of Formation Flight

Aerospace, vol. 8, pp. 14

Abstract

The aerodynamic formation flight, which is also known as aircraft wake-surfing for efficiency (AWSE), enables aircraft to harvest the energy inherent in another aircraft’s wake vortex. As the thrust of the trailing aircraft can be reduced during cruise flight, the resulting benefit can be traded for longer flight time, larger range, less fuel consumption, or cost savings accordingly. Furthermore, as the amount and location of the emissions caused by the formation are subject to change and saturation effects in the cumulated wake of the formation can occur, AWSE can favorably affect the climate impact of the corresponding flights. In order to quantify these effects, we present an interdisciplinary approach combining the fields of aerodynamics, aircraft operations and atmospheric physics. The approach comprises an integrated model chain to assess the climate impact for a given air traffic scenario based on flight plan data, aerodynamic interactions between the formation members, detailed trajectory calculations as well as on an adapted climate model accounting for the saturation effects resulting from the proximity of the emissions of the formation members. Based on this approach, we derived representative AWSE scenarios for the world’s major airports by analyzing and assessing flight plans. The resulting formations were recalculated by a trajectory calculation tool and emission inventories for the scenarios were created. Based on these inventories, we quantitatively estimated the climate impact using the average temperature response (ATR) as climate metric, calculated as an average global near surface temperature change over a time horizon of 50 years. It is shown, that AWSE as a new operational procedure has a significant mitigation potential on climate impact. For a global formation flight scenario, we estimated the average relative change of climate response to range between 22% and 24% while the relative fuel saving effects sum up to 5–6%.

Authors 11

1. Tobias Marks corresponding

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)

   Affiliation as printed

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Lufttransportsysteme, 21079 Hamburg, Germany

2. Katrin Dahlmann

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)

   Affiliation as printed

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

3. Volker Grewe

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) · Delft University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

   Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2629 Delft, The Netherlands

4. Volker Gollnick

   Hamburg University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Air Transportation Systems, Hamburg Technical University, 21079 Hamburg, Germany

5. Florian Linke

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)

   Affiliation as printed

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Lufttransportsysteme, 21079 Hamburg, Germany

6. Sigrun Matthes

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)

   Affiliation as printed

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

7. Eike Stumpf Aachen Institute of Aerospace Systems

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Aerospace Systems, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany

8. Majed Swaid

   Hamburg University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Air Transportation Systems, Hamburg Technical University, 21079 Hamburg, Germany

9. Simon Unterstraßer

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)

   Affiliation as printed

   Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

10. Hiroshi Yamashita

    Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)

    Affiliation as printed

    Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

11. Clemens Zumegen Aachen Institute of Aerospace Systems

    RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Aerospace Systems, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany