Early Careers Network

1. Airport modelling:
challenges and solutions
Erica Powell
erica.powell@arup.com
Environmental Consultant - Arup

2. 2
• Background
• Challenges
• Solutions
• Summary
Structure

3. Background

4. 4
• Aviation 2050 – The future of UK aviation (a consultation)
- “Demand for aviation has grown significantly since 2010.
Passenger numbers have increased by 35%” (report published in 2018)
- Highlights the need for sustainable growth through improving monitoring, international action on fuel
standards and surface access improvements
• Clean Air Strategy
- “The biggest domestic impact of aircraft is during take-off and landing
(1% of total NOx and SO2 national emissions)”
- Airports “generate significant land journeys by passengers, workers and freight transport”
- Intends to make the vision for Aviation 2050 a reality
Policy and legislation (1)
Department for Transport (2018) Aviation 2050 – The future of UK aviation
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (2019) Clean Air Strategy 2019

5. 5
• Aviation Policy Framework
- Describes the government’s commitment to achieve compliance with EU air quality standards
- “Seeks improved international standards to reduce emissions from aircraft and vehicles”
- Identifies road transport as the main source of pollution around airports
• National Planning Policy Framework
- “Planning policies and decisions should sustain and contribute towards compliance with relevant limit
values or national objectives for pollutants.”
Policy and legislation (2)
Department for Communities and Local Government (2018) National Planning Policy Framework
Department for Transport (2013) Aviation Policy Framework

6. Challenges

7. 7
• Multiple stakeholders
• Multiple sources
• Quality and quantity of incoming data
• Agreeing methodology of assessment
• Calculating aircraft emissions
• Modelling aircraft in ADMS-Airport
• Wind and time-varying emissions in ADMS-Airport
Challenges

8. 8
• Local authorities
• Airport – various internal teams
• Natural England (if near ecological site)
• Public consultations
Lots of them – similar to any other large infrastructure project
Multiple stakeholders

9. 9
Multiple sources
Source: http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/

10. 10
• Aircraft engines during Landing Take-Off (LTO) cycle
• Helicopters
• Auxiliary Power Units (APUs)
• Engine testing
Aircraft
Source: Arup Source: Arup Source:
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/q
uestion/electronics/q0219.shtml

11. 11
• Ground Power Units (GPUs)
• Ground Support Equipment (GSE)
• Fixed Electrical Ground Power (FEGP)
Aircraft support
Source:
https://www.aviationpros.com/product/100
25977/tld-air-start-and-ground-power-units
Source: http://www.translinkuae.com/service-
item/airport-ground-support-equipment-solutions/
Source: https://www.airport-
suppliers.com/supplier/powervamp-ltd/

12. 12
• Fire Training Ground (FTG)
• Energy plant
• Generators
Combustion
Source:
http://www.delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/doit_
fire/FIRE/
Source:
http://www.cee.paulwurth.com/en/References/
Water-Energy/Airport-Energy-Center

13. 13
• Roads
• Car parks
Road network
Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/thirteen-
million-brits-to-hit-the-roads-for-christmas-getaway-
a3720706.html
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/life-
style/cars/700455/Luton-Airport-car-park-rip-
off-expensive-short-term

14. 14
• Potential risk - too much or not enough data
• What assumptions will you need to make and how will you justify them?
• Communicate and agree decisions with the client
• Quality of data correlates to accuracy and complexity of model
Quality and quantity of incoming data

15. 15
• What sources do you have?
• Decide where and how to model each source
Agreeing methodology of assessment
Source: ADMS-Airport user guide

16. 16
Where to model each source?
Source: http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/

17. 17
• Learn about types of engines and where to find emission indices
Calculating aircraft emissions (1)
Jets
International Civil Aircraft
Organisation (ICAO) aircraft
emissions databank
Turboprops
Emissions calculated from
Swedish Defence Research
Agency (FOI)
Turboprop emissions database
Pistons
Swiss Federal Office of Civil
Aviation (FOCA) piston-
powered aircraft emissions
database
Source: ADMS-Airport user guide

18. 18
• Information needed from client:
- Detailed annual aircraft movements (ATMs) for a calendar year including: aircraft type, time and date
for arrival and departure, stand location and departure direction
• Additional research needed to calculate emissions:
- The number and type of engines for each aircraft type
- Fuel for aircraft-engine combinations
- Emission indices for aircraft-engine combinations for different aircraft modes (thrust settings)
Calculating aircraft emissions (2)

19. 19
• Decide complexity
- Volume sources
- .air files
.air file source consists of a series of
continuous horizontal jet source, which
represent the aircraft engine exhaust
conditions
Modelling aircraft in ADMS-Airport (1)
Source: ADMS-Airport user guide
Source: ADMS-Airport user guide

20. 20
• Research exit velocity, exit temperature and spatial data of engines
• Learn how to create .air file (if needed). The .air file has two parts, explained in the ADMS-Airport user guide
Modelling aircraft in ADMS-Airport (2)
Source: ADMS-Airport user guide

21. 21
• Decide complexity
• What data do you need?
• What assumptions do you need to make?
Note:
• Take-off direction is predominantly
controlled by wind direction
• Hence, wind direction can have large
influence on pollutant concentrations at
ground level
Wind and time-varying emissions in ADMS-Airport
Source: ADMS-Airport user guide

22. Solutions

23. 23
• Multiple stakeholders
Communicate frequently to stakeholder and make sure reports are easy to understand for a non-technical
audience
• Multiple sources
Agree with the client what is being modelled during early stages and identify what will have largest impact on
emissions
• Quality and quantity of incoming data
Make clear data requests to the client; agree modelling assumptions with the client and have sufficient
contingency included in budget
Solutions (1)

24. 24
• Agreeing methodology of assessment
Decide complexity of modelling based on incoming data
• Calculating aircraft emissions
Track sources of information and save useful resources for future projects
• Modelling aircraft in ADMS-Airport
Follow the user guide or contact CERC for ADMS questions
• Wind and time-varying emissions in ADMS-Airport
Follow the user guide or contact CERC for ADMS questions
Solutions (2)

25. Summary

26. 26
• Demand for aviation is growing
• To assess the impact you need to accurately predict changes in pollutant concentrations
• Challenges and uncertainty are inevitable in airport modelling
• To increase accuracy it is important to communicate and make decisions with the client
• Ensure the methodology and assumptions reflect the data available
Summary