Under the auspices of the Action Plan 9 (AP9), Air Traffic Modeling of Operational Concepts, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and EUROCONTROL sponsored a research project to determine the current state of Traffic Flow Management (TFM) simulation in fast-time modeling. The main objectives of this research project included: (1) identification of the major differences in TFM practices between the U.S. and Europe, (2) identification of existing fast-time TFM modeling capabilities, tools and modeling techniques, and (3) determination of any gaps in fast-time modeling capabilities to address current and future TFM operations and concepts, and the sponsoring organizations needs and requirements. This paper summarizes the findings of the above described research effort that pertain to the current state of, and the gaps in, TFM fast time modeling capabilities. The capabilities of the existing fast time TFM tools presented below focus on the current modeling capabilities and the ability to adapt those capabilities to successfully model selected future TFM concepts, such as Multi Sector Planner and Dynamic Sectorization. The presented material is based on discussions and recommendations from a 2005 AP9 Technical Interchange meeting (TIM); literature review of the TFM functions, processes and practices in the U.S. and Europe; and the detailed information obtained via a web based survey about 22 tools used to investigate various aspects of TFM.
Abstract