A novel framework to assess the wake vortex hazards risk supported by aircraft in en-route operations

Abstract

This paper presents the simulation environment developed within the framework of R-WAKE project, funded by SESAR 2020 Exploratory Research. This project aims to investigate the risks and hazards of potential wake vortex encounters in the en-route airspace, under current and futuristic operational scenarios, in order to support new separation standards aimed at increasing airspace capacity. The R-WAKE simulation environment integrates different components developed by different partners of the R-WAKE consortium, including simulators for weather, traffic, wake vortex phenomena, wake vortex interactions and different tools and methodologies for safety and risk assessment. A preliminary example is presented in this paper, in which 200 historical trajectories were simulated to show that the novel framework works properly. A WVE encounter has been detected in such first scenario, however with no significant safety effect on the follower aircraft. A second controlled scenario has been then run to force the detection of a severe wake encounter under realistic en-route conditions. Such scenario has given evidences that confirm the safety relevance of the underlying research concept.