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Projects at the Institute of Transport Science (selection)

Projects Railway Engineering and Transport Economics
- Information about projects are only available in German.
Projects Air Transport and Airport Research
- Research project "Data-based evaluation of vertiport locations based on legal, operational and weather-related criteria" (VertiLocator) – supported by grants from the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV); cooperation partner: DM-AirTech GmbH (09/2024-12/2025)
  - The development of vertiports (take-off and landing fields for electrically powered small aircrafts with vertical take-off) at suitable urban locations is one of the main challenges for the realisation of Innovative Air Mobility (IAM). To date, Germany lacks a complete overview of the location criteria for vertiports, including weather-related factors, as well as a standardised and comprehensible approach for checking these criteria.
    
    The aim of the project is to create and verify a nationally applicable catalogue of requirements for vertiport locations, which for the first time combines the areas of urban integration, physical characteristics and weather-related availability. The method for verifying the requirement catalogues is based on open data and can be applied throughout Germany. The exemplary application of the method for Hamburg guarantees its functionality and allows an additional evaluation of the results.
    
    The relevant traffic, urban planning and physical criteria and public databases are compiled to determine the location of vertiports. In addition, a specially developed tool is used to check where the local urban weather conditions allow air taxi operations. The entire methodology is applied to Hamburg as an example. Finally, a simulated capacity analysis is used to specifically examine preferred locations.
    
    In addition to the location criteria, data sources for their verification are identified and a nationally applicable procedure is demonstrated using Hamburg as an example. The developed system allows the identification of possible hazardous weather zones. An open web-based interactive map visualises the overlay of all criteria for Hamburg. In addition, specific recommendations for locations are made and evaluated with stakeholders. Design recommendations will be derived from the simulations.
- Project "Environmental Assessment" within the Aviation division of Cologne/Bonn Airport (Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH, 07/2023-08/2024)
- Research project "Development of a demand-oriented network of vertiports using the example of North Rhine-Westphalia – (VertiNet)" – supported by the grants from the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) (01/2023-12/2023)
  - The provision of demand-driven landing infrastructure is currently one of the biggest challenges for the introduction of air taxi services. There is no standardised open database for all landing sites, including relevant characteristics and geo-referencing. As air taxi services are usually only one part of the travel chain, the data needs to be linked with that of other modes of transport. A methodology based on this to determine the demand for vertiports has not yet been developed.
    
    The aim of the project is to create a database including the location of rail, road and air transport infrastructures in North Rhein-Westphalia. The database of landing sites will contain all eVTOL relevant information for air taxi services. The subsequent application of this database in the form of a needs analysis will provide an overview of existing and potentially required landing infrastructures for eVTOLs. Finally, the transferability of the methodology to a national level is demonstrated.
    
    To create the database, the first step is to research and prepare the necessary open data sources. The determination of the demand for air taxi locations based on socio-demographic and traffic data and the comparison with existing landing infrastructures form the core of the work and verify the applicability of the previously created database. Finally, recommendations for action will be formulated based on the exchange activities.
    
    The publication of the database of existing infrastructures provides an important basis for further research in this context and for the strategic use of the new means of transport. Exchanges with relevant federal and state authorities and discussions at conferences will broaden the scope of the project. In addition, the identified demand for air taxi locations provides a basis for the next steps in the introduction of this new mode of transport.
- Research project "Availability of regional air transport systems in difficult weather conditions in dependence of the used aircraft and the airfield infrastructure (VENTUS)" - supported by grants from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; cooperation partner: Institute of Aerospace Systems (RWTH Aachen), Institute of Air Transportation Systems (Technische Universität Hamburg) (2021-2024)
  - Air-based interregional mobility offers the advantage of short travel times regardless of traffic volume or topological barriers. Technological progress in the field of electric motors, battery and propulsion systems allows the development of small aircraft ("air taxis"), which should enable economically viable flight operations in urban and regional areas and, due to low noise and pollutant emissions, meet with high acceptance among the population.
    
    However, previous research projects were primarily based on the technical design for the purpose of optimizing such air taxi concepts and largely disregarded the evaluation of flight operational conditions. However, for the design and operation of a robust air taxi network, consideration of ideal flight operational conditions is not sufficient. Rather, factors that have a significant influence on the actual, subsequent availability of safe and punctual passenger transport must also be included in the planning. Only through a realistic simulation of exogenous circumstances can the success rate and profitability of the new transport concept be reliably determined.
    
    This is where the VENTUS research project commences the research, which focuses on the systematic analysis of the availability of an air taxi transport system as a result of adverse weather and atmospheric conditions. For selected airfields, flight routes and trajectories and realistic flight conditions are determined, taking into account strong winds, gusts, fog and ice formation, and thus the guarantee of safe flight guidance is simulatively assessed. The innovation of this project lies in the combination of meteorological, technological, infrastructural and flight operational factors, all of which highlight operational requirements and any measures necessary. The research project objectives therefore lie mainly in a potential and impact assessment by enabling a meaningful analysis of the transport system even under difficult operational conditions.
- Research project "Optimization of approach procedures for noise abatement at the Cologne/Bonn Airport with the DLR Pilot Assistance System LNAS (LNAS)" - supported by grants from the Ministry for Environment, Agriculture, Conservation and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia; cooperation partner: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Eurowings GmbH, Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH (2020-2022)
  - In recent years, a continuous increase in air traffic volume has been observed in the aviation sector, which is manifested by a growing number of aircraft movements and the use of larger and heavier aircraft. This development causes an increase in emissions, which are generated by air traffic in terms of noise and pollutants. The Low Noise Augmentation System (LNAS) supports the pilot during the approach and provides the possibility to optimize the power curve and the approach trajectory from the noise aspect according to variable framework conditions (aircraft load, wind conditions, etc.).
    
    This joint project ensures that LNAS can be tested over a longer period of time for the A319 aircraft type, which has not been investigated to this point. In this way, the challenges and effects of LNAS can be explored and evaluated in depth. The benefit lies in particular in the increased prospect of success in transferring the developed pilot assistance system to regular flight operations and thus establishing a safe and controlled measure for noise and pollutant reduction in the long term.
    
    The Chair of Airports and Air Traffic has the role of creating and validating a model of noise and pollutant emissions in accordance with the flight tests with the new A319 aircraft type. In this way, the effectiveness of LNAS can be evaluated over a broad surface area and optimal approach procedures can be identified. For this purpose, the chair uses the environmental simulation tools IMPACT and "Aviation Environmental Design Tool" (AEDT).
- Project "Operational Flight Procedures for Noise Reduction at Cologne/Bonn Airport" (2014-2020)
  - Although the growth of the aviation market brings various benefits to many different sectors of the society, there are as well consequences in the environmental domain. The increase in noise levels and emissions around airports is harming both the environment and the communities living in these areas. Consequently, measures to reduce the impact of airport operations on the environment need to be taken. Newer aircraft on the market perform significantly better in this domain, not only are they quieter and emit fewer gases and particles to the environment, but also consume less fuel when compared to older counterparts. However, the fleet modernization is a slow process due to its extreme high costs and it will take several years until the full benefits provided by this newer aircraft are experienced. A measure that can be implemented in a short-term is the optimization of arrival and departure procedures. In this ongoing project, different departure climb profiles are analyzed for the specific characteristics and conditions of Cologne/Bonn Airport, and the trade-offs between noise, emissions and fuel consumption are evaluated. The Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT) developed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is used to simulate both real scenarios with measurement data and possible future scenarios, and estimate the benefits and disadvantages of different climb profiles for each combination of aircraft type and engine.
    
    Noise is a significant problem in the communities around airports, and effective measures are needed to reduce the noise produced by airport operations. The analysis of different noise abatement departure procedures through the use of noise simulation can help airports reduce their noise footprint and impact on the communities around them. At the same time, it is equally important to analyze the trade-offs between noise, emissions and fuel consumption, so that decision-making can be done considering all the impacts of aviation to communities and the environment.
- Research project "URAF - Urban and Regional Air Freight"; supported by grants from the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the European Union; cooperation partner: Institute for Urban Construction and Urban Transport (ISB), Institute for Aerospace Systems (ILR), Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT), Cologne Bonn Airport, Flugplatz Aachen Merzbrück GmbH, e.SAT GmbH (2019-2022)
  - Increasing urbanisation and rising transport services in developed industrial nations are pushing existing transport networks to their limits. There is also a growing demand for the shortest possible delivery of goods for private individuals and companies. The latest developments in the field of small electric aircraft and vertical take-off aircraft enable completely new solutions. Therefore, the URAF project aims at the conception and modelling of a "green" logistics chain based on locally emission-free, electrically operated and low-noise aircraft. The exemplary testing of the aircraft and the necessary infrastructure envisaged in the project starts at an international commercial airport within NRW, leads via a commercial airfield to urban city hubs and ends at the end customer's front door. Using this supply chain as an example, the potential of a locally emission-free, electric air freight of the future is to be quantified and thus made available to stakeholders from private industry. The aim is to develop realistic and sustainable modular implementation strategies in order to position NRW in the best possible way for future extended "green" air logistics. Within the scope of the project, the VIA will establish requirements for take-off and landing sites and design logistics concepts for the urban landing site and the city hub. The capacity of the airfields in terms of aircraft as well as the amount of goods handled will be quantified in simulations. Furthermore, legal framework conditions will be examined and emissions of the "air freight of the future" in the form of noise and pollutants will be investigated.
- Research Project "FKBFTI"; funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure; cooperation partners: Cologne/Bonn Airport (2019-2020)
  - The Cologne/Bonn Airport Air Taxi Infrastructure (FKBFTI) project ran in 2019 in cooperation with Cologne/Bonn Airport and received funding from the BMVI as part of the mFUND research initiative. The aim of the project was to define the infrastructural requirements and flight operational regulations for an air taxi service at Cologne/Bonn Airport. The results were assembled in a feasibility study.
    
    Within the scope of the project, the VIA examined legal framework conditions with regard to relevant requirements for a future take-off and landing infrastructure. These requirements were used to evaluate possible locations at Cologne/Bonn Airport. Subsequently, the conceptual design of a possible take-off and landing infrastructure for an exemplary, suitable location was carried out. The concepts and considerations developed within the project were finally merged into a simulation model in order to be able to simulate the capacitive framework conditions of a future air taxi service for the first time.
- Research project "IndiLuV - Concept development and evaluation for automated individual air traffic between urban agglomerations"; funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); cooperation partners: Chair of Information Management in Mechanical Engineering (IMA), Institute of Flight System Dynamics (FSD), Institute of Aerospace Systems (ILR) (2017-2018)
  - Within the BMBF project IndiLuV, the development of a sustainable overall concept for an automated, individual and demand-oriented passenger transport between urban agglomerations was investigated. The focus was on the socio-technical implementation of automated, electrically powered small aircraft for individual passenger transport. Essential aspects are the technical design of means of transport and infrastructure as well as the acceptance and trust towards such transport concepts among the general population. The project therefore investigated user requirements, possible effects and scenarios for automated and individual air transport solutions within the framework of a socio-technical innovation analysis. The project came to the conclusion that autonomous passenger aviation has the potential to relieve ground-based transport infrastructure and significantly shorten travel times between metropolitan areas. At the same time, challenges such as user integration and integration into the existing transport network still exist. A detailed airside and landside simulation of aircraft and passenger movements is the next step for a specific dimensioning of the ground infrastructure in the context of possible follow-up projects.
- Research project "Competitive Airport" (2007-2010), financed by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. Partners: Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (German ANSP), Deutsche Lufthansa AG, German Aerospace Center, Fraport AG et al.
- Research project "ASSET" (since 2008) - "Aeronautic Study on Seamless Transport", financed by the EU's Seventh Framework Programme. Partners: German Aerospace Center (Project Coordinator), Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics of RWTH Aachen University, Airbus S.A.S., Sagem Sécurité, Siemens AG et al.
- Research project "TITAN" (since 2009) - "Turnaround Integration in Trajectoy and Network", financed by the EU's Seventh Framework Programme. Partners: AENA, Jeppesen, Ineco, Isdefe, Boeing Espana, Slot Consulting et al.
- Consulting activity "ATMAP" (since 2007) - "ATM Airport Performance" by order of the Performance Review Unit of EUROCONTROL.
- Projects within the framework the Excellence Initiative (ERS -Exploratory Research Space):
  - VATSS - Virtual Air Traffic System Simulation (since 2009))
  - ATVLCA - Air Transport Vehicle Life Cycle Analysis (since 2009)

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