Simulation modeling of refueling of airplanes

Specialists of the Central aero hydrodynamic institute of professor N.E. Zhukovsky (TsAGI) developed a software package of simulation modeling of refueling in flight of the passenger and transport trunk airplanes performing distant transportations. This complex was created to define efficiency of use of additional refueling trunk trunk airplanes in air, says TsAGI.

The efficiency of technology of refueling depends substantially on the organization of functioning of an aerotechnical filling complex. The pacing factors influencing a possibility of process of refueling are: structure of the park of airplanes fuel-servicing trucks (STZ); choice of the location of home airfield of STZ; arrangement of zones of refueling and formation of the scheme of the organization of the movement of aircrafts in these zones.

The simulation model developed in TsAGI allows to create the spatio-temporal sequence of events of process of refueling of trunk airplanes. In this model the temporary restrictions inherent in work of airplanes fuel-servicing trucks and the trunk airplanes arriving to a zone of refueling and also the fuel volumes necessary for additional refueling aircrafts are approved. Efficiency evaluation of use of fuelers is performed using the following indicators: the fuel quantity spent by the STZ park for flight in a zone of refueling and return on home airfield; the fuel quantity spent by the STZ park for waiting of trunk airplanes in a refueling zone; the fuel quantity spent by the trunk airplanes staying in a zone of refueling for waiting; the fuel quantity transferred to STZ to trunk airplanes.

Calculations show that when flying with air refueling economy in the cost of world plane fleet by 2028 due to replacement of expensive distant airliners with cheaper airplanes of average range is estimated at hundreds of billion dollars, emphasized in TsAGI. Decrease in annual volume of a consumption of aviation fuel can be, according to the estimates of institute, tens of million tons, and reduction of emissions of CO2 in the atmosphere — more than 100 million tons.