Thermal comfort conditions in airport terminals: Indoor or transition spaces?

This paper reports on the investigation of the thermal comfort conditions in three airport terminals in the UK. In the course of seasonal field surveys, the indoor environmental conditions were monitored in different terminal areas and questionnaire-guided interviews were conducted with 3087 terminal users. The paper focuses on the thermal perception, preference and comfort requirements of passengers and terminal staff. The two groups presented different satisfaction levels with the indoor environment and significant differences in their thermal requirements, while both preferring a thermal environment different to the one experienced. The thermal conflict emerges throughout the terminal spaces. The neutral and preferred temperatures for passengers were lower than for employees and considerably lower than the mean indoor temperature. Passengers demonstrated higher tolerance of the thermal conditions and consistently a wider range of comfor

Flying green from a carbon neutral airport : the case of Brussels

The aviation sector is one of the fastest growing emitters of greenhouse gases worldwide. In addition, airports have important local environmental impacts, mainly in the form of noise pollution and deterioration in air quality. Although noise nuisance in the vicinity of airports is recognized as an important problem of the urban environment which is often addressed by regulation, other environmental problems associated with aviation are less widely acknowledged. In the climate debate, the importance of which is rising, aviation has remained under the radar for decades. In the present paper, we use the case of Brussels Airport (Belgium) to demonstrate that the local perception of air travel-related environmental problems may be heavily influenced by the communication strategy of the airport company in question. Basing our analysis on publicly available data, communication initiatives, media reports, and policy documents, we find that (1) the noise impact of aviation is recognized and mainly described in an institutionalized format, (2) the impact of aviation on local air quality is ignored, and (3) the communication on climate impact shows little correspondence or concern with the actual effects. These findings are relevant for other airports and sectors, since the type of environmental communication produced by airport companies can also be observed elsewhere

Aircraft and avionic related research required to develop an effective high-speed runway exit system

Research was conducted to increase airport capacity by studying the feasibility of the longitudinal separation between aircraft sequences on final approach. The multidisciplinary factors which include the utility of high speed exits for efficient runway operations were described along with recommendations and highlights of these studies

Occupancy driven supervisory control of indoor environment systems to minimise energy consumption of airport terminal building

A very economical way of reducing the operational energy consumed by large commercial buildings such as an airport terminal is the automatic control of its active energy systems. Such control can adjust the indoor environment systems setpoints to satisfy comfort during occupancy or when unoccupied, initiate energy conservation setpoints and if necessary, shut down part of the building systems. Adjusting energy control setpoints manually in large commercial buildings can be a nightmare for facility managers. Incidentally for such buildings, occupancy based control strategies are not achieved through the use of conventional controllers alone. This research, therefore, investigated the potential of using a high-level control system in airport terminal building. The study presents the evolution of a novel fuzzy rule-based supervisory controller, which intelligently establishes comfort setpoints based on flow of passenger through the airport as well as variable external environmental conditions. The inputs to the supervisory controller include: the time schedule of the arriving and departing passenger planes; the expected number of passengers; zone daylight illuminance levels; and external temperature. The outputs from the supervisory controller are the low-level controllers internal setpoint profile for thermal comfort, visual comfort and indoor air quality. Specifically, this thesis makes contribution to knowledge in the following ways: It utilised artificial intelligence to develop a novel fuzzy rule-based, energy-saving supervisory controller that is able to establish acceptable indoor environmental quality for airport terminals based on occupancy schedules and ambient conditions. It presents a unique methodology of designing a supervisory controller using expert knowledge of an airport s indoor environment systems through MATLAB/Simulink platform with the controller s performance evaluated in both MATLAB and EnergyPlus simulation engine. Using energy conservation strategies (setbacks and switch-offs), the pro-posed supervisory control system was shown to be capable of reducing the energy consumed in the Manchester Airport terminal building by up to 40-50% in winter and by 21-27% in summer. It demonstrates that if a 45 minutes passenger processing time is aimed for instead of the 60 minutes standard time suggested by ICAO, energy consumption is significantly reduced (with less carbon emission) in winter particularly. The potential of the fuzzy rule-based supervisory controller to optimise comfort with minimal energy based on variation in occupancy and external conditions was demonstrated through this research. The systematic approach adopted, including the use of artificial intelligence to design supervisory controllers, can be extended to other large buildings which have variable but predictable occupancy patterns

Weather responsive internal roof shading systems for existing long-span glazed roof over large naturally ventilated and air-conditioned pedestrian concourses in the tropics

This research aims are to optimize weather responsive internal roof shading design systems and to recommend some design principles and guidelines for internal roof shading systems. Such systems would then provide a better building-centric thermal environment and energy performance, while maintaining adequate levels of natural lighting within the existing long-span glazed roofs over large naturally ventilated and air-conditioned pedestrian concourse in the tropics. Two shading configurations: low and high level shadings were tested both the physical indoor environment and energy performance using dynamic thermal and lighting models on the typical clear days and overcast day in summer and winter respectively. The thermal performance of these test cases was assessed using internal surface temperatures, air temperatures, mean radiant temperatures and operative temperatures. The energy performance of the tested cases was examined using solar heat gain and cooling loads as well as the visual performance using illuminance and daylight factors. These remedial solutions were also assessed the financial benefits using standard economic analysis methods to provide recommendation on the cost and payback periods. The predicted results of the large glazed naturally ventilated pedestrian concourse reveal that the internal roof shading device was very effective in reducing inner surface temperatures and consequently reducing radiant heat gain into the space. The low level shadings are more effective than the high level shadings in term of providing better energy, internal thermal and lighting performance. This configuration would reduce two third of the solar heat gain in the large glazed pedestrian concourse space. The predicted results of the large glazed air-conditioned pedestrian concourse reveal that only the low level shading can improve physical environment in terms of thermal, energy and lighting conditions. This configuration would reduce the ground floor heat gain and also the inner surface temperatures significantly. The buffer zone is a key reason that the low level shadings perform better than the high level shading. For the naturally ventilated case, creating a ventilated naturally thermal buffer space is critical to the design of an effective internal roof shading system. The large void space between the glazed roof and the low level shadings allows the free movement of the hot air to dissipate to the outdoors at a high level before it can enter the spaces below. For the air-conditioned case, a larger volume of air over the low level shadings allow for more accumulation of heat as compared to a smaller volume of air over the high shadings. In addition, high solar reflective property of the fabric decreases the solar heat by reflect a portion of the solar heat back out through the transparent roof, while some solar energy is also trapped within the air gap. According to the thermal environmental conditions required for comfort by the operative temperature recommended by ASHRAE (2004), the both shading options of the large glazed naturally ventilated case could only ease to some degree thermal discomfort. While the low level shading of the large glazed air-conditioned case also goes a long way to alleviating summer thermal discomfort. However the shadings could reduce the internal surface temperature significantly which are the main causes of the radiation heat gain in the large glazed naturally ventilated and air-conditioned pedestrian concourses. The visual performance results in both case studies reveal that the internal roof shading significantly reduced and maintained daylighting levels at an appropriate quality of light according to the CIBSE‘s recommendation only on hot clear days. Therefore retractable shading devices are recommended to provide sun screening only when required such as on summer clear days when solar gain is likely to result in overheating. Apart from the possible financial benefits with a present interest rate at 4.85% in China and 1.35% in Thailand over a life time of 30 years, the investment of the shading system could be financially beneficial due to the NPV>0 and the IRR was greater than interest rate in both forms of long-span glazed roofs over large pedestrian concourses; natural ventilation and air-condition

Measures to increase airfield capacity by changing aircraft runway occupancy characteristics

Airfield capacity and aircraft runway occupancy characteristics were studied. Factors that caused runway congestion and airfield crowding were identified. Several innovations designed to alleviate the congestion are discussed. Integrated landing management, the concept that the operation of the final approach and runway should be considered in concert, was identified as underlying all of the innovations

Designing an occupancy flow-based controller for airport terminals

One of the most cost-effective ways to save energy in commercial buildings is through designing a dedicated controller for adjusting environmental set-points according occupancy flow. This paper presents the design of a fuzzy rule-based supervisory controller for reducing energy consumptions while simultaneously providing comfort for passengers in a large airport terminal building. The inputs to the controller are the time schedule of the arrival and departure of passenger planes as well as the expected number of passengers, zone global illuminance (daylight) and external temperature. The outputs from the controller are optimised temperature, airflow and lighting set-point profiles for the building. The supervisory controller was designed based on expert knowledge in MATLAB/Simulink, and then validated using simulation studies. The simulation results demonstrate significant potential for energy savings in the controller's ability to maintain comfort by adjusting set-points according to the flow of passengers. Practical application : The systematic approach adopted here, including the use of artificial intelligence to design supervisory controllers, can be extended to other large buildings which have variable but predictable occupancy patterns like the restricted area of the airport terminal building

Systems approach for applying remote video technology and the Internet to real time weather and runway condition reporting for aviation use: Case study at rural airports in interior Alaska

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2000Aviation is critical to the infrastructure of Alaska. However, systems that provide runway and weather condition information about rural airstrips are not meeting the needs of the aviation community. Accordingly, aviation safety is compromised, efficiency of operations is reduced and service to clients is mediocre. Research was conducted to determine methods of improving the accuracy and reliability of runway and weather condition reporting Systems in Interior Alaska. A thorough background study of current reporting systems was conducted. A statistical study of aviation accidents in Interior Alaska was completed to document the premise that runway condition and weather reporting systems contribute to the problem. Current reporting systems were analyzed to isolate root causes of system degradation. An analysis of primary stakeholders associated with aviation reporting systems was completed. An hypothesis was formed which favored the use of remote video camera technology to provide near real-time weather information directly to end users A $114 K grant was obtained to conduct a test of the capabilities and benefits that would accrue from transmitting images of distant runway and sky conditions onto the Internet. For nine months, images of the sky and runway from three distant airstrips in Ruby, Kaltag and Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska were transferred every thirty minutes to a publicly accessible website for use by the aviation community in assessing current conditions for preflight planning. Technical feasibility was confirmed. It was clearly determined that the system exceeded the expectations of the aviation community and provided greatly improved weather information to pilots. The aviation community in Interior Alaska has embraced the concept, used it operationally and declared it to be a critical enhancement to current systems. The project was an overwhelming success as confirmed by surveys, national and international media releases, and intense interest in the project by both private and governmental agencies. Aspects of the system are now patent pending. The research concluded that the remote video concept should be expanded throughout Alaska under the auspices of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and/or the National Weather Service (NWS). Strong evidence was obtained to support potential expansion throughout the United States and internationally

A second-generation high speed civil transport: Stingray

The Stingray is the second-generation High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) designed for the 21st Century. This aircraft is designed to be economically viable and environmentally sound transportation competitive in markets currently dominated by subsonic aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and upcoming McDonnell Douglas MD-12. With the Stringray coming into service in 2005, a ticket price of 21 percent over current subsonic airlines will cover operational costs with a 10 percent return on investment. The cost per aircraft will be $202 million with the Direct Operating Cost equal to$0.072 per mile per seat. This aircraft has been designed to be a realistic aircraft that can be built within the next ten to fifteen years. There was only one main technological improvement factor used in the design, that being for the engine specific fuel consumption. The Stingray, therefore, does not rely on technology that does not exist. The Stingray will be powered by four mixed flow turbofans that meet both nitrous oxide emissions and FAR 36 Stage 3 noise regulations. It will carry 250 passengers a distance of 5200 nautical miles at a speed of Mach 2.4. The shape of the Stingray, while optimized for supersonic flight, is compatible with all current airline facilities in airports around the world. As the demand for economical, high-speed flight increases, the Stingray will be ready and able to meet those demands