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SUMMARY OF WORK
While a general figure for the cost savings to airlines associated with the move from the old to new terminal
building at the Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is known, savings per aircraft or per company is not known.
Moreover, it is not known how the taxi time reductions will translate into environmental benefits in terms of reduced
emissions. Both of these, fuel savings per aircraft and emissions reductions per aircraft, are important pieces of
information for establishing the current and future benefits of the new terminal building for customers, for the city of
Indianapolis, and the state of Indiana.
A network model of IND gate locations and taxiways will be constructed. The emissions and fuel burn per
aircraft will be calculated for both arrivals and departures from the model, along with data on the actual demand/use
of the airport and fuel burn rate figures for the various types of aircraft (from engine models). Initially, this model
will assume no queuing or delays, but will consider the actual/typical range of runway configurations. Subsequent
models will also consider queuing and arrival/departure interactions. Additional models of competing airports will
also be constructed to allow comparisons of fuel and emissions at IND with those airports. Finally, the demand
picture will be increased, to show the effect of future demand on these results.
On the next few pages, more detailed information on the approach is provided. This is followed by a description
of the deliverables and expected dates of completion. A budget is also included.
NETWORK MODEL
A network model, such as that shown in Figure 1, will be constructed. Figure 1 shows a simplified model – the
actual model would include the appropriate routing to and from each individual gate. For each departure and arrival,
their taxi route will be translated into a series of nodes, modified as necessary to ensure the model deconflicts the
routes of aircraft. The nominal and deconflicted routes will conform to the typical routes experienced at IND, as
based on discussions with subject matter experts. The times along these routes will be determined using an average
taxi speed, which, when multiplied by an idle fuel burn rate for the engine(s) of that type of aircraft, will yield a total
taxi fuel consumption figure. Additional calculations will produce an emissions figure.
Queuing can be added into the model by considering the capacity of each node.
When the capacity is reached, additional demand is considered in queue. The delay
figures, fuel consumption, and emissions for the queue would be added into the
model.
A model of arrival operations is being completed at Purdue. If integrated with
the taxi model, it could provide a complete picture of operations at IND.
Moreover, the model would be scalable. Given an increased demand scenario, an
understanding of the impact of that increased demand on IND could be provided.
Under the next-generation air traffic system plans, a system with a capacity for 2 –
3 times the current demand is envisioned for 2025. This model would give IND an
understanding of what would be required to handle that level of demand, and what
impact it would have on delay, fuel consumption, and emissions.
Additional models could be built for nearby, competing airports such as
Louisville and Cincinnati. This would allow comparisons of IND with these
airports to determine whether the new terminal created a significant regional market
advantage for IND.
FUEL CONSUMPTION AND EMISSIONS MODELING
Researchers will obtain necessary information about the commercial passenger
transport aircraft (airframe and engines) operating at IND. This information will
include which airframe and engine combinations the airlines operate at the airport,
the fuel consumption values for the engines, and emissions characteristics for these
Figure 1. IND taxiway model.
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engines. Information will also be obtained on the distribution of stopping distances for landing aircraft of different
types so that the inbound taxi route can be computed correctly.
Sources like Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft, the Oliver Wyman / Aviation Week industry inventory, and the
Bureau of Transportation Statistics provide information about airframe and engine combinations – including which
specific airframe / engine combinations operated from Indianapolis International Airport. We expect that the
Indianapolis International Airport has similar, supporting data; researchers will ensure a consistent list of aircraft and
operations. Sources like the ICAO Data Bank and the FAA’s SAGE models provide a combination of test data,
certification data and calculated data regarding the fuel consumption of the engine (typically in lbs/hr) and the
emissions of the engine (e.g. the ICAO Data Bank has values for CO, NOx, and soot/smoke). In addition, we have
included in the budget sufficient funds to purchase access to commercial databases (such as Conklin and
deDecker) containing information we may need to complete the modeling.
The engine characteristics of these aircraft determine the fuel used when taxiing an aircraft from the gate to the
departure runway and from arrival runway to the gate. Most ground operations occur at, or very near, ground idle
throttle settings. The initial calculations will assume that all operations take place at ground idle setting. Subsequent
calculations could investigate specific aircraft loadings for each departure / arrival (e.g. payload or number of
passengers on board and range to destination) to account for difference in ramp weight. We expect that the
differences in predicted fuel burn and emission values will not significantly influence the comparison of operations
to/from the current terminal and to/from the new midfield terminal; these refined estimates will add additional detail
and fidelity to the computations.
Based upon the aircraft movement model, we will provide fuel burn and emissions per unit time values for each
aircraft operating at IND. The study will compute the times of taxi and other ground operations using the current
terminal location and will compute the same times using the new midfield location. Computation of fuel
consumption and emissions will multiply the fuel burn and emissions per unit time by the computed ground
operations times.
DELIVERABLES

Fuel consumption and emissions for a baseline year (per aircraft, aggregated to monthly and yearly per
company) for both current and new midfield terminal locations (Estimated date: 1 October 2008)

Simple model allowing aircraft ground movement calculations for both current and new midfield
terminal locations (Estimated date: 1 October 2008)

Model refinement – queuing and arrival/departure interaction (Estimated date: 1 November 2008)

Model refinement – increased density scenarios (Estimated date: 1 December 2008)

Model refinement – competing airport comparisons (Estimated date: 15 December 2008)

Final report (31 December 2008)
COST PROPOSAL
This cost proposal section includes the price quotation for the technical effort described in the previous section.
The proposed budget for the six-month period (July 1, 2008 – December 31, 2008) is $29,066.19.
The budget covers a graduate research assistant in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics with a 25% FTE
appointment at a rate of $1000/month for the Fall 2008 semester and the fee remission associated with this
appointment; this is comparable to other research assistant appointments in AAE. A student from the School of
Industrial Engineering will also be working on this project, but is not charged as the student is working for credit and
is already supported. Academic year support (8% for the PI, 5% for the other two researchers) offsets the faculty
participation in the effort during the Fall 2008 semester. The fringe benefit and indirect cost charges for this
proposal are standard for Purdue University; the indirect (overhead) rates are set at 52.5% of the modified direct
costs (cost less graduate fees) by the university. A small amount of funds will cover travel for the Purdue team to the
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Indianapolis International Airport for technical exchange meetings and to gather data as needed. There is also some
funds set aside for supplies and expenses to provide access to commercial databases (if necessary) and other
miscellaneous expenses.
Table 1 Budget summary.
Item
Graduate research assistant salary
Faculty AY support
Employee benefits (workman’s comp., etc.)
Total compensation and benefits
Graduate student fee remission
Travel
Other supplies and expenses
Total non-personnel direct cost
Total direct cost
Indirect cost (52.5% of modified direct cost)
Total cost
Totals
$ 4,684.84
$ 8,198.78
$ 3,219.78
$ 16,103.40
$ 2,831.00
$ 300.00
$800.00
$ 1,100.00
$ 20,034.40
$ 9,031.79
$ 29,066.19
LIST OF PERSONNEL
Steven J. Landry (Principal Investigator), Assistant Professor, School of Industrial Engineering
William A. Crossley, Associate Professor, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Dan DeLaurentis, Assistant Professor, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Chad Long, graduate student researcher, School of Industrial Engineering
TBD, graduate research assistant, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics