Title
An Index of Dynamic Density
Abstract
The risk of a collision between aircraft is rising as the density of commercial air traffic increases. This trend, together with the overwhelming need to upgrade the National Airspace System, has motivated the Federal Aviation Administration to sponsor the development of metrics to evaluate "dynamic density" - a proxy for the likelihood of collision risk. Here we propose and evaluate a mathematical index of dynamic density, D, that describes collision risk. Although our domain of investigation is aviation, the logic of D is applicable whenever objects move in limited spaces. A series of sensitivity analyses illustrate how D responds to frequently encountered air traffic conflict situations. We illustrate a use of D that characterizes pilot performance and efficiency in experimental simulations of free flight and suggest other human factors applications. This research could be applied immediately by the traffic management units of en-route air traffic control centers to reformulate the criterion for the critical capacity of sectors.
Year
DOI
Venue
1998
10.1518/001872098779480604
HUMAN FACTORS
Keywords
Field
DocType
dynamic density,ratios,air traffic,air traffic control,density,risk analysis,human factors engineering,sensitivity analysis
Risk analysis (business),Air traffic control,Simulation,National Airspace System,Operations research,Aviation,Collision,Upgrade,Dynamic density,Engineering,Free flight
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
40
1
0018-7208
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
4
0.95
0
Authors
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Kip Smith1799.48
Stephen F. Scallen240.95
William Knecht340.95
Peter A. Hancock423821.89