UROP: Airside Simulation Modelling and Analysis of Changi Airport

By Shyam Sridhar and Presca Lim

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Led by Asst. Professor Nuno Ribeiro (The Principal Investigator) we, a team of two Fresh-no-More students with diverse backgrounds and interests have embarked on an ongoing Summer UROP, to build an airside simulation model of Changi Airport. This UROP is a part of a larger project on Airfield Management happening at the Aviation Studies Institute (Set up in collaboration with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore)

Background

The optimization of airport operations is critical for efficient airport planning and management. To do this it is important to understand how flight delays evolve and how different operating conditions affect airport capacity. From a planning standpoint, this information will help airport planners decide the best expansion measures that can be implemented in the long term. Whilst, from a management standpoint, this information is useful for airport operators to make better decisions on demand and air-traffic management. 

Aim and Progress

In this UROP, we aim to develop a simulation tool using CAST to mimic the airport operations at Changi Airport. We will then use this simulation model to conduct sensitivity analysis to study the impact of certain decisions made on airport operations.

Over the past month or so, our team has been working remotely to replicate the existing and the newly proposed Changi Airport network in AutoCAD.

The designing of the airport network involved mapping out the runway, charting out the course that the flight takes in the taxiways and marking out the stands and hangars that house the aircrafts. We started by drawing each component of the airside network onto their respective distinct layers, and then, imported the initial designs onto a simulation software called CAST. In CAST, several modifications such as the removal of any unnecessary taxiway elements, junction corrections were made to create a more accurate depiction of the airside of Changi Airport. 

Satellite view of the airport network that we had to replicate PHOTO: Ministry of Transport, Singapore

Conclusion

We are now working towards making the final modifications to our designed network in CAST after which we will move on to implementing the working rules of the simulation to build the required model. Upon completion, we aim to obtain the necessary data by running several simulations using our CAST model, on which we will conduct airside capacity and flight delay analysis. Simultaneously, we are working towards designing the terminal buildings for the network. We would like to thank Prof.Nuno and SUTD for giving us this wonderful opportunity to explore and appreciate the significance of airport structure and systems design. 

By Shyam Sridhar and Presca Lim

 

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