The Use of LIDAR to Characterize Aircraft Exhaust Plumes

Details

• Creators:
  Wayson, Roger L. ; Fleming, Gregg G. ; Kim, Brian ; Eberhard, Wynn L. ; Brewer, W. Alan ; Draper, Julie A. ; Pehrson, John ; Johnson, Roger
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Central Florida ; John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.) ; United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Environment and Energy
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Aircraft Exhaust Gases Air Pollution Airports Air Quality Exhaust Gases Jet Propelled Aircraft Laser Radar Plumes
• Publication/ Report Number:
  Paper#69965
• Resource Type:
  Proceedings
• Geographical Coverage:
  Los Angeles (California)
• Corporate Publisher:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Abstract:
  Aircraft emissions are a growing concern for the FAA, airports, and the community. U.S. and international air quality models were previously unable to accurately predict initial plume dispersion and the resulting pollutant concentrations because the characteristics of the initial plume behavior were virtually unknown. These data are needed as input to dispersion models, such as the FAA’s Emissions and Dispersion Modeling System (EDMS), for use in complying with air quality requirements. Since very little research had been done in this area, input values previously used were primarily based on the best available information and good engineering judgment. The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, FAA’s Office of Environment and Energy (AEE), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), teamed up to conduct a study of aerosol plume behavior from jet exhaust using LIght Detection And Ranging or LIDAR. LIDAR has been used for previous measurements to study wing-tip vortices and some pollutant evaluations near airports, and was concluded to be appropriate for this application. In support of AEE, the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center initiated action to conduct the research. Volpe enlisted the assistance of the NOAA, based on their large amount of experience with LIDAR. NOAA has several LIDAR units and the flexibility to reengineer the units and associated software on a project-by-project basis making them the perfect fit for this team. Setup and measurements occurred from May 14 through 24, 2001. The results of the measurements have exceeded expectations allowing quantification of aircraft plume rise and initial dispersion parameters (standard deviations) at this major urban airport. This paper will summarize the methodology, results and conclusion of this project.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6b2dde747516dab17e7fab2a2d28ddf5755fc25251075ea883da92732eacb01a254b6e17ff1f7cdcc4d6316c2d8f699fb1cd284cc78c40e8bf9814d1a9f4eedb
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/10032/dot_10032_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.38 MB ]