Assessment of the effect of aircraft technological advancement on aviation environmental impacts

Kushal A. Moolchandani, Datu B. Agusdinata, Daniel A. DeLaurentis, William A. Crossley

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper studies the evolution of fleet-level emissions from aviation under different scenarios of aircraft technology availability and fuel price variation. The aim is to assess the efficacy of introducing advanced technology aircraft as a means to reduce total emissions while still serving increasing passenger travel demand. Particularly, this paper explores the potential existence of an effect in the aviation industry similar to the so-called the Jevons' Paradox, in which the profit-seeking airline modeled here uses a larger number of more fuelefficient aircraft so that the increasing number of flights overwhelms the fuel efficiency gains of the individual aircraft. Simulation results confirm that, while advanced technology aircraft would improve the emissions efficiency of the airline fleet, the advance technology alone would not be sufficient to reduce total fleet-wide CO2 emissions. This finding implies the need for other initiatives (e.g., operations changes, alternate fuels, and carbon policies) to provide incentives to airlines to reduce CO2 emissions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition 2013
StatePublished - Aug 19 2013
Externally publishedYes
Event51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition 2013 - Grapevine, TX, United States
Duration: Jan 7 2013Jan 10 2013

Publication series

Name51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition 2013

Other

Other51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition 2013
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityGrapevine, TX
Period1/7/131/10/13

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Space and Planetary Science
  • Aerospace Engineering

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