Strategies for Alleviating Impact of Aircraft Noise

Reduction of the impact of noise can be achieved by three alternatives: (1) Reducing the amount of noise generated at the source (modification of aircraft engine; (2) altering flight procedures, flight paths, and frequency of operations; and (3) changing land use surrounding the airport. A general mathematical programming model is developed for the evaluation of the three alternatives. The model is then applied to the first alternative, i.e. (1) To retrofit the aircraft using a new nacelle with sound absorbing materials in the engine inlet and along the internal walls of the engine air duct; and (2) to replace the existing aircraft by new wide body aircraft that feature quieter single-stage fan engines with a high bypass ratio such as Boeing 747 and McDonnel Douglas DC-10. The cost and effectiveness functions associated with each of the alternatives are constructed and the model calibrated using the available data. The mathematical programming model is then reduced to a linear program and applied to a retrofitting and replacement problem.