United States Department of Transportation FY 2020 Annual Modal Research Plans Cover Page Federal Aviation Administration February 14, 2020 Submitted by: Shelley Yak William J. Hughes Technical Center Director FAA Research Portfolio Manager Table of Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... i Chapter 1. Introduction/Agency-Wide Research Approach ......................................................................................... 1 Research Portfolio Information ................................................................................................................................ 2 Acquisition/Assistance .............................................................................................................................................. 3 Technology Transfer (T2) .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Evaluation/Performance Measurement ................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2. High Priority Project Descriptions ............................................................................................................... 6 New High Priority Projects for FY 2020 ..................................................................................................................... 6 High Priority Projects Completed in FY 2018/2019 .................................................................................................. 8 Chapter 3 – FY 2020 Program Descriptions ................................................................................................................ 10 Airport Infrastructure and Technologies ................................................................................................................ 18 Airports Cooperative Research Program ............................................................................................................ 19 Airports Technology Research Program ............................................................................................................. 22 Aircraft Safety Assurance ........................................................................................................................................ 25 Fire Research and Safety..................................................................................................................................... 26 Advanced Materials/Structural Safety ................................................................................................................ 28 Continued Airworthiness .................................................................................................................................... 34 Propulsion and Fuel Systems .............................................................................................................................. 44 Alternative Fuels for General Aviation ............................................................................................................ 46 Aircraft Catastrophic Failure Prevention Research........................................................................................ 49 Digital Systems and Technologies ........................................................................................................................... 52 Aircraft Icing/Digital System Safety .................................................................................................................... 53 NextGen - Information Security .......................................................................................................................... 59 NextGen - Flightdeck Data Exchange .................................................................................................................. 62 Environment and Weather Impact Mitigation ....................................................................................................... 65 Weather Program .............................................................................................................................................. 66 NextGen - Weather Technology in the Cockpit .................................................................................................. 70 Environment and Energy .................................................................................................................................. 76 NextGen - Environmental Research - Aircraft Technologies and Fuels ........................................................ 80 Human Performance and Aeromedical Factors...................................................................................................... 83 Flightdeck / Maintenance / Systems Integration Human Factors ...................................................................... 84 Air Traffic Control/Technical Operations Human Factors .................................................................................. 90 NextGen – Air Ground Integration Human Factors ............................................................................................ 96 Aeromedical Research ........................................................................................................................................ 99 Airliner Cabin Environment Research ........................................................................................................... 102 NextGen Transportation System – Enterprise, Concept Development, Human Factors & Demonstrations Portfolio ............................................................................................................................................................ 103 Aviation Performance and Planning ..................................................................................................................... 105 System Safety Management ............................................................................................................................. 106 Commercial Space Transportation ................................................................................................................ 111 NextGen – Wake Turbulence ............................................................................................................................ 115 Unmanned Aircraft Systems ........................................................................................................................... 117 Advanced Technology Development & Prototyping ........................................................................................ 121 Next Generation Transportation System - Separation Management Portfolio ............................................... 123 Next Generation Transportation System - Traffic Flow Management Portfolio .............................................. 125 Next Generation Transportation System - On Demand NAS Portfolio ............................................................. 128 Next Generation Transportation System - NAS Infrastructure Portfolio .......................................................... 130 Next Generation Support Portfolio ................................................................................................................... 132 Next Generation Transportation System - Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) ................................................ 134 System Planning and Resource Management ............................................................................................... 137 William J. Hughes Technical Center Laboratory Facility ................................................................................... 140 William J. Hughes Technical Center Laboratory Sustainment .......................................................................... 142 Chapter 4 – FY 2021 Program Descriptions .............................................................................................................. 143 Airport Infrastructure and Technologies .............................................................................................................. 143 Airports Cooperative Research Program .......................................................................................................... 144 Airports Technology Research Program ........................................................................................................... 145 Aircraft Safety Assurance ...................................................................................................................................... 147 Fire Research and Safety................................................................................................................................... 148 Advanced Materials/Structural Safety .............................................................................................................. 149 Continued Airworthiness .................................................................................................................................. 151 Propulsion and Fuel Systems ............................................................................................................................ 156 Digital Systems and Technologies ......................................................................................................................... 159 Aircraft Icing/Digital