Determining bounds on controller workload rates at an intersection

This paper considers the problem of determining the maximum controller workload associated with two intersecting flows of aircraft according to aircraft arrival rates. Based on the structure of the aircraft arrivals, an optimal control strategy is presented for minimizing the maximum rate of resolutions required to deconflict traffic at the intersection. Bounds on the rate of resolution take into account magnitude constraints in the conflict resolution commands issued to aircraft. The goal of this research is to establish worst-case measures of workload such that air traffic flow managers can route traffic along network structures without exceeding human-controller performance capabilities.