Development of a Helicopter Model for Agent-based Simulations in Maritime Scenarios

Kurzfassung

This project thesis presents the development of a simulation model of the Airbus H135 helicopter for agent-based simulations targeted on the research of maritime rotorcraft operations. A literature review surveyed fundamental helicopter aerodynamics focused on preliminary power calculation, typical offshore deployment scenarios such as oil and gas logistics, wind farm servicing and HEMS, and agent-based modeling. Existing applications and studies of ABM for maritime szenarios and research topics already implemented in the SoSID-Toolkit were presented as well. Based on flight test data of a twin-engine light utility helicopter, a computation model for the power requirements was programmed in Python including methods for additional equipment, different flight states and fuel consumption. The model was integrated into the Python-based DLR SoSID toolkit and validated against an offshore mission profile. An illustrative case study of an urban air mobility shuttle scenario in Hamburg yielded plausible results for fleet sizing and energy efficiency and demonstrated the functionality of the helicopter model. Results confirm close agreement with reference data, supporting the models suitability for future maritime-oriented agent-based simulations. Recommendations for further work include incorporating marine weather inputs, extending to additional rotorcraft, and integrating an economic cost model.