A framework for aerial firefighting simulation

Abstract It is well established that flight simulation can support pilot training, especially when it comes to mission elements that are difficult or dangerous to replicate in actual flights. Several examples exist from helicopter operations where simulation is used to improve the training of pilots in ship helicopter landings, near ground operations in degraded visual environments, or operations in the wake of large buildings and structures, e.g. offshore oil rigs, wind turbines, skyscrapers etc. The main challenge with these simulations is to accurately replicate the flow physics and environment that involve complex wakes coupled with the dynamics of the aircraft, and can lead to poor handling qualities, as well as, reduced effectiveness of the mission. This work puts forward the use of real-time computational fluid dynamics to improve the realism of the flow physics and guarantee efficient updates as missions change during flight training. The lattice Boltzmann method is the workhorse in this approach and is used here to calculate not only the updraft of fires but also the wake of the helicopter. Additional models for the water drop and the fire propagation rely on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics and empirical ground modelling respectively. The results so far indicate that with careful implementation of the algorithms on relatively low-cost graphics processing units, it is possible to exceed simulation updates of 60 frames per second with the Daedalus 1 flight simulator of the University of Glasgow. Directions of future research and enhancements of the real-time CFD environment are also put forward.