基于残差决策的自动飞行控制系统远程实时故障诊断

针对自动飞行控制系统结构复杂、关联部件众多,发生故障时诊断时间长,从而影响飞机运行效率的问题,提出一种基于飞机通信寻址报告系统(ACARS)的远程实时故障诊断方案。首先,分析自动飞行控制系统的故障特点,设计搭建检测滤波器;然后,利用ACARS数据链实时发送的自动飞行控制系统的关键信息进行相关部件的残差计算,并根据残差决策算法进行故障诊断及定位;最后,针对不同故障部件残差间的差异大、决策门限无法统一的缺点,提出基于二次差值的残差决策改进算法,减缓了检测对象的整体变化趋势,降低了随机噪声和干扰的影响,避免了将瞬态故障诊断为系统故障的情况。实验仿真结果表明,基于二次差值的改进残差决策算法避免了多决策门限的复杂性,在采样时间为0.1 s的情况下,故障检测所需时间大约为2 s,故障检测时间大幅降低,有效故障检测率大于90%。     

Assessing the quality of inspection for tapered aircraft fastener holes using an engineer’s blue contact test

Tapered interference-fit fasteners (e.g. Taper-lok) are commonly used by the aerospace industry due to their high fatigue strength. The inspection relies on a ‘true’ geometry gauge coated with a thin film of engineer’s blue being brought firmly into contact with the tapered hole. The pattern created on the gauge is then used to identify bearing surface area and distribution. This research investigates if the inspection reflects the hole geometry, and under what conditions the inspection may be assumed valid. The results show that the shade of the blue on the gauge as inspected through computer vision correlates with the unloaded geometry evaluated via a roundness tester, in particular when the red channel is taken alone. The inspection method falls short of accurately representing small features, particularly those tangential to the gauge removal direction. Thresholding visually or by computer vision may reasonably be used to identify the contact region pattern, however factors limiting blue migration mean the contact area may appear smaller than it actually is.     

Ranking of aircraft maintenance organization based on human factor performance

Aircraft maintenance organisation is a complex socio-technical setup, where human factors influence the quality of aircraft maintenance service. Maintenance service quality is assessed based on the commitment of management and its ability to provide suitable facility, tools, spares and manpower supported with comfortable environment and maintenance procedures. Assessment of the service quality of the aircraft maintenance organisation is a complex process. Airlines, regulators, insurance companies and other agencies need decision support system, to assess the performance of a maintenance organisation. This paper provides criteria and scientific approach for assessing the maintenance organisation; it presents a methodology of applying Analytical Hierarchy Process to prioritise the key functions and to rank the maintenance organisations under study. The study has established that maintenance service quality in airline is directly correlated to its fleet size.     

变截面Z型折叠机翼振动特性的有限元与实验分析

Z型变截面折叠机翼作为一种可变体机翼结构,不同的折叠角对机翼稳定性有着重要的影响,因此研究不同折叠角度下的特性参数对机翼动态稳定性有着重要的意义.本文首先设计加工了Z型变截面可折叠机翼结构的实验模型,通过建立与实验模型相匹配的有限元模型,仿真得到不同折叠角度下机翼的前5阶固有频率和振型,针对不同折叠角度下机翼的固有特性,通过扫频实验得到机翼前5阶固有频率和模态振型,以及横向外激励作用下三段翼的频响曲线,对比分析有限元仿真与实验结果,验证结果的可靠性,这将对机翼结构设计以及特性参数的选取提供参考依据.     

Design of an aeronautic pitot probe with a redundant heating system incorporating phase change materials

The aim of this work is the design of a pitot probe (PP) prototype in order to retard the cool down of the tip, in case of a heating element failure. The viability of operation in flight conditions is evaluated. The design consists of a redundant heating system incorporating phase change materials (PCM). Combining experimental observations of ice formation with the implementation of the conjugate heat transfer (CHT) model, with the addition of the heat release due to the phase change of the PCM, the numerical evaluation is developed. The modelling assumptions and numerical implementation of the phase change process are presented. Then, the selection an appropriate PCM is based on the low flammability and volume dilation and the quantitative effects of the material properties on the heat transfer. A commercial PCM solution based on salt hydrates was chosen as the most adequate for the design. The parametric design of the prototype, based on the design of experiment method and fractional factorial testing, is established. A multiple linear regression model was obtained in order to maximize the cooling retardation. The numerical simulations demonstrate that the prototype PP tip temperature remains 194 s longer above 0 °C than that of the conventional model analyzed.     

Perception of cabin air quality in airline crew related to air humidification, on intercontinental flights

The influence of air humidification in aircraft, on perception of cabin air quality among airline crew (N = 71) was investigated. In-flight investigations were performed in the forward part and in the aft part on eight intercontinental flights with one Boeing 767 individually, equipped with an evaporation humidifier combined with a dehumidifying unit, to reduce accumulation of condensed water in the wall construction. Four flights had the air humidification active when going out, and turned off on the return flight. The four others had the inverse humidification sequence. The sequences were randomized, and double blind. Air humidification increased relative air humidity (RH) by 10% in forward part, and by 3% in aft part of the cabin and in the cockpit. When the humidification device was active, the cabin air was perceived as being less dry (P = 0.008), and fresher (P = 0.002). The mean concentration of viable bacteria (77-108 cfu/m(3)), viable molds (74-84 cfu/m(3)), and respirable particles (1-8 microg/m3) was low, both during humidified and non-humidified flights. On flights with air humidification, there were less particles in the forward part of the aircraft (P = 0.01). In conclusion, RH can be slightly increased by using ceramic evaporation humidifier, without any measurable increase of microorganisms in cabin air. The cabin air quality was perceived as being better with air humidification. PRACTICAL IMPLICATION: Relative air humidity is low (10-20%) during intercontinental flights, and can be increased by using ceramic evaporation humidifier, without any measurable increase of microorganism in cabin air. Air humidification could increase the sensation of better cabin air quality.     

基于多层快速多极子和有限元混合求解的飞行器天线布局设计

设计一种微带天线,以该天线为基础进行飞行器天线布局设计,并考虑遮挡的判断问题。模型仿真采用多层快速多极子和有限元的方法混合求解,设置混合场积分方法提高收敛性,解决了电大尺寸模型复杂电磁场的计算问题,兼顾运算速度和精度,得出并分析飞行器上3天线、4天线、5天线以不同方式布局的远场方向图仿真结果,并提出一种方向图评估法则,对飞行器天线布局有一定参考意义。     

Bacterial communities in commercial aircraft high‐efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters assessed by PhyloChip analysis

Abstract  Air travel can rapidly transport infectious diseases globally. To facilitate the design of biosensors for infectious organisms in commercial aircraft, we characterized bacterial diversity in aircraft air. Samples from 61 aircraft high‐efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters were analyzed with a custom microarray of 16S rRNA gene sequences (PhyloChip), representing bacterial lineages. A total of 606 subfamilies from 41 phyla were detected. The most abundant bacterial subfamilies included bacteria associated with humans, especially skin, gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts, and with water and soil habitats. Operational taxonomic units that contain important human pathogens as well as their close, more benign relatives were detected. When compared to 43 samples of urban outdoor air, aircraft samples differed in composition, with higher relative abundance of Firmicutes and Gammaproteobacteria lineages in aircraft samples, and higher relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Betaproteobacteria lineages in outdoor air samples. In addition, aircraft and outdoor air samples differed in the incidence of taxa containing human pathogens. Overall, these results demonstrate that HEPA filter samples can be used to deeply characterize bacterial diversity in aircraft air and suggest that the presence of close relatives of certain pathogens must be taken into account in probe design for aircraft biosensors.

Practical Implications

A biosensor that could be deployed in commercial aircraft would be required to function at an extremely low false alarm rate, making an understanding of microbial background important. This study reveals a diverse bacterial background present on aircraft, including bacteria closely related to pathogens of public health concern. Furthermore, this aircraft background is different from outdoor air, suggesting different probes may be needed to detect airborne contaminants to achieve minimal false alarm rates. This study also indicates that aircraft HEPA filters could be used with other molecular techniques to further characterize background bacteria and in investigations in the wake of a disease outbreak.

     

A Min–Max multiregulator system with stability analysis for aeroengine propulsion control

Stability analysis is an essential issue in Min–Max multiregulator control strategy for commercial aircraft engines. In this paper, a Min–Max selector scheme along with a stability analysis method is provided for aeroengine propulsion control. It is assumed that the main regulator is a dynamic compensator and the limit regulators are constant gains. The regulators are determined in such a way that the individual control loops are stable. However, due to the switching nature of Min–Max structure, the stability of single loops does not necessarily ensure the overall system stability. In order to analyze the stability of the presented Min–Maxapproach, the architecture of the control system is transformed into the canonical form of Lure’s system and the condition for absolute stability is specified using Multivariable Circle Criterion. The theoretical results can also be applied to investigate the stability of min-only or max-only schemes. Afterwards, using the provided methodology, the global asymptotic stability is proved for the control system of a high bypass two-spool turbofan engine and the performance of the designed Min–Max controller in tracking a desired fan speed and limit protection in fault-free and fault tolerant situations is compared with the well-known Min–Max/SMC approach.