飞机液压系统污染及控制

本文全面分析了收音机液压系统污染的危害和主要原因，并在此基础上有针对性地提出了预防措施。     

信息融合的飞机识别方法

以信息融合的理论为基础，利用从可见光图像序列和8-12μm长波红外图像序列中提取的信息对不同种类飞机进行识别。采用矩特征并结合BP神经网络的方法，分别在特征级和决策级两个不同层次上实现了信息融合。实验结果表明，通过信息融合进行飞机识别的准确率可达到90％以上。     

NEURAL NETS SPEED FLOW CALCULATION

Neural Nets Successfully Solve Complex Fluid Flow Problem. Much research is being done in the area of neural networks, and industry is actively seeking successful application to real world problems. We describe here a successful application. We have used neural networks to model complex coolant flow patterns, such as those encountered in design of hypersonic aircraft. Previous calculation methods, while reasonably accurate, are iterative and extremely time consuming. Our new approach uses a hierarchical neural network architecture to model coolant flow distribution in multiple heat exchanger panels. This method is direct, fast, and accurate.     

An evaluation of possible EU air transport emissions trading scheme allocation methods

The European Commission has been requested by member states to study the incorporation of air transport into their existing emissions trading scheme (ETS). Only CO₂ is to be included, at least initially.     

Preliminary evaluation of the anticorrosive properties of aircraft coatings by electrochemical methods

Strict regulations concerning the content of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals (Cr⁶⁺) in aircraft coating systems have increased the economic burden of the United States Air Force (USAF) in the area of coating maintenance. To this end, it is critical to have methods to characterize new coating systems in such a manner that the data can be used to predict accurately and reliably the expected lifetime of the coatings in service. Electrochemical noise method (ENM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are two techniques used to monitor extent and rate of corrosion. The USAF is currently employing these methods in order to supplement data acquired from traditional salt-spray methods. ENM and EIS are used to evaluate each component of the coating system and its contribution to corrosion prevention. Preliminary evaluations of an aircraft coating system on aluminum substrate (Al 2024-T3) produces resistance noise values of 10⁶ to 10⁷ Ω/cm². It is hoped that these results will form the basis of coatings that give increased USAF fleet service life and reduction in maintenance manpower and materials costs.     

Adaptive dynamic surface control of a hypersonic flight vehicle with improved tracking

This work presents a nonlinear adaptive dynamic surface air speed and a flight path angle control design procedure for the longitudinal dynamics of a generic hypersonic flight vehicle. The proposed design scheme takes into account the magnitude, rate, and bandwidth constraints on the actuator signals. A new approach is used to enhance tracking performance and avoid a large initial control signal. The uncertain nonlinear functions in the flight vehicle model are approximated by using radial basis function neural networks. A detailed stability analysis of the designed controllers shows that all the signals of the closed‐loop system are uniformly ultimately bounded. The robust performance of the design scheme is verified through numerical simulations of the flight vehicle model for various parameter variation test cases. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society     

Characterization of surface deformation with the Edge of LightTM technique

The aircraft lap joints are inspected with an enhanced visual inspection technique named “Edge of Light”, which is patented by the NRC Institute for Aerospace Research. This technique is applicable for rapid detection of possible hidden corrosion in lap joints. The surface deformation due to hidden corrosion can be characterized by this optical-based inspection method. In this study, a calibration procedure is developed to quantify the lap joint surface deformation. The effect of surface reflectivity is investigated with the solid film highlighting technique (SolidHi^TM), which helps achieve a uniform reflectivity during the inspection. The efficiency of the technique is demonstrated with the experimental results. This work is supported by NRC-IAR New Initiative Research Funding.     

基于蚁群优化的SVM及其应用研究

针对蚁群算法的容易陷入局部最优解的问题,对连续蚁群算法的全局转移因子和挥发因子进行了改进.在搜索过程中,蚂蚁利用前一代最优解的位置及信息素强度决定最优解转移步长及概率,对每一代搜索过程,利用动态的全局转移因子来确定蚂蚁应该进行如何搜索,保证蚂蚁能够得到更多的搜索空间,解决了蚁群算法"早熟"的现象.利用优化后的支持向量机(C-SVR和C-LSSVM)建立了某型航空发动机起动过程的数学模型.通过实际的发动机数据对模型的有效性进行了验证,结果表明,C-SVR和C-LSSVM泛化性能优于ε-SVR和LSSVM.     

Nonlinear aircraft sensor fault reconstruction in the presence of disturbances validated by real flight data

This paper proposes an approach for Inertial Measurement Unit sensor fault reconstruction by exploiting a ground speed-based kinematic model of the aircraft flying in a rotating earth reference system. Two strategies for the validation of sensor fault reconstruction are presented: closed-loop validation and open-loop validation. Both strategies use the same kinematic model and a newly-developed Adaptive Two-Stage Extended Kalman Filter to estimate the states and faults of the aircraft. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach compared to an approach using an airspeed-based kinematic model. Furthermore, the major contribution is that the proposed approach is validated using real flight test data including the presence of external disturbances such as turbulence. Three flight scenarios are selected to test the performance of the proposed approach. It is shown that the proposed approach is robust to model uncertainties, unmodeled dynamics and disturbances such as time-varying wind and turbulence. Therefore, the proposed approach can be incorporated into aircraft Fault Detection and Isolation systems to enhance the performance of the aircraft.     

Physical workload of flight attendants when pushing and pulling trolleys aboard aircraft

The musculoskeletal loads from moving trolleys aboard aircraft were assessed by observation of trolley handling on planes and by physical workload analyses of pushing and pulling of trolleys in a laboratory set up. Trolley handling by a total of 15 female flight attendants was observed on 10 short- and medium-distance flights in different types of aircraft. About 25 selected flight attendants (22 females; 3 males) of five German airlines took part in the laboratory study, which comprised three-dimensional (3D) measurements of posture and hand forces during pushing and pulling of trolleys in a variety of configurations. From the on-flight observations performed, between 150 and 250 trolley movements can be projected for a work shift. The greatest physical workload is to be expected at the beginning of service: The trolleys are fully laden then, and the cabin floor can still be inclined up to 8°, as the aircraft is still climbing, particularly on short-distance flights. The laboratory investigation revealed that the musculoskeletal workload from pushing and pulling depends essentially on the trolley load and on the gradient of the cabin floor. In addition, the degree of stressing depends significantly on the trolley type, mode of handling and personal dexterity. The up/down force component perpendicular to the direction of motion often achieved considerable amplitudes-in some cases equal to or exceeding the force in the direction of movement. The posture analysis demonstrated that pulling forced the flight attendants to adopt ergonomically unfavourable postures such as pronounced flexion of the back, particularly among female subjects. The highest values for flexion of the back occurred while pulling the half-size trolley. The results demonstrate that female flight attendants are likely to overload themselves if they frequently have to move heavily laden trolleys unaided on an inclined cabin floor.

Relevance to industry

On short distance flights, flight attendants have been complaining increasingly of high physical workload from manoeuvring trolleys. On the basis of the presented data airline companies may improve the trolley handling skills of their flight attendances by practical trainings and may ergonomically optimize the general service procedures aboard aircrafts.