Apparatus and method for managing a cluster of information-transmitting devices to update a digital twin of a turbine engine

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device and method for managing a cluster of information transmission devices that can be reversibly fixed to an aircraft turbine engine, comprising: associating (S02) a device in the device cluster with a turbine engine in the turbine engine cluster, fixing (S03) and obtaining (S04) at least one operating parameter of the turbine engine, generating (S04) at least one indicator, which allows the digital twin of the turbine engine to be updated based on the obtained operating parameter, and transmitting (S05) the indicator allowing the digital twin to be updated to an entity for storing the digital twin.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of aircraft maintenance assistance, in particular for the management of turbine engine clusters. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and a device for transmitting information related to the operation of a turbine engine. Background Art

[0002] Within the framework of turbine engine cluster management, digital twins of these turbine engines are typically used to digitally illustrate, describe, reproduce, and simulate each turbine engine in the cluster. A digital twin is therefore an information representation of a turbine engine that, in particular, allows for simulations. For example, a digital twin allows for simulating the thermomechanical behavior of a turbine engine or observed wear, all in a digital environment.

[0003] Typically, a digital twin includes on a computer storage medium configuration information, intervention and maintenance data, operational data, a three-dimensional digital mockup of the turbine engine, documentation or a digital model allowing digital reproduction or simulation of the operation of the associated turbine engine.

[0004] A fleet of turbine engines can be managed based on a set of digital twins, particularly to implement maintenance operations when necessary. For example, digital twins can be used to monitor the health of turbine engines to implement predictive maintenance operations.

[0005] A digital twin exists for each turbine engine. Consequently, a turbine engine may be associated with multiple digital twins, each of which may represent a portion of the turbine engine or the entire turbine engine. In this application, the term "digital twin of a turbine engine" refers to both the digital twin of the turbine engine equipment and the digital twin of the entire turbine engine.

[0006] It has been observed that a digital twin of a turbine engine may contain information that poorly describes the actual state of the turbine engine. This is due to the difficulty in obtaining information derived from the turbine engine.

[0007] The present invention aims, among other things, to overcome these drawbacks. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To this end, the present invention proposes a method for managing a cluster of information transmission devices reversibly attached to an aircraft turbine engine, comprising:

[0009] Associating at least one device in the device cluster with a turbine engine in the turbine engine cluster,

[0010] attaching a device in the device cluster to a turbine engine in the turbine engine cluster,

[0011] obtaining at least one turbine engine operating parameter,

[0012] developing at least one indicator that allows updating the digital twin of the turbine engine based on the acquired operating parameters,

[0013] The indicator allowing the digital twin to be updated is transmitted to the digital twin storage entity.

[0014] The method may further include updating the digital twin, possibly via a digital twin storage entity.

[0015] Reversibly attachable means the attachment of the device to the turbine engine which may be manual or without the need for any tools.

[0016] The device can thus be quickly and easily installed and removed from the turbine engine without tools. The modular system can thus be installed successively on different turbine engines as needed. This removability allows for very rapid extraction of data (operating parameters) from the turbine engine by simply removing the modular device and replacing it with another one if needed for the next flight. The data can then be restored by connecting the thus removed modular device to a ground station during a transfer step.

[0017] This removability further allows limiting the mass impact on the turbine engine and, by extension, on the aircraft, associated with embedding such a device therein.

[0018] It can be noted that the device used in this method is actually of modular type, and the modularity of the device, which is embedded as a plug-and-play kit, allows it to be installed on at least one turbine engine on an ad hoc basis and thus avoids embedding two systems on the same aircraft, and embedding the system only when data recovery (i.e. acquisition of operating parameters) is required.

[0019] Typically, reversible attachment allows an operator to easily disassemble the device, for example within 30 minutes, thus significantly optimizing operating time on the turbine engine.

[0020] Furthermore, the present invention allows for easy restoration of information used to update the digital twin, as association and attachment are sufficient to authorize restoration of necessary information. As a result, the digital twin can be easily and quickly updated, and obsolescence of the digital twin can be avoided.

[0021] For example, an operating parameter may be any value that a sensor of the device can measure.

[0022] It can be noted that, by indication, the steps of the above method are implemented by the device. If an update of the digital twin is performed, then this step will be performed by the storage entity.

[0023] According to a particular mode of realization, the method comprises a preliminary step of determining an obsolete state of at least a portion of the digital twin of the turbine engine requiring allowing updating of said indicator of the digital twin of the turbine engine based on acquired operating parameters.

[0024] In this step, it is possible, in particular, to determine which of all digital twins are up-to-date and which are outdated, and then to identify the turbine engines associated with the outdated twins.

[0025] This specific implementation mode allows for association and attachment only for turbine engines with less than up-to-date digital twins. As a result, the impact of adding equipment to a turbine engine on quality is limited.

[0026] According to a particular mode of implementation, the outdated state of said at least one part of the digital twin of the turbine engine is associated with the detection of an event selected from the group consisting of: a duration since the last update of said part exceeding a duration threshold, a difference between information of said part and information from the turbine engine exceeding a threshold associated with said information, an alarm.

[0027] For example, a duration threshold may be a duration in days or months. An information-related threshold may be a threshold based on the difference between two values. An alert may be of any type, such as an alert in service, an alert related to a maintenance operation, etc.

[0028] According to a particular implementation mode, an obsolete state of the at least a portion of the digital twins of a plurality of turbine engines within a turbine engine cluster is determined, and the associating comprises associating a device with each turbine engine of a subset of the plurality of turbine engines.

[0029] Here, multiple turbine engines share the same requirement: they all have the same part of the digital twin, which is not up to date.

[0030] A subgroup can include one or several turbine engines. It has been observed that if several turbine engines share the same requirements, it is sufficient to associate a small number of turbine engines (subgroups) with a device. This also allows limiting the impact on the mass embedded by all the turbine engines of the cluster.

[0031] A person skilled in the art will know how to select, among a plurality of turbine engines, the turbine engine that must be associated.

[0032] According to a particular mode of realization, the method comprises the subsequent step of withdrawing said equipment of the equipment cluster from said turbine engine of the turbine engine cluster.

[0033] As explained above, this withdrawal is facilitated by the reversible nature of the attachment.

[0034] According to a specific implementation mode, the method further comprises: developing a digital twin according to the indicator.

[0035] This step can be implemented within the digital twin storage entity.

[0036] According to a particular implementation mode, the method further comprises a comparison process of an indicator allowing the digital twin to be updated with the digital twin.

[0037] Typically, a check can be made to see if a discrepancy is observed between the indicator allowing the update and the information already recorded in the digital twin. If the degree of discrepancy is deemed too great, additional processing can be implemented (typically generating an alert).

[0038] According to a specific implementation mode, the digital twin storage entity is embedded in the aircraft or is remote.

[0039] In practice, the digital twin storage entity can be embedded in the turbine engine, aircraft (e.g., along with the aircraft's digital twin). It can also be remote, typically at a ground station. In this case, the data can be transmitted wirelessly while the aircraft is on the ground, or wired when the equipment is evacuated.

[0040] The invention also proposes a method for managing a cluster of turbine engines by means of a device managed according to the method described above.

[0041] The present invention also proposes an information transmission device reversibly attached to an aircraft turbine engine, comprising:

[0042] Module for attaching equipment to a turbine engine,

[0043] means for acquiring at least one turbine engine operating parameter,

[0044] means for developing at least one indicator allowing updating of the digital twin of the turbine engine based on the acquired operating parameters,

[0045] Means for communicating said indicator allowing updating of the digital twin to a digital twin storage entity.

[0046] The device may be configured to implement all specific implementation modes of the above-described methods.

[0047] According to a specific embodiment, the device further comprises a power supply (typically a power supply) unit configured to be coupled to a power source (typically a power supply).

[0048] The power supply may be embedded and be a battery, which is coupled to the power supply unit and allows the operation of the device independently of the turbine engine on which it is intended to be embedded.

[0049] The autonomy of the modular device provided by the power supply allows occasional installation of the device on the turbine engine without connecting it to the power supply by cables and thus facilitates its installation by avoiding the necessity of passing cables on the turbine engine between the power supply and the device.

[0050] The power supply is preferably performed by a safe power source such as an isolated power supply or an autonomous energy system.

[0051] The present invention also proposes a system comprising a cluster of at least one device as described above and at least one digital twin storage entity.

[0052] The present invention also provides an aircraft turbine engine equipped with the above-mentioned device.

[0053] The present invention also provides an aircraft equipped with the above turbine engine. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description given with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment in a non-limiting manner. In the drawings:

[0055] [ Figure 1 ] Figure 1 The steps of a method according to one example are schematically illustrated.

[0056] [ Figure 2 ] Figure 2 It is a schematic representation of the equipment on a turbine engine.

[0057] [ Figure 3 ] Figure 3 The diagram shows a combination of equipment, turbine engines and storage entities.

[0058] [ Figure 4 ] Figure 4 An aircraft having a turbine engine equipped with equipment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] A method for managing a cluster of information transmission devices having reversible connections on an aircraft turbine engine will now be described.

[0060] This method for managing a cluster of equipment can be implemented within the framework of a method for managing a cluster of turbine engines, in particular turbine engines for which digital twins are stored in a storage entity (usually a ground station owned by the company that manufactured the turbine engines). As an indication, the management of a cluster of turbine engines includes the management of maintenance, the management of assignments to aircraft, etc.

[0061] As understood, there is a need to obtain the most up-to-date digital twins of turbine engines possible. The method presented below allows this need to be met by minimizing the mass increase on turbine engines within a turbine engine cluster.

[0062] Figure 1 An example of a method for managing a device cluster is shown. In this method, at least one device in the device cluster, which may be the same or different, a turbine engine in a turbine engine cluster, and an entity for storing a digital twin of the turbine engine are used.

[0063] In a first step S01 , an out-of-date state of at least a portion of a digital twin of a turbine engine is determined, which requires an indicator allowing updating (completely or partially) the digital twin of the turbine engine based on operating parameters acquired directly on the turbine engine.

[0064] For example, in this first step S01, the outdated state of said at least one part of the digital twin of the turbine engine is associated with the detection of an event selected from the group consisting of: a duration since the last update of said part exceeding a duration threshold, a difference between information of said part and information from the turbine engine exceeding a threshold associated with said information, an alarm.

[0065] It may be noted that out-of-date also means that said parameter has not been acquired on the turbine engine for too long a duration (above a given threshold).

[0066] In this step, the latest or outdated status of several or all turbine engines in the turbine engine cluster can be checked. If it is determined that the digital twins of multiple turbine engines are partially outdated, the multiple turbine engines will be analyzed using equipment.

[0067] That is to say, and as will appear more clearly below, it is not efficient to analyze all turbine engines among a plurality of obsolete turbine engines in terms of quality, since they all have to be equipped with the device.

[0068] Advantageously, a subgroup of the plurality is selected during step S01 .

[0069] Thus, in step S02, a device in the device cluster can be associated with each turbine engine in the subgroup. This association can be implemented by considering the availability criteria of the turbine engine or the aircraft on which the turbine engine is mounted, the availability of the device, or other criteria. The availability of the aircraft or turbine engine means that they can be fixed at the location where the device is to be attached.

[0070] This associating step S02 may be performed by the device itself or from a remote server.

[0071] Then, in step S03, the device selected during step S02 is mounted by attachment to the turbine engine selected during step S02. This attachment is of reversible type and can in particular be performed by means of an attachment fixture (usable without tools). Typically, multiple-point physical attachment means are used.

[0072] In practice, the equipment is of the LRU (Line Replaceable Unit) type, well known to those skilled in the art, and signifies that it can be attached / detached during a stopover on the aircraft.

[0073] In step S04, at least one turbine engine operating parameter is acquired. For example, the acquisition may be performed by a sensor of the device. For example, the sensor may be a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, an accelerometer, etc.

[0074] Also during step S04, at least one indicator is developed that allows the digital twin of the turbine engine to be updated based on the acquired operating parameters. This development may include preparing a packet sent by a transmission device of the device or performing a process so that the acquired information can be directly used to update the digital twin.

[0075] During a step S05 , the developed indicator allowing the updating of the digital twin is transmitted to the entity in which the digital twin is stored.

[0076] In a first variant, this transmission is intended to transfer the indicator to a remote storage entity. For example, when the aircraft is on the ground, a wireless link can be used to reach a receiver on the ground. This receiver can be a ground station where the digital twin is stored, or it can be transmitted to and from the ground station via a communication network such as the internet. The transmission can also be wired, so that when the device is evacuated, it can transmit its information while still connected.

[0077] In a second variant, the storage entity is inside the aircraft or inside a turbine engine. In this case, the transmission can be wired and can even be performed during the flight phase.

[0078] After the storage entity has received the indicator, a process may be performed in step S06 , such as a comparison process of the indicator with the digital twin that allows updating of the digital twin.

[0079] Typically, a check can be made in step S06 whether a difference is observable between the indicator allowing the update and the information already recorded in the digital twin. If the difference is deemed too large, additional processing can be implemented (typically generating an alarm).

[0080] Furthermore, updating the digital twin with new information can be performed, in particular by:

[0081] -Reset of health data,

[0082] - perform a diagnosis based on the information received,

[0083] - provision of databases,

[0084] - Updates to the health model of turbine engines,

[0085] - Additional configuration of the device.

[0086] An alert may then be generated, such as a suggestion to check or add another device (especially if this other device is equipped with other sensors).

[0087] Finally, if sufficient turbine engine operating parameters have been obtained, the device can be withdrawn. This withdrawal is facilitated by the reversible / detachable nature of the attachment. By withdrawing the device, the turbine engine is lightened and the device can be used on another turbine engine.

[0088] Figure 2 A turbine engine 100 is shown equipped with an apparatus 101, such as is used to implement reference Figure 1 The method and apparatus are described.

[0089] The device comprises a module 102 for attaching the device to a turbine engine. For example, the attachment module 102 may comprise an attachment fixture having multiple points of physical connection.

[0090] The device also comprises a module 103 for acquiring operating parameters of the turbine engine, typically a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor or an accelerometer.

[0091] It also comprises a module 104 for developing at least one indicator allowing the digital twin of the turbine engine to be updated based on the acquired operating parameters, and a module 105 for transmitting said indicator. The transmission module may comprise an interface (socket) for wired transmission or wireless transmission means.

[0092] In order to ensure autonomous operation of the device, the device comprises a power supply unit coupled to the battery 106 .

[0093] Figure 3 Illustration and reference Figure 2 A cluster of three devices 101, 101' and 101" similar to the device 101 described, and a cluster of three devices 101, 101' and 101" similar to the device 101 described in reference Figure 2 The depicted turbine engine 100 is a cluster of similar turbine engines 100 , 100 ′, and 100 ″.

[0094] The devices 100, 100' and 100" communicate directly or indirectly with a storage entity 200, which is a ground station here. Here, the communication between the devices and the storage entity is achieved via a network NET such as the Internet.

[0095] In the storage entity, there are three stored digital twins 300 , 300 ′ and 300 ″ associated with turbine engines 100 , 100 ′ and 100 ″, respectively.

[0096] However, the present invention is by no means limited to using a single storage entity for all digital twins. In fact, several storage entities can be used, and the turbine engine can be associated with different digital twins. The devices can also be different: their modules 105 can include different sensors. Thus, depending on the needs, one device will be used instead of another.

[0097] Figure 4 An aircraft 400 is shown, the turbine engine 100 of which is provided with a device 101. After a flight phase, it is possible to consider withdrawing this device 100.

Claims

1. A method for managing a cluster of information transmission devices reversibly attached to an aircraft turbine engine, comprising: Associating at least one device in the device cluster with a turbine engine in the turbine engine cluster (S02), Attaching (S03) a device in the device cluster to a turbine engine in the turbine engine cluster, acquiring (S04) at least one turbine engine operating parameter, developing (S04) at least one indicator allowing updating of the digital twin (300) of the turbine engine based on the acquired operating parameters, transmitting (S05) said indicator allowing the updating of the digital twin to the digital twin storage entity (200), The method further comprises a preliminary step of determining ( S01 ) an out-of-date state of at least a portion of the digital twin of the turbine engine requiring allowing updating of the indicator of the digital twin of the turbine engine based on the acquired operating parameters.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the outdated state of the at least one portion of the digital twin of the turbine engine is associated with the detection of an event selected from the group consisting of: a duration since the last update of the portion exceeding a duration threshold, a difference between information of the portion and information from the turbine engine exceeding a threshold associated with the information, an alarm.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein an outdated state of the at least a portion of the digital twins of a plurality of turbine engines within a turbine engine cluster is determined, and the associating comprises: A device is associated with each turbine engine of the subset of the plurality of turbine engines.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising: A subsequent step of withdrawing ( S07 ) the equipment in the equipment cluster from the turbine engine in the turbine engine cluster.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: A digital twin is developed based on the indicators.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: Comparison processing of indicators that allow updating of the digital twin with the digital twin.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the digital twin storage entity is embedded in the aircraft or is remote.

8. Method for managing a cluster of turbine engines by means of a device managed by a method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. An information transmission device reversibly attachable to an aircraft turbine engine, comprising: a module (102) for attaching the device to a turbine engine, A module (103) for acquiring at least one turbine engine operating parameter, means (104) for developing at least one indicator allowing updating of the digital twin of the turbine engine based on the acquired operating parameters, means (105) for transmitting said indicator allowing the updating of the digital twin to a digital twin storage entity, The device is further configured for performing a preliminary step of determining ( S01 ) an out-of-date state of at least a portion of the digital twin of the turbine engine requiring allowing updating of the indicator of the digital twin of the turbine engine based on the acquired operating parameters.

10. The device according to claim 9, further comprising a power supply unit (105) configured to be coupled to a power source (106).

11. A system comprising a cluster of at least one device (101) according to claim 9 or 10 and at least one digital twin storage entity (200).

12. An aircraft turbine engine equipped with a device (101) according to claim 9 or 10.

13. An aircraft equipped with a turbine engine according to claim 12.

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