System and method for monitoring landing gear stowing brake load mitigation system

Abstract

The invention relates to a system and method for monitoring a landing gear stowing brake load mitigation system. A method for monitoring a landing gear stowing brake load mitigation system includes receiving a plurality of wheel speed measurements from a wheel speed sensor associated with a wheel of a landing gear during air operation. The method includes determining a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements. The method further includes generating an alert indicative of a potential maintenance problem associated with the landing gear in response to the landing gear load metric satisfying a landing gear load threshold.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for monitoring a landing gear retraction brake (GRB) load relief system. Background Art

[0002] Some aircraft are supported on the ground by a landing gear system, which is retracted into the main body of the aircraft after takeoff. Each landing gear of the landing gear system may include a shock strut (e.g., an oleo-pneumatic shock) and one or more wheels. The landing gear system may include a nose landing gear system and two main landing gear systems. The nose landing gear system may include a shock strut with a pair of wheels. The wheels of the nose landing gear system do not include a braking system, and after takeoff, rotation of the wheels of the nose landing gear system is stopped by contact with brake pads mounted in the aircraft's wheel wells.

[0003] Each landing gear of the main landing gear system includes a shock strut with one or more pairs of wheels. Each wheel of the main landing gear system includes multiple disc brakes. The multiple disc brakes can be hydraulically powered or powered by other means (e.g., using electromagnets). When hydraulically powered, separate normal and alternate brake hydraulic systems provide active and passive sources of hydraulic brake power for braking and anti-skid control of the aircraft after landing. Upon detecting a loss of hydraulic system pressure in the normal brake hydraulic system, the alternate brake hydraulic system is automatically selected. The normal and alternate brake hydraulic systems have separate hydraulic components that are engaged before being connected to the brakes using shuttle valves. Common brake lines (e.g., one per wheel) run to the multiple disc brakes on the wheels.

[0004] After the aircraft takes off, the hydraulic landing gear retraction system engages to retract the wheels of the main landing gear system into the wheel wells. This hydraulic landing gear retraction system includes a GRB load relief system that stops the rotation of the wheels of the main landing gear system in a controlled manner to avoid applying high loads to the components of the main landing gear system. Before the landing gear is fully retracted, brake pressure is applied to stop the wheels before entering the wheel wells. This brake pressure is reduced from aircraft system pressure, limited in flow, offset in application, and actively controlled by an electro-hydraulic servo valve to reduce landing gear loads. This combination of factors results in reduced torque being applied to the multiple disc brakes compared to when the wheels are stopped too quickly. The use of the GRB load relief system mitigates the loads applied to the shock strut components and other components of the main landing gear system, which may be severely affected by high loads (for example, the shock strut hard stops and the intermediate structure connecting the wheels to the shock struts).

[0005] An aircraft may include a system that monitors a GRB load mitigation system to detect problems with the GRB load mitigation system. Some existing monitors for GRB systems include monitors coupled to specific components of the GRB load mitigation system, but such monitors may not indicate problems when one or more non-monitored components are not operating properly. Monitoring all components of a GRB load mitigation system may be impractical due to complexity, reliability, availability of data processing resources, and weight considerations. Other existing monitors for GRB load mitigation systems measure loads directly via sensors (e.g., strain gauges), but such monitors increase complexity, weight, and may need to be frequently calibrated to ensure reliability of the output. It would be desirable to provide a monitoring system for a GRB load mitigation system that monitors the operation of the GRB load mitigation system as a whole without requiring direct measurement of loads. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In a specific implementation, a method includes receiving a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of landing gear during airborne operations. The method includes determining a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements. The method also includes generating an alert indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the landing gear in response to the landing gear load metric satisfying a landing gear load threshold.

[0007] In another specific implementation, a system includes one or more processors configured to receive a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of landing gear. The one or more processors are configured to determine a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements. The one or more processors are further configured to generate an alert indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the landing gear in response to determining that the landing gear load metric satisfies a landing gear load threshold.

[0008] In another specific implementation, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to receive a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of a landing gear. The instructions cause the one or more processors to determine a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements. The instructions further cause the one or more processors to generate an alert indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the landing gear in response to determining that the landing gear load metric satisfies a landing gear load threshold.

[0009] In another specific implementation, an apparatus includes means for receiving a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of landing gear during airborne operations. The apparatus also includes means for determining a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements. The apparatus also includes means for generating an alert indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the landing gear in response to the landing gear load metric satisfying a landing gear load threshold. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 An exemplary system for monitoring a GRB load mitigation system is depicted, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 2 An exemplary GRB load mitigation system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0012] Figure 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for monitoring a GRB load mitigation system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a computing environment including computing devices configured to support aspects of computer-implemented methods and computer-executable program instructions (or code) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] An aircraft may be equipped with one or more GRB load relief systems to stop the rotation of the wheels of the main landing gear system in a controlled manner after takeoff, thereby avoiding high loads on components of the main landing gear system due to the rapid cessation of wheel rotation. The GRB load relief systems may be monitored to determine when a problem exists with one or more GRB load relief systems. Problems with one or more GRB load relief systems may cause problems with the main landing gear system.

[0015] The technical advantage of the present disclosure is that the operation of the GRB load relief system can be monitored as a whole to identify problems, rather than monitoring individual components of the GRB load relief system. In addition, the system and method of the present disclosure uses the output of wheel speed sensors already installed on the landing gear to monitor the GRB load relief system.

[0016] In some aspects, another technical advantage of the present disclosure is the use of a dynamic model of the GRB load mitigation system to predict mechanical loads on system components from wheel speed sensors, eliminating the potentially problematic reliance on direct load measurements (e.g., using strain gauges). Another technical advantage of the present disclosure is the diagnostics of the brake type in the landing gear braking system using the systems and methods disclosed herein. The disclosed subject matter is applicable to hydraulic brakes, electric brakes, and the like.

[0017] The accompanying drawings and the following description illustrate specific exemplary implementations. It should be understood that those skilled in the art will be able to design various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or illustrated herein, embody the principles described herein and are included within the scope of the claims that follow this description. In addition, any examples described herein are intended to aid understanding of the principles of the present disclosure and are to be construed as non-limiting. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific implementations or embodiments described below, but is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

[0018] The detailed description is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description, common features are denoted by common reference numerals throughout the drawings. As used herein, different terms are used only for the purpose of describing specific implementations and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Further, some features described herein are singular in some implementations and plural in other implementations. For illustration, Figure 1 Depicts a system comprising one or more processors ( Figure 1 106), indicating that in some implementations, the system 100 includes a single processor 106, and in other implementations, the system 100 includes multiple processors 106. For ease of reference herein, such features are generally introduced as "one or more" features and are subsequently referred to in the singular or optional plural (indicated by "(s)") unless aspects related to multiple features are being described.

[0019] The terms "comprise," "comprises," and "comprising" are used interchangeably with "include," "includes," or "including." Additionally, the term "wherein" is used interchangeably with the term "wherein." As used herein, "exemplary" indicates an embodiment, implementation, and / or aspect and should not be construed as limiting or indicating a preferred or preferred implementation. As used herein, ordinal terms (e.g., "first," "second," "third," etc.) used to modify an element (such as a structure, component, operation, etc.) do not, by themselves, indicate any priority or order of the element relative to another element, but merely distinguish the element from another element having the same name (but with respect to the use of the ordinal term). As used herein, the term "set" refers to a grouping of one or more elements, and the term "plurality" refers to a plurality of elements.

[0020] As used herein, "generate," "calculate," "use," "select," "access," and "determine" are interchangeable unless the context indicates otherwise. For example, "generating," "calculating," or "determining" a parameter (or signal) may refer to actively generating, calculating, or determining a parameter (or signal) or may refer to using, selecting, or accessing an already generated parameter (or signal), such as by another component or device. As used herein, "coupled" may include "communicatively coupled," "electrically coupled," or "physically coupled," and may also (or alternatively) include any combination thereof. Two devices (or components) may be coupled (e.g., communicatively coupled, electrically coupled, or physically coupled) directly or indirectly via one or more other devices, components, wires, buses, networks (e.g., wired networks, wireless networks, or combinations thereof). Two electrically coupled devices (or components) may be included in the same device or in different devices and may be connected via electronics, one or more connectors, or inductive coupling, as illustrative, non-limiting examples. In some implementations, two devices (or components) that are communicatively coupled (e.g., in electrical communication) may directly or indirectly send and receive electrical signals (digital or analog) via, for example, one or more wires, buses, networks, etc. As used herein, "directly coupled" is used to describe two devices that are coupled (e.g., communicatively coupled, electrically coupled, or physically coupled) without intervening components.

[0021] Figure 1 An exemplary system 100 for monitoring a GRB load mitigation system of an aircraft is shown, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some implementations, system 100 includes a computing device 102 configured to communicate with one or more first wheel speed sensors 104 and / or one or more second wheel speed sensors 110.

[0022] In some embodiments, the first wheel speed sensor 104 includes one or more components configured to provide a first plurality of wheel speed measurements 118 associated with a first wheel 112 of the landing gear 116 during airborne operation. The second wheel speed sensor 110 includes one or more components configured to provide a second plurality of wheel speed measurements 120 associated with a second wheel 114 of the landing gear 116 during airborne operation. The aircraft may include two or more landing gears 116. Figure 1 In the embodiment shown, the landing gear 116 includes a pair of wheels 112, 114, but in other embodiments, the landing gear 116 may include one or more additional pairs of wheels.

[0023] In some aspects, the first plurality of wheel speed measurements 118 and / or the second plurality of wheel speed measurements 120 may include one or more types of measurements associated with the rotational speed of the respective wheels 112 , 114 . For example, the wheel speed measurements 118 , 120 may include direct wheel speed measurements, wheel position measurements over time, and the like. In some configurations, the wheel speed measurements 118 , 120 may include additional data associated with the wheel speeds to contextualize the wheel speed measurements 118 , 120 . For example, if some portion of the wheel speed measurements 118 , 120 include wheel position measurements, additional data identifying a corresponding timestamp for each wheel position measurement may be included in the wheel speed measurements 118 , 120 . In other configurations, this additional data may be transmitted to the computing device 102 alone or in some combination thereof.

[0024] In some implementations, the computing device 102 includes one or more processors 106 coupled to a memory 108. The processor 106 is configured to receive the first plurality of wheel speed measurements 118, the second plurality of wheel speed measurements 120, or some combination thereof. In some aspects, the processor 106 includes a metric determination module 122 and an alert generator 128.

[0025] The metric determination module 122 may be configured to determine a landing gear load metric 124 based on the received wheel speed measurements 118, 120. In some aspects, the metric determination module 122 may be configured to determine the landing gear load metric 124 based on a wheel speed quantity 126 determined for each wheel 112, 114 of the landing gear 116. The first wheel speed quantity 126 for the first wheel 112 is based on the first plurality of wheel speed measurements 118, and the second wheel speed quantity 126 for the second wheel 114 is based on the second plurality of wheel speed measurements 120.

[0026] In some aspects, the landing gear load metric 124 may be based on one or more metrics associated with GRB loading. For example, the landing gear load metric 124 may include wheel acceleration metrics associated with the first wheel 112, the second wheel 114, or a combination thereof.

[0027] In some embodiments, the processor 106 can be configured to determine whether the landing gear load metric 124 satisfies a landing gear load threshold 132, which can be retrieved from the memory 108. For example, the landing gear load threshold 132 can include data indicating that each landing gear retraction exceeds a combined wheel acceleration limit of -300 rad / s / s for a cumulative time of 0.125 seconds. In other implementations, the wheel acceleration limit and the cumulative time limit can have other values. The metric determination module 122 can be configured to generate the landing gear load metric 124 based on the first plurality of wheel speed measurements 118, the second plurality of wheel speed measurements 120, or a combination thereof. The processor 106 can be configured to determine whether the wheel speed measurements 118, 120 indicate that the acceleration of the first wheel 112 and / or the second wheel 114 is less than the landing gear load threshold 132. In particular embodiments, processor 106 may be configured to determine whether wheel speed measurements 118, 120 indicate a wheel acceleration less than -300 rad / s / s and then generate a time value associated with wheel speed measurements 118, 120. If the time value is greater than 0.125 seconds, processor(s) 106 may be configured to count instances indicating that landing gear load metric 124 satisfies landing gear load threshold 132 and one or more of wheels 112, 114 is decelerating too quickly.

[0028] In some aspects, the metric determination module 122 can be configured to determine the landing gear load metric 124 based on a dynamic model 134, which can be retrieved from the memory 108. The dynamic model 134 can include one or more parameters, data values, relationships, etc. associated with the GRB load mitigation system. The dynamic model 134 can enable load prediction based on the state of the GRB load mitigation system, rather than directly sensing the load. For example, the dynamic model 134 can simulate the rotational inertia of a cantilevered arm located on a hard stop. Such a dynamic model 134 can be integrated using a discrete-time ordinary differential equation solving method (e.g., the Runge-Kutta method) to obtain an estimated landing gear load. In other configurations, the dynamic model 134 can include additional springs, dampers, rotational inertia, brakes, hard stops, pivots; gas or hydraulic chambers and valves; electronic, gas, or hydraulic actuators; or other components. In the same or alternative configurations, the dynamic model 134 can include consideration of static and dynamic friction, temperature, pressure, other variables, or some combination thereof.

[0029] The dynamic model 134 can be used to predict loads based on component and system states of the GRB load mitigation system. Component states may include, for example, brake inertia and tire inertia. Brake inertia may be estimated based on one or more brake wear measurements, and tire inertia may be based on one or more tire wear measurements. Other component and system states may include whether the landing gear is retracting; whether the aircraft is accelerating; air loads; whether the landing gear has multiple configurations (i.e., the landing gear is a semi-levered landing gear); whether the wheels, tires, brakes, or a combination thereof have multiple configurations; whether the braking system or other control system has multiple states; and so on.

[0030] In some configurations, the inputs to the dynamic model 134 may include one or more measurements, calculations, data values, data derivations, etc. associated with the state of the GRB load mitigation system. For example, the inputs may include brake pressure, electro-hydraulic servo valve pressure, brake metering valve pressure, shock strut fluid pressure, shock strut fluid temperature, brake temperature, brake force or torque, landing gear component force or torque, electric brake actuator measurements (e.g., position, velocity, acceleration, force, voltage, current, etc.), brake radiator wear (e.g., obtained via position measurements or indirectly estimated), landing gear position state (e.g., obtained from control lever position, gear lock state, proximity sensor, etc.), wheel position, wheel speed, wheel acceleration, jerk sensors (obtained from inertial sensors on wheels, inertial sensors on tires, inertial sensors on brakes, inertial sensors on landing gear, inertial sensors on fuselage, etc.).

[0031] In certain aspects, the processor 106 may also be configured to filter one or more inputs to the dynamic model 134 as part of an error reduction process, an error correction process, or some combination thereof. If one or more inputs to the dynamic model 134 result in errors in the system 100 (e.g., unnecessary false positives), the one or more inputs may be filtered to improve the performance of the dynamic model 134.

[0032] In response to landing gear load metric 124 satisfying landing gear load threshold 132, alert generator 128 may be configured to generate alert 130 indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with landing gear 116. Alert 130 may include, for example, a visual alert, an audio alert, a tactile alert, a text-based alert (e.g., a log entry, a message to flight crew and / or maintenance personnel, etc.), other suitable alerts, or a combination thereof.

[0033] In some aspects, alert 130 is based on characteristics of output from dynamic model 134. For example, output from dynamic model 134 may include acceleration limits associated with wheels 112, 114 of landing gear 116. To illustrate, if the acceleration of first wheel 112, second wheel 114, or both, satisfies an acceleration threshold, dynamic model 134 may indicate that a particular operating mode or set of operating modes is not a normal operating mode.

[0034] In certain aspects, potential maintenance issues are associated with specific operating modes. For example, specific operating modes may allow the GRB load mitigation system to provide one or more large pulses to landing gear 116. Certain operating modes may allow one or more wheels 112, 114 to decelerate too quickly. Certain operating modes may be associated with one or more GRB load mitigation system components that allow for rapid deceleration of wheels 112, 114. This may include one or more electro-hydraulic servovalves (e.g., one or more anti-skid valves), one or more brake metering valves, or a combination thereof that allow for rapid deceleration of wheels 112, 114.

[0035] As an illustrative example, system 100 may be implemented using a counter that decrements after a certain number of known-good cycles and a landing gear cycle count. The counter is initially set to zero and is utilized such that multiple abnormal operating modes need to be detected before an alert identifying a problem is generated. The landing gear cycle count is also initially set to zero. Detection of a problem by the GRB load relief system's monitoring system does not require any action from the aircraft's pilot and does not require immediate resolution. System 100 is activated each time the landing gear handle is moved to the "up" position (i.e., when the landing gear retraction system is activated). During airborne operations, first wheel speed sensor 104 transmits a first plurality of wheel speed measurements 118 to computing device 102, and second wheel speed sensor 110 transmits a second plurality of wheel speed measurements 120 to computing device 102. After determining the landing gear load metric 124 based on the wheel speed measurements 118 and 120 and the output of the dynamic model 134, if the landing gear load metric 124 satisfies the landing gear load threshold 132, the computing device 102 indicates that the specific operating mode of the GRB load mitigation system is not the normal operating mode, increments a counter by one, and sets the number of landing gear cycles to 0. After completing the landing gear retraction, if the number of landing gear cycles is equal to or greater than the landing gear cycle threshold (e.g., 100, 50, or some other number of cycles) and the GRB load mitigation system awaits the next activation of the landing gear retraction system, the counter is decremented by one. If the counter is less than the counter threshold (e.g., 10 or some other specific number), the GRB load mitigation system awaits the next activation of the landing gear retraction system.

[0036] If the counter is equal to the counter threshold, the specific operating mode is the active specific operating mode and an alert 130 is generated. An associated message may provide troubleshooting details based on the landing gear load metric 124. Use of the counter and the number of landing gear cycles may be suspended until maintenance is performed. If the landing gear load metric 124 for a subsequent cycle indicates additional troubleshooting details that differ from the troubleshooting details associated with the active specific operating mode, an additional alert 130 and associated message may be generated.

[0037] In some implementations, the computing device 102 may be associated with, integrated into, or otherwise included in an aircraft. The system 100 may also include Figure 1 Components not shown in FIG. For example, the computing device 102 may further include a receiver configured to receive the first plurality of wheel speed measurements 118, the second plurality of wheel speed measurements 120, or a combination thereof. The receiver may be configured to receive data, for example, via a computer bus. As additional embodiments, the system 100 may further include one or more input / output interfaces, one or more network interfaces, and the like. Further, although Figure 1 The memory 108 of the system 100 is illustrated as storing certain data, but more, less, and / or different data may be present within the memory 108 without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure.

[0038] In addition, although Figure 1 Some operations are shown occurring within computing device 102, but these operations may be performed by other components of system 100 without departing from the scope of the present subject disclosure. For example, one or more components external to computing device 102 may be configured to host or otherwise incorporate some or all of the components of metric determination module 122, alert generator 128, or some combination thereof. Such components may be located remotely from computing device 102 and accessed via a modem of computing device 102. As an additional example, memory 108 may be one or more storage devices, and these storage devices may be located remotely from computing device 102, remotely from each other, or a combination thereof.

[0039] Further, although Figure 1 Computing device 102, first wheel 112, second wheel 114, and landing gear 116 are shown as separate, but other configurations are possible without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure. For example, computing device 102 may be integrated into one or more components of landing gear 116. As an additional example, one or more components of computing device 102 may be distributed across multiple computing devices (e.g., a set of processor cores).

[0040] Figure 2An exemplary GRB load mitigation system 200 is shown according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the exemplary system 200, Figure 1 The computing device 102 is plugged into an existing GRB load mitigation system without the need for additional sensors to be built into the system.

[0041] In some implementations, system 200 includes an anti-skid automatic brake control unit (AACU) 228 coupled to a system including brake metering valves 202 that meter pressure to brakes 201 coupled to first and second wheels 112, 114. The AACU is an electronic device configured to control anti-skid and automatic braking components used to control braking of first and second wheels 112, 114. In some aspects, AACU 228 includes a first anti-skid card 222 coupled to a second anti-skid card 224. Each anti-skid card 222, 224 includes a landing gear retraction brake load reduction proportional / integral control module 218 configured to provide a control signal to anti-skid valves 204. AACU 228 is also configured to receive a first plurality of wheel speed measurements 118 from a first wheel speed sensor 104 coupled to first wheel 112 and a second plurality of wheel speed measurements 120 from a second wheel speed sensor 110 coupled to second wheel 114. In some embodiments, the anti-skid valve 204 can enable load relief of the first wheel 112 and the second wheel 114 after takeoff. In some aspects, the anti-skid valve 204 can be coupled to the wheels 112, 114 via a check throttle valve 208 and a flow restrictor 214. In some aspects, the check throttle valve 208 can be coupled between a fuse and a shuttle valve associated with one of the wheels 112, 114. For example, Figure 2 Check throttle valve 208 is shown coupled between a fuse plug and a shuttle valve associated with first wheel 112 .

[0042] In some implementations, the system 200 controls braking of the wheels 112, 114 of the main landing gear system of the aircraft after takeoff. The AACU 228 can use the wheel speed measurements 118, 120 to control load reduction of the wheels 112, 114. By adding the computing device 102 to the GRB load reduction system, the system 200 can monitor components of the GRB load reduction system without adding additional sensors to the GRB load reduction system. Although the computing device 102 is shown as separate from the other components of the system 200, one or more components of the computing device 102 can be associated with, integrated into, or otherwise included in the GRB load reduction system. For example, the computing device 102 can be integrated with the AACU 228 into a single electronic device.

[0043] Figure 3is a flow chart of an exemplary method 300 for monitoring a GRB load reduction system according to some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. The method 300 may be initiated, performed, or controlled by one or more processors executing instructions, such as a processor executing instructions from memory 108. Figure 1 The processor 106 initiates, executes or controls the process.

[0044] In some embodiments, the method 300 includes, at block 302, receiving a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of a main landing gear system during airborne operation. Figure 1 The processor 106 may receive a plurality of wheel speed measurements 118 , 120 from wheel speed sensors 104 , 110 associated with wheels 112 , 114 of the landing gear 116 during airborne operations.

[0045] The method 300 includes, at block 304, determining a landing gear load metric based on a plurality of wheel speed measurements. For example, Figure 1 The processor 106 may determine a landing gear load metric 124 based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements 118 , 120 .

[0046] The method 300 also includes, at block 306, generating an alert indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the main landing gear system in response to the landing gear load metric satisfying the landing gear load threshold. For example, Figure 1 Processor 106 may generate alert 130 indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with landing gear 116 in response to landing gear load metric 124 satisfying landing gear load threshold 132 .

[0047] In some implementations, method 300 may include more, fewer, and / or different steps without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, method 300 may further include filtering the input of the dynamic model as part of the error reduction process. As another example, method 300 may further include filtering the output of the dynamic model as part of the error correction process.

[0048] Further, the above reference can be implemented Figure 1 and Figure 2 The method described may achieve one or more of the technical advantages described in greater detail above. For example, the method 300 may enable monitoring the health of a GRB load mitigation system without adding additional sensors to the system.

[0049] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a computing environment 400 including a computing device 410 configured to support various aspects of computer-implemented methods and computer-executable program instructions (or code) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the computing device 410 or a portion thereof is configured to execute instructions to initiate, perform, or control the above-referenced Figure 1-Figure 3 In particular aspects, the computing device 410 may include, correspond to, or be included in Figure 1 computing device 102, one or more servers, one or more virtual devices, or a combination thereof.

[0050] The computing device 410 includes one or more processors 420. In particular aspects, the processor 420 corresponds to Figure 1 4. The processor 420 is configured to communicate with a system memory 430, one or more storage devices 450, one or more input / output interfaces 440, one or more communication interfaces 460, or any combination thereof. The system memory 430 includes volatile memory devices (e.g., random access memory (RAM) devices), non-volatile memory devices (e.g., read-only memory (ROM) devices, programmable read-only memory, and flash memory), or both. The system memory 430 stores an operating system 432, which may include a basic input / output system for booting the computing device 410 and a complete operating system that enables the computing device 410 to interact with users, other programs, and other devices. The system memory 430 stores system (program) data 438, such as the first plurality of wheel speed measurements 118 and / or the second plurality of wheel speed measurements 120, the landing gear load threshold 132, Figure 1 130, or a combination thereof.

[0051] System memory 430 includes one or more applications 434 (eg, instruction sets) that are executable by processor 420. As an example, one or more applications 434 include instructions 436 that are executable by processor(s) 420 to initiate, control, or execute a process. Figure 1-Figure 3 For illustration, one or more applications 434 include instructions 436 that can be executed by processor 420 to initiate, control, or perform the operations described in

[0066] Figure 1 The one or more operations described herein include obtaining wheel speed measurements 118 , 120 , determining a landing gear load metric 124 , and generating an alert 130 .

[0052] In a particular implementation, system memory 430 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., a computer-readable storage device) storing instructions 436 that, when executed by processor 420, cause processor 420 to initiate, execute, or control operations for monitoring a landing gear retraction brake load mitigation system. The operations include receiving a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of the landing gear during airborne operations. The operations also include determining a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements. The operations also include generating an alert indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the landing gear in response to the landing gear load metric satisfying a landing gear load threshold.

[0053] One or more storage devices 450 include non-volatile storage devices such as magnetic disks, optical disks, or flash memory devices. In certain examples, storage devices 450 include both removable and non-removable storage devices. Storage devices 450 are configured to store an operating system, an image of the operating system, applications (e.g., one or more of applications 434), and program data (e.g., program data 438). In certain aspects, system memory 430, storage devices 450, or both comprise tangible computer-readable media. In certain aspects, one or more of storage devices 450 are external to computing device 410.

[0054] One or more input / output interfaces 440 enable computing device 410 to communicate with one or more input / output devices 470 to facilitate user interaction. For example, one or more input / output interfaces 440 may include a display interface, an input interface, or both. For example, input / output interface 440 is adapted to receive input from a user, receive input from another computing device, or a combination thereof. In some implementations, input / output interface 440 conforms to one or more standard interface protocols, including a serial interface (e.g., a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface or an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) interface standard), a parallel interface, a display adapter, an audio adapter, or a custom interface ("IEEE" is a registered trademark of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Piscataway, New Jersey). In some implementations, input / output device 470 includes one or more user interface devices and a display, including some combination of buttons, a keyboard, a pointing device, a display, a speaker, a microphone, a touch screen, and other devices.

[0055] The processor 420 is configured to communicate with a device or controller 480 via one or more communication interfaces 460. For example, the one or more communication interfaces 460 may include a network interface. The device or controller 480 may include, for example, Figure 1 The first wheel speed sensor 104, the second wheel speed sensor 110, or a combination thereof.

[0056] In some implementations, a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., a computer-readable storage device) stores instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to initiate, perform, or control operations to perform some or all of the functionality described above. For example, the instructions may be executed to implement Figure 1-Figure 3 In some implementations, Figure 1-Figure 3 Part or all of one or more of the operations or methods may be implemented by one or more processors (e.g., one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs)) that execute instructions, by dedicated hardware circuits, or any combination thereof.

[0057] The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended to provide an overall understanding of the structures of different implementations. These illustrations are not intended to serve as a complete description of all elements and features of the devices and systems utilizing the structures or methods described herein. After reviewing this disclosure, many other implementations may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Other implementations may be utilized and derived from this disclosure so that structural and logical replacements and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. For example, method operations may be performed in an order different from that shown in the figures or one or more method operations may be omitted. Therefore, this disclosure and the accompanying drawings are considered to be illustrative and not restrictive.

[0058] Furthermore, while specific embodiments have been shown and described herein, it should be understood that any subsequent arrangement designed to achieve the same or similar results may replace the specific implementations shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all subsequent adaptations or variations of different implementations. Combinations of the above implementations, as well as other implementations not specifically described herein, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of this description.

[0059] The abstract of the present disclosure is submitted with the understanding that it is not used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing detailed description, different features may be combined together or described in a single implementation for the purpose of streamlining the present disclosure. The above embodiments illustrate but do not limit the present disclosure. It will also be understood that many modifications and variations are possible based on the principles of the subject matter of the present disclosure. As reflected in the following claims, the claimed subject matter may be directed to fewer features than all the features of any disclosed example. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0060] Furthermore, the present disclosure includes implementations according to the following examples:

[0061] According to embodiment 1, a method includes: receiving a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of landing gear during airborne operations; determining a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements; and generating an alert indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the landing gear in response to the landing gear load metric satisfying a landing gear load threshold.

[0062] Embodiment 2 includes the method of embodiment 1, further comprising: receiving a second plurality of wheel speed measurements from a second wheel speed sensor associated with a second wheel of the landing gear, wherein determining the landing gear load metric comprises determining a wheel speed metric of the wheel and a second wheel speed metric of the second wheel, the second wheel speed metric being based on the second plurality of wheel speed measurements.

[0063] Embodiment 3 includes the method of embodiment 1 or embodiment 2, wherein determining the landing gear load metric comprises analyzing a plurality of wheel speed measurements to determine the wheel speed metric.

[0064] Embodiment 4 includes the method of embodiment 3, wherein the wheel speed measure comprises a wheel acceleration measure.

[0065] Embodiment 5 includes the method of embodiment 3 or embodiment 4, wherein the plurality of wheel speed measurements includes a plurality of wheel position measurements.

[0066] Embodiment 6 includes the method of any one of embodiments 1 to 5, wherein determining the landing gear load metric comprises determining the landing gear load metric based on a dynamic model of the landing gear.

[0067] Example 7 includes the method of Example 6, and further includes filtering the input to the dynamic model as part of the error reduction process.

[0068] Embodiment 8 includes the method of embodiment 6 or embodiment 7, and further includes filtering the output of the dynamic model as part of the error correction process.

[0069] Embodiment 9 includes the method of any one of embodiments 6 to 8, wherein the alert is based on a characteristic of the dynamic model.

[0070] Embodiment 10 includes the method of embodiment 9, wherein the potential maintenance issue is associated with a particular operating mode.

[0071] According to embodiment 11, a system includes: one or more processors configured to receive a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of a landing gear; determine a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements; and in response to determining that the landing gear load metric satisfies a landing gear load threshold, generate an alert indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the landing gear.

[0072] Embodiment 12 includes the system of embodiment 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a second plurality of wheel speed measurements from a second wheel speed sensor associated with a second wheel of the landing gear, wherein determining the landing gear load metric comprises determining a wheel speed metric for the wheel and a second wheel speed metric for the second wheel, wherein the second wheel speed metric is based on the second plurality of wheel speed measurements. Determining the landing gear load metric further comprises using a dynamic model of the landing gear to determine the landing gear load metric based on the wheel speed metric and the second wheel speed metric.

[0073] Example 13 includes the system of Example 11 or Example 12, wherein determining the landing gear load metric comprises performing an analysis of a plurality of wheel speed measurements to determine the wheel speed metric.

[0074] Embodiment 14 includes the system of embodiment 13, wherein the wheel speed measure comprises a wheel acceleration measure.

[0075] Example 15 includes the system of Example 13 or Example 14, wherein the plurality of wheel speed measurements includes a plurality of wheel position measurements.

[0076] Embodiment 16 includes the system of any one of embodiments 11 to 15, wherein determining the landing gear load metric is based on a dynamic model of the landing gear.

[0077] Example 17 includes the system of example 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to filter inputs to the dynamic model as part of the error reduction process.

[0078] Example 18 includes the system of Example 16 or Example 17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to filter the output of the dynamic model as part of the error correction process.

[0079] Embodiment 19 includes the system of any one of embodiments 16 to 18, wherein the alert is based on a characteristic of the dynamic model.

[0080] Example 20 includes the system of example 19, wherein the potential maintenance issue is associated with a particular operating mode.

[0081] In accordance with embodiment 21, a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprises instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive a plurality of wheel speed measurements from a wheel speed sensor associated with a wheel of a landing gear; determine a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements; and, in response to determining that the landing gear load metric satisfies a landing gear load threshold, generate an alert indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the landing gear.

[0082] Embodiment 22 includes the non-transitory computer-readable medium of embodiment 21, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to receive a second plurality of wheel speed measurements from a second wheel speed sensor associated with a second wheel of the landing gear, and wherein determining the landing gear load metric comprises determining a first wheel speed metric for the first wheel and a second wheel speed metric for the second wheel, wherein the second wheel speed metric is based on the second plurality of wheel speed measurements.

[0083] According to embodiment 23, the non-transitory computer readable medium includes embodiment 21 or embodiment 22, wherein determining the landing gear load metric comprises performing an analysis of a plurality of wheel speed measurements to determine the wheel speed metric.

[0084] Embodiment 24 includes the non-transitory computer-readable medium of embodiment 23, wherein the wheel speed metric comprises a wheel acceleration metric.

[0085] Embodiment 25 includes the non-transitory computer-readable medium of embodiment 23 or embodiment 24, wherein the plurality of wheel speed measurements comprises a plurality of wheel position measurements.

[0086] Embodiment 26 includes the non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of Embodiments 21 to 25, wherein determining the landing gear load metric is based on a dynamic model of the landing gear.

[0087] Embodiment 27 includes the non-transitory computer-readable medium of embodiment 26, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to filter inputs to the dynamic model as part of an error reduction process.

[0088] Embodiment 28 includes the non-transitory computer-readable medium of embodiment 26 or embodiment 27, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to filter the output of the dynamic model as part of an error correction process.

[0089] Embodiment 29 includes the non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of embodiments 26 to 28, wherein the alert is based on a characteristic of the dynamic model.

[0090] Embodiment 30 includes the non-transitory computer-readable medium of embodiment 29, wherein the potential maintenance issue is associated with a particular operating mode.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a landing gear retraction brake load relief system, comprising: receiving a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of the landing gear during airborne operations; determining a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements; as well as In response to the landing gear load metric satisfying a landing gear load threshold, an alert is generated indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the landing gear.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wheels include a first wheel and a second wheel, and the wheel speed sensors include a first wheel speed sensor associated with the first wheel and a second wheel speed sensor associated with the second wheel. in, Receiving a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of a landing gear includes: receiving a first plurality of wheel speed measurements from a first wheel speed sensor associated with the first wheel of the landing gear; receiving a second plurality of wheel speed measurements from a second wheel speed sensor associated with the second wheel of the landing gear, Wherein determining the landing gear load metric includes determining a first wheel speed quantity of the first wheel and a second wheel speed quantity of the second wheel, and wherein the first wheel speed quantity is based on the first plurality of wheel speed measurements and the second wheel speed quantity is based on the second plurality of wheel speed measurements.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein Determining the landing gear load metric includes analyzing the plurality of wheel speed measurements to determine a wheel speed metric.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The wheel speed measurements include wheel acceleration measurements.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The plurality of wheel speed measurements includes a plurality of wheel position measurements.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein Determining a landing gear load metric includes determining the landing gear load metric based on a dynamic model of the landing gear.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: Inputs to the dynamic model are filtered as part of an error reduction process and / or outputs of the dynamic model are filtered as part of an error correction process.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The alert is based on characteristics of the dynamic model.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The potential maintenance issues are associated with a particular operating mode.

10. A system for monitoring a landing gear retraction brake load relief system, comprising: One or more processors configured to: receiving a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of the landing gear; determining a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements; as well as In response to determining that the landing gear load metric satisfies a landing gear load threshold, an alert is generated indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the landing gear.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein: Determining the landing gear load metric includes performing an analysis of the plurality of wheel speed measurements to determine a wheel speed metric.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein The wheel speed measurements include wheel acceleration measurements.

13. The system according to claim 11, wherein: The plurality of wheel speed measurements includes a plurality of wheel position measurements.

14. The system according to claim 10, wherein: Determining the landing gear load metric is based on a dynamic model of the landing gear.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to filter inputs to the dynamic model as part of an error reduction process and / or filter outputs of the dynamic model as part of an error correction process.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein: The alert is based on characteristics of the dynamic model.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein: The potential maintenance issues are associated with a particular operating mode.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receiving a plurality of wheel speed measurements from wheel speed sensors associated with wheels of the landing gear; determining a landing gear load metric based on the plurality of wheel speed measurements; as well as In response to determining that the landing gear load metric satisfies a landing gear load threshold, an alert is generated indicating a potential maintenance issue associated with the landing gear.

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