Aircraft Emissions Monitoring by Flight Phase Fuel Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for systems and methods to accurately monitor and reduce carbon emissions in the aviation industry, particularly during different flight phases, to comply with regulatory requirements and enhance efficiency.
Innovation Solution
Aircraft emissions monitoring systems that determine carbon emissions by receiving engine operation data, identifying flight phases, calculating fuel consumption and emissions based on these data, and providing real-time tracking and management capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If comprehensive engine operation data is collected and processed to determine carbon emissions, then measurement precision of emissions is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple sensors, communication systems, and processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The emissions monitoring system is segmented into distinct functional modules: engine operation data collection module, flight phase determination module, fuel consumption calculation module, and carbon emissions determination module. Each module processes specific aspects of the data independently, then integrates results to provide comprehensive emissions measurement without requiring a monolithic complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller is designed to perform multiple functions: it determines flight phases based on engine operation data, calculates fuel consumption across different flight phases, and computes carbon emissions. This multi-functional approach consolidates what could be separate systems into a single versatile controller, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining measurement precision.
2Productivity
If real-time engine operation data is processed for each flight phase, then productivity of emissions monitoring is improved, but use of energy increases due to continuous data processing and communication
Solution Approach 1:
The system processes engine operation data periodically based on flight phase transitions rather than continuously. The controller determines flight phases and calculates emissions at discrete intervals corresponding to phase changes (taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, approach, landing), reducing computational load and energy consumption while maintaining accurate productivity tracking.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary determination of flight phases based on engine operation data before conducting detailed fuel consumption and emissions calculations. This preliminary classification organizes data processing into manageable segments, improving productivity by preparing structured information in advance rather than processing raw data continuously.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for determining carbon emissions for an aircraft. The systems may include a communication system configured to receive engine operation data from the aircraft indicating operating conditions of an engine of the aircraft during operation thereof, and a controller operably coupled to the communication system and configured to, with one or more processors: receive the engine operation data via the communication system, determine amounts of time that the engine was in each of two or more flight phases based on the engine operation data, determine a cumulative fuel consumption of the engine for more than one flight of the aircraft based on the engine operation data, the amounts of time that the engine was in each of the two or more flight phases, and fuel flow rates of the engine, and determine engine carbon emissions based on the cumulative fuel consumption for the engine.