Aircraft LRU Data Collection for Predictive Failure Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft line-replaceable units (LRUs) typically provide limited contextual fault data, making it difficult to determine the cause of failures and predict future failures, as this data is often not easily accessible and requires specialized equipment for retrieval.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where LRUs collect operational data during flight and automatically transmit it to a ground station upon landing, enabling a remote computing system to analyze data from multiple LRUs to identify patterns, predict failure conditions, and provide predictive maintenance insights.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If LRU stores fault data in non-volatile memory for later retrieval, then fault data can be preserved, but the data is not easily obtainable and requires specialized equipment for retrieval
Solution Approach 1:
A ground system acts as an intermediary between the LRU and the retrieval process. The LRU transmits operational data automatically to the ground system, which then processes and makes the data accessible for analysis, eliminating the need for technicians to use specialized equipment to directly access the LRU's non-volatile memory
Solution Approach 2:
The LRU automatically transmits its operational data to the ground system without requiring technician intervention or specialized retrieval equipment. The system serves itself by autonomously exporting its data for analysis, improving both accessibility and ease of operation
2Device complexity
If LRU provides only pass/fault indication without contextual information, then the device complexity is reduced, but the fault data provides limited insight into why a fault occurred
Solution Approach 1:
The operational data is segmented into multiple contextual parameters including environmental conditions, operational states, and system configurations. This segmentation allows comprehensive fault analysis while keeping each individual data element simple and manageable
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds temporal and contextual dimensions to the fault data by collecting operational information across multiple flights and conditions. This transforms simple pass/fault indicators into multi-dimensional datasets that provide deep insights into fault causes without significantly increasing device complexity
3Reliability
If LRU collects and transmits operational data automatically to ground system, then predictive maintenance capability is improved, but the device complexity and data transmission requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The LRU's existing data bus and communication interfaces are utilized for automatic data transmission to the ground system. By making these existing components multi-functional (serving both operational control and data export purposes), the patent improves predictive maintenance capability without significantly increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The ground system receives operational data from the LRU, processes it to identify trends and potential failures, and can send feedback or commands back to the LRU. This feedback loop enables predictive maintenance while utilizing existing communication channels, minimizing the increase in device complexity
Data Source
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AI summary
A remote computing system is described that includes at least one processor and at least one module. The at least one module is operable by the at least one processor to receive first operational data collected by a first line-replaceable-unit of a first aircraft during flight operations of the first aircraft, and receive second operational data collected by at least one second line-replaceable-unit of at least one second aircraft during flight operations of the at least one second aircraft. The at least one module is further operable by the at least one processor to predict, based at least in part on the first operational data and the second operational data, a failure condition associated with the first line-replaceable-unit of the first aircraft, and output, based on the impending failure condition, an indication of the predicted failure condition.