Aircraft Modal Parameter Identification Using Simultaneous Sensor-Excitation Evaluation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for identifying aircraft modal parameters from flight test data, such as structural frequency, damping, and mode shape, face challenges in properly characterizing coupled mode behavior and are inconsistent across different sensors and excitations, lacking accurate mode shape information.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that store flight test data as sensor-excitation pairs and employ a fit relationship using sine values to determine fit values, estimate and optimize fit errors, and iteratively refine sine values to achieve a desired number of sine values for simultaneous evaluation across multiple sensors and excitations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual single degree of freedom evaluating methods are used, then the evaluation process is simple, but the method cannot properly characterize coupled mode behavior and results vary from sensor to sensor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensors and multiple excitations into a unified evaluation framework. Instead of evaluating each sensor-excitation pair separately, the system processes all data simultaneously through a common modal parameter identification algorithm, ensuring consistent results across all sensors while properly characterizing coupled mode behavior.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal evaluation method that handles multiple sensors and multiple excitations through a single integrated approach. The system uses a common set of modal parameters (frequency, damping, mode shape) that universally describe the system response regardless of which sensor or excitation is being analyzed, enabling consistent characterization across all data.
2Measurement precision
If Goodman '858 approach is used for multiple sensors, then coupled mode behavior is properly characterized, but data from multiple excitations cannot be treated and results vary from excitation to excitation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the treatment of multiple excitations with the multiple sensor approach from Goodman '858. By processing all sensor-excitation data simultaneously through a unified modal parameter identification framework, the system maintains proper coupled mode characterization while achieving consistent results across all excitations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the data into individual sensor-excitation pairs for organized storage and processing, then recombines them in the evaluation phase. This segmentation allows systematic handling of each data pair while ensuring all contribute to a unified modal parameter identification, enabling versatile treatment of multiple excitations.
3Ease of operation
If results are determined separately for each sensor or excitation, then individual evaluation is straightforward, but mode shape information is not provided and consistency is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines information from all sensors and excitations to extract complete mode shape data. By processing data collectively rather than individually, the system recovers mode shape information that would be lost in separate evaluations, while maintaining operational simplicity through automated simultaneous processing.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for evaluating data representing a plurality of excitations of a plurality of sensors; the method comprising: (a) storing the data as a plurality of entries in an information store; each respective sensor-excitation pair being a respective entry; (b) exercising a fit relationship employing at least one first sine value to determine a fit value substantially simultaneously for at least a portion of the plurality of entries; (c) ascertaining a measure of fit error between the data and the fit value for the portion of entries; (d) employing the measure of fit error to estimate at least one next sine value; (e) employing the at least one next sine value to perform a fit optimization operation with the data substantially simultaneously for the portion of entries; and (f) repeating steps (c) through (e) until a desired number of the sine values has been exercised.