Aircraft Rollover Detection Using Roll Angle and Rate Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rotary-wing aerial vehicles, such as helicopters, face the risk of dynamic rollover during landing, hovering, or takeoff due to factors like crosswinds or pilot error, which can lead to contact between the main rotor and the ground, causing damage.
Innovation Solution
A system and method using onboard sensors and a controller to dynamically determine the roll angle, angular roll rate, and critical rollover angles, generating alerts and potentially adjusting aircraft operation to prevent or reduce the likelihood of rollover.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If dynamic rollover detection systems are implemented to improve safety, then aircraft safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system performs multiple functions including normal flight control, rollover detection, and corrective action implementation. By making the control system universal and multi-functional, separate dedicated rollover detection hardware is eliminated, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining safety improvements
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors flight parameters (roll angle, angular rate, altitude) and provides feedback to the control system. When rollover conditions are detected, the system automatically implements corrective actions and continues monitoring to ensure recovery, creating a closed-loop safety system that leverages existing control infrastructure
2Reliability
If automatic corrective actions are implemented to prevent rollover, then aircraft safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system automatically detects rollover conditions and implements corrective actions without pilot intervention. The system monitors its own state and self-corrects by adjusting control surfaces or rotor thrust distribution, eliminating the need for separate automatic pilot systems while improving safety
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection of rollover conditions by monitoring flight parameters and comparing them against predetermined thresholds. When potential rollover is detected before it becomes critical, the system proactively implements corrective actions to prevent the hazardous condition from developing fully
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for detecting and warning of aircraft rollover conditions. The systems include one or more sensors onboard the aircraft and a controller onboard the aircraft that is in operable communication with the one or more sensors. The controller is configured to, by one or more processors: receive input data from the one or more sensors and, optionally, one or more other sources, process the input data to dynamically determine a roll angle of the aircraft, an angular roll rate of the aircraft, and a critical rollover angle of the aircraft, determine whether current or potential static or dynamic rollover conditions of the aircraft exist based, at least in part, on the roll angle, the angular roll rate, and the critical rollover angle, and generate an alert in response to determining that the current or potential static or dynamic rollover conditions exist.