Aircraft Sensor Failure Detection via Wind Vector Projection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for detecting sensor failures on aircraft, such as ice accretion on Pitot tubes, are not robust and often fail to detect anomalies specifically or partially, leading to potential incidents and accidents.
Innovation Solution
A method that establishes an instantaneous wind variation vector based on airspeed and geographical speed measurements, projects this vector onto the aircraft's speed direction, and determines failure presence through filtering and threshold comparison, activating an alarm when necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current sensor failure detection methods (comparing redundant sensors or analyzing pneumatic signals) are used, then some failures can be detected, but the detection is not robust against shared failure points such as ice accretion on all Pitot tubes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary detection mechanism that compares anemometric parameters (airspeed, ground speed) with independent reference data from inertial units and GPS. This intermediary comparison layer detects inconsistencies that indicate sensor failures, including shared failures like ice accretion, without requiring complex modifications to the existing sensor system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback by monitoring the coherence between multiple independent measurement sources (anemometric sensors, inertial units, GPS) and automatically detecting when discrepancies exceed threshold values. This feedback mechanism provides robust failure detection while maintaining relatively simple system architecture.
2Reliability
If redundant sensors are used for failure detection, then some anomalies can be detected through comparison and voting, but shared failures affecting all sensors simultaneously cannot be detected
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding more redundant sensors of the same type, the patent uses independent reference systems (inertial units, GPS) as intermediaries to detect failures. This approach detects shared failures affecting all anemometric sensors without requiring additional anemometric sensors, thus avoiding increasing the quantity of vulnerable sensor components.
3Reliability
If ice protection systems are applied to Pitot tubes, then ice accretion can be prevented, but the systems are complex and may not cover all failure modes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a detection-based feedback system that monitors sensor coherence and identifies failures after they occur, rather than using complex preventive ice protection systems. This feedback approach detects ice accretion and other failures by comparing measurements from independent sources, providing reliability improvement without adding complex prevention mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for detecting a failure of at least one sensor onboard an aircraft implementing wind detection is provided. The method includes measuring an airspeed of the aircraft; measuring a geographical speed of the aircraft; determining an instantaneous wind vector, based on the measured airspeed and geographical speed; establishing an instantaneous wind variation vector, based on the determined instantaneous wind vector; projecting the instantaneous wind variation vector on the direction of the vector of an air or geographical speed of the aircraft; and determining the presence of a failure based on the obtained projection.