Aircraft Thrust Control via Slope Acceleration Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing auto-thrust systems in aircraft do not effectively compensate for changes in trajectory or flight conditions, leading to potential loss of speed that may not be noticed by the crew, thereby compromising safety and increasing workload.
Innovation Solution
A control method that uses acceleration in the direction of the air or ground speed vector to slave the actuator control systems, ensuring that changes in flight conditions are compensated by adjusting engine speed and thrust, maintaining acceleration on a slope.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If auto-thrust systems maintain speed or thrust level via engine control, then engine speed is controlled, but changes in trajectory or flight conditions are not compensated, leading to potential loss of speed
Solution Approach 1:
The control system continuously monitors the acceleration on slope and compares it with the reference value, automatically adjusting engine thrust to maintain the desired acceleration. This closed-loop feedback mechanism compensates for trajectory changes and flight condition variations without requiring crew intervention, thereby improving flight safety while reducing workload.
Solution Approach 2:
The system autonomously detects changes in flight conditions and trajectory, and self-adjusts the engine thrust to maintain the reference acceleration on slope. This self-service capability eliminates the need for continuous manual monitoring and correction by the crew, reducing operational workload while ensuring reliable acceleration control.
2Ease of operation
If the crew manually controls engine speed via throttle, then engine speed can be adjusted, but speed compensation for trajectory changes requires additional corrective actions on piloting controls
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the functions of throttle control and pitch control by automatically coordinating engine thrust adjustments with the desired acceleration on slope. This integration eliminates the need for separate corrective actions on piloting controls, simplifying the overall control process while maintaining precise speed and trajectory management.
3Use of energy by moving object
If existing systems control energy variation via thrust, then engine thrust can be adjusted, but acceleration on slope is not explicitly maintained during trajectory changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the control parameter from general energy variation to specific acceleration on slope control. By defining and maintaining a reference acceleration on slope value, the system achieves more precise control over the aircraft's performance during trajectory changes, ensuring that energy variation directly translates to the desired acceleration outcome.
Data Source
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AI summary
This method enables the control of an aircraft actuator control system to act on a force applied to the aircraft. The aircraft has an air velocity vector and a ground velocity vector, and it includes an engine and an engine control system, forming a first actuator control system, to vary a thrust force generated by the engine. The method includes determining (130) a thrust variation to control a quantity related to the aircraft with respect to a setpoint, and generating (140) a first control signal for the engine control system to obtain said thrust variation, and transmitting said first control signal to said engine control system. The controlled quantity is an acceleration in a direction along a velocity vector between the air velocity vector and the ground velocity vector, and the setpoint is an acceleration setpoint in said direction.