Avionic Vertical Trajectory Optimization for Descent Energy Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current flight management systems (FMS) require manual intervention by pilots to manage energy situations during descent/approach phases, leading to increased workload, especially when the aircraft deviates from its reference vertical trajectory, and do not automatically define an optimum vertical trajectory passing through the aircraft's current position.
Innovation Solution
An avionic system generates an optimum vertical trajectory by processing kinetic and potential energy profiles along the flight plan, breaking them into segments corresponding to different aerodynamic configurations, and using an iterative procedure to determine a flight strategy that minimizes predefined criteria such as fuel consumption, time, or noise levels, ensuring the trajectory passes through the aircraft's current state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the FMS generates a reference profile using predefined hypotheses and fixed aerodynamic configurations, then the calculation process is simplified and fast, but the induced vertical trajectory does not systematically pass through the aircraft's current position and requires manual crew intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the aerodynamic configuration variable rather than fixed. The system dynamically adapts the aerodynamic configuration (slats, flaps, undercarriage) at each point along the vertical trajectory to optimize the path. This allows the trajectory to be dynamically adjusted to pass through the aircraft's current position while maintaining calculation efficiency through a structured optimization approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service by automatically calculating and adjusting the vertical trajectory to pass through the aircraft's current position without requiring crew intervention. The FMS autonomously performs the optimization calculation, determining the optimal aerodynamic configuration at each point and generating the corrected vertical trajectory that the aircraft should follow.
2Device complexity
If the FMS uses fixed aerodynamic configurations at the same speed for each reference profile calculation, then the system is easier to manage, but it cannot adapt to operational constraints and energy situations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by varying the aerodynamic configuration parameters (slats position, flaps position, undercarriage state) along the vertical trajectory instead of keeping them fixed. The system calculates the optimal configuration at each point based on the desired trajectory path, allowing adaptation to operational constraints while maintaining manageable system complexity through automated calculation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the vertical trajectory into multiple points and calculates the optimal aerodynamic configuration for each segment independently. This segmentation allows the system to adapt to varying operational constraints at different phases of descent while maintaining overall trajectory coherence and manageable complexity through a structured approach.
3Device complexity
If the crew manually manages energy situations and rejoins the reference profile, then the system maintains simplicity, but it increases workload especially in critical situations
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by automatically calculating and generating the vertical trajectory that passes through the aircraft's current position, eliminating the need for crew intervention in energy management. The FMS autonomously determines the optimal path and required aerodynamic configurations, providing automatic energy management while maintaining relatively simple system structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback by incorporating the aircraft's current position and state into the trajectory calculation. The FMS receives feedback about the aircraft's actual state and uses this information to generate a corrected vertical trajectory that accounts for the current energy situation, enabling automatic adaptation without increasing system structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for generating an optimum vertical trajectory of a flight trajectory of an aircraft in the descent/approach phase. The trajectory is defined between a current state and a target state of the aircraft on the basis of a speed profile of the aircraft as a function of a curvilinear abscissa of the aircraft along a flight plan. The profile corresponds to a transition between the current and target states and is broken down into successive segments each corresponding to a different aerodynamic configuration that the aircraft may adopt during the descent/approach phase. The method is based on defining a set of flight strategies, each strategy of the set being defined using for each segment of the speed profile flight parameters chosen randomly in ranges of values compatible with the aerodynamic configuration corresponding to that segment. Optimum vertical trajectory is generated on the basis of the strategy of the set.