Aircraft Control Surface Oscillation Energy Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Identifying the source of vibrations in aircraft control surfaces is challenging due to the high number of control surfaces and the computational intensity of existing methods, making it difficult to implement in old-generation flight control computers with low computing power.
Innovation Solution
A system that processes control surface position measurements at a predetermined sampling frequency to calculate spectral power density, determines excess amplitude times, and computes an energy indicator representative of oscillations, which is transmitted to operators, reducing computational requirements and enabling implementation on low-power flight control computers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If numerous computations are used to detect vibrations of control surfaces, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases and requires high computing power
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and focuses computation only on the specific frequency band of interest (oscillation frequency of control surfaces) rather than analyzing the entire frequency spectrum. This is achieved through band-pass filtering and targeted spectral analysis, removing unnecessary computational steps while preserving vibration detection precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of frequency analysis by focusing on a predetermined frequency band rather than performing full-spectrum analysis. This parameter change reduces computational complexity from O(N log N) for full FFT to O(N) for targeted frequency band analysis, while maintaining measurement precision for the specific oscillation frequencies of control surfaces.
2Measurement precision
If full spectral analysis is performed to identify control surface vibrations, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity decreases due to high computing power requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the relevant frequency components corresponding to control surface oscillations from the full spectrum. By using band-pass filtering centered on the oscillation frequency and analyzing only this narrow frequency band, the system achieves real-time processing capability while maintaining accurate vibration source identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by performing spectral analysis only on the necessary frequency band rather than the entire spectrum. This partial analysis approach provides sufficient information for identifying control surface vibrations while enabling real-time processing on aircraft systems with limited computing power.
3Device complexity
If old-generation flight control computers are used, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to insufficient computing power
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the computational parameters by reducing the frequency analysis scope to a predetermined band and optimizing the spectral estimation method. This parameter optimization enables old-generation flight control computers with limited computing power to achieve sufficient vibration detection accuracy for maintenance purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs computationally lightweight algorithms that can be executed on inexpensive, low-power flight control computers. By using efficient spectral estimation techniques focused on specific frequency bands, the system achieves acceptable measurement precision on budget-friendly hardware suitable for old-generation aircraft.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for assisting the maintenance of an aircraft is configured for implementing the following steps in an iterative manner determining a spectral power density of the position of a control surface over a time window; when the spectral power density corresponds to an amplitude of oscillations of the control surface upwardly crossing this predetermined threshold, storing an excess amplitude start time; and when the spectral power density corresponds to an amplitude of oscillations of the control surface downwardly crossing this predetermined threshold: determining a time interval between the excess amplitude start time and an excess amplitude end time, during which the amplitude of oscillations of the control surface has remained above the predetermined threshold; and determining an indicator representative of the energy corresponding to these oscillations during the time interval.