Distributed Engine Control Architecture for Harsh-Environment I/O
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current gas turbine engine control systems face challenges with high data throughput, harsh environmental conditions, rapid processor obsolescence, and cybersecurity requirements, necessitating a distributed control system architecture that can handle extreme temperatures and vibrational loads while minimizing redesign costs and ensuring cyber security.
Innovation Solution
A distributed control system architecture is implemented, with a computation module and I/O module designed to operate in different environments, utilizing commercial-off-the-shelf processors in benign areas and low-power processors in harsh areas, connected by a high-bandwidth network, allowing for flexible allocation of processing tasks and enhanced cybersecurity through fiber optic communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If control systems use multiple I/O data connections to handle high data throughput rates, then data throughput capability is improved, but physical location constraints and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is divided into multiple independent control nodes, each capable of autonomous operation. This segmentation allows data processing to be distributed across multiple nodes rather than requiring all data to flow through a single centralized system, thereby handling high data throughput rates while reducing the complexity of any single node's I/O connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical control architecture with multiple levels (engine-level, platform-level, and facility-level control nodes). This dimensional expansion from a flat to a hierarchical structure allows data throughput to be managed across different levels of abstraction, reducing the immediate I/O burden at any single level while maintaining overall system capability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If control systems are customized in a bespoke manner for specific purposes, then adaptability to specific applications is improved, but manufacturing cost and development time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control nodes are designed with universal, standardized interfaces and communication protocols that allow them to be deployed across multiple different applications and platforms. This universality enables the same hardware platform to be adapted to various specific purposes through software configuration rather than hardware customization, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system employs dynamic, reconfigurable software modules that can be loaded and unloaded based on specific application requirements. This dynamic adaptability allows a single standardized hardware platform to perform multiple different functions by changing its software configuration, eliminating the need for costly bespoke hardware design for each application.
3Productivity
If control systems use commercially available processors to handle future data throughput requirements, then processing capability is improved, but cybersecurity vulnerability and reliability in harsh environments worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The control system separates critical safety functions from general processing functions by distributing them across different control nodes with appropriate security levels. Commercial processors handle non-critical data processing while dedicated, hardened processors handle safety-critical functions, thereby maintaining cybersecurity and reliability while utilizing the high processing capability of commercial processors where appropriate.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces secure communication interfaces and protocol layers as intermediaries between commercial processors and the control system's critical functions. These intermediary layers provide cybersecurity protection and environmental hardening, allowing commercial processors to be used for high-capacity data processing while maintaining system-wide reliability and security through the protective intermediary layer.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
Control systems and methods for controlling an engine. The control system (202, 300) includes a computation module (204, 306) and an input/output (I/O) module attached to the engine. The computation module is located in an area of the engine, or off-engine, which provides a more benign environment than the environment that the I/O module is subject to during operation of the engine. The I/O module includes a first processor (210, 324); and a first network interface device (330). The computation module includes a second processor (208, 320) with higher processing power than the first processor, and a second network interface device (322). The control system also includes a sensor (318) configured to provide sensor readings to the first processor. The first processor transmits data based on the sensor readings to the second processor. The control system also includes an actuator (316) operably coupled to the I/O module and that is controlled by the first processor based on commands from the second processor.