Flight Plan Correction for Variable Fuel Heating Value
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current flight planning tools are inflexible and lose accuracy when new fuels with varying lower heating values, such as sustainable aviation fuels, are introduced, as they require updating aircraft models, which is tedious and time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
A method that adjusts the degradation correction factor F1 by adding a fuel lower heating value correction factor F2, allowing flight plans to account for fuel variability without modifying existing aircraft models, using a computerized system to obtain and modify correction factors and transmit the updated flight plan to electronic flight displays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the lower heating value of fuel is fixed in aircraft models to correspond to regulatory properties of Jet A-1 fuel, then the flight planning tools maintain consistency with regulatory standards, but they cannot accommodate new fuels with varying lower heating values such as sustainable aviation fuels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a correction factor F2 that adjusts the degradation correction factor F1 based on the difference in lower heating value between the reference fuel and the actual fuel. This allows the system to adapt to different fuel types by modifying a parameter (the correction factor) rather than changing the entire aircraft model structure, thus resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a correction factor F2 as an intermediary element that bridges the gap between the fixed aircraft model (designed for Jet A-1) and new fuel types. This intermediary allows the system to accommodate fuel variability without requiring direct modification of the aircraft model, thereby maintaining model integrity while enabling fuel flexibility
2Adaptability or versatility
If flight planning tools are updated to allow modification of lower heating value in aircraft models, then they can accommodate new fuels with varying lower heating values, but the deployment process becomes tedious and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of updating the entire aircraft model to accommodate new fuels, the patent modifies only the correction factor F1 by adding a fuel-specific correction F2. This parameter-level adjustment dramatically reduces deployment time and complexity while maintaining the ability to accommodate different fuel types
Solution Approach 2:
The patent pre-calculates the correction factor F2 based on the difference in lower heating value between reference fuel and actual fuel. This preliminary calculation allows for rapid deployment when switching fuel types, as the correction factor can be computed independently and applied without redeveloping the aircraft model
3Reliability
If the lower heating value is kept as a fixed internal parameter in aircraft models, then the models maintain accuracy for reference fuel, but they lose accuracy when used with new fuels having different lower heating values
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the correction factor F1 by incorporating F2, which accounts for the difference in lower heating value between reference fuel and actual fuel. This parameter modification maintains calculation accuracy for different fuel types while keeping the aircraft model structure intact
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback about the actual fuel's lower heating value to adjust the correction factor F2 accordingly. This feedback mechanism ensures that the flight planning remains accurate regardless of which fuel type is used, as the correction factor is continuously adapted to match the actual fuel properties
Data Source
AI summary
A method for establishing a flight plan for an aircraft by: determining a correction factor F1 related to a degradation in performance of the aircraft; using, to establish the flight plan, a model of the aircraft that incorporates a lower heating value of a reference fuel; obtaining a correction factor F2 related to a difference in lower heating value between the reference fuel and a fuel intended to be used to follow the flight plan; modifying the correction factor F1 by adding the correction factor F2; and determining the flight plan using the model of the aircraft, to which the modified correction factor F1 is given at input. It is thus possible to use an aircraft model in which the lower heating value is fixed internally.