Reconfigurable Flight Control System for Aircraft Failure Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern aircraft are vulnerable to catastrophic failures due to non-reconfigurable flight control laws, which cannot adapt to scenarios like engine loss or sensor failures, potentially leading to loss of control and safety risks.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable flight control system utilizing a reconfiguration management tool, fault/failure detection, risk factor calculation, and control actuator mixing/mapping matrix to automatically adjust flight controls, incorporating a Kalman filter for sensor management and fader systems for smooth transitions, allowing the aircraft to maintain control authority even with actuator or sensor failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional non-reconfigurable flight control laws are used, then the system is simpler to design and implement, but the aircraft becomes vulnerable to catastrophic failures when sensors or actuators fail
Solution Approach 1:
The flight control system dynamically reconfigures control laws based on detected failure conditions. The system transitions from a static, non-reconfigurable control architecture to a dynamic one that adapts control surface assignments and gain schedules in real-time according to the operational state, enabling the aircraft to maintain safe operation after sensor or actuator failures
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes control parameters including actuator mixing ratios, control law gains, and control surface assignments based on detected failure modes. By modifying these parameters dynamically, the system compensates for lost actuators or sensors while maintaining stable flight characteristics and pilot control authority
2Adaptability or versatility
If reconfigurable flight control laws are implemented, then the aircraft can adapt to sensor and actuator failures, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-defines multiple control law configurations and actuator mixing matrices corresponding to different failure modes before flight. When a failure is detected, the system rapidly switches to the pre-configured control law appropriate for that failure mode, avoiding the need for complex real-time optimization calculations and reducing computational burden
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors sensor and actuator health status and uses this feedback to determine when reconfiguration is needed. The feedback loop detects failure conditions and triggers automatic switching between control laws, enabling the system to adapt to failures without pilot intervention while maintaining stable operation
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for reconfiguring flight control of an aircraft during a failure while the aircraft is flying. The method and apparatus provide a control law that is software-implemented and configured to automatically send flight control data to a mixing/mapping matrix. The method and apparatus also provide a reconfiguration management tool configured to communicate with the mixing/mapping matrix in order to safely transfer authority from a failed actuator to a back-up actuator. The method and apparatus also provide a sensor management tool for providing input to the reconfiguration management tool in order to smooth any transient conditions that may occur during reconfiguration. The method and apparatus provide for a way of smoothing any possible transient situation that might otherwise occur by employment of a fader, the fader being used to gradually convert positioning of failed actuators and positioning of reconfigured actuators. An exemplary aircraft for using the method and apparatus of a reconfigurable flight control system is a quad tilt rotor. The quad tilt rotor provides a variety of redundant and back-actuators, as such, having a robust and highly qualified reconfigurable flight control system is very desirable.