Flight Data Recorder Depth-Releasing Fluorescent Tracer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current flight data recorders face challenges in accurately determining their position after an aircraft crashes at sea, as the color may be difficult to see at depth and the omnidirectional signal from the ULB beacon is hard to detect due to water conditions, leading to lengthy search operations.
Innovation Solution
The flight data recorder incorporates cylindrical capsules with hydraulic tracing elements and compression mode rupture zones, which break at specific depths, releasing visible fluorescent streaks that can be detected by search teams to estimate the recorder's location, allowing for precise depth determination and improved signal receiver positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the flight data recorder is colored orange or red and fluorescent in the dark, then the visibility of the recorder is improved, but the detection difficulty increases at great depths or in disturbed water
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces hydraulic tracing elements (fluorescent tracers) as an intermediary substance that is dispersed in water when the capsule ruptures. These tracers create visible fluorescent streaks that serve as mediators between the submerged recorder and search teams on the surface, enabling detection without requiring direct viewing of the recorder itself at depth.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs fluorescent hydraulic tracers that emit light at specific wavelengths when excited by sunlight or artificial light. The tracers create colorful fluorescent streaks in the water column, making the recorder's location visible through color changes in the water medium rather than relying on the recorder's own coloration.
2Area of stationary object
If the ULB beacon emits an omnidirectional signal, then the signal coverage is improved, but the signal detection difficulty increases when underwater relief is steep
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic tracers act as visual intermediaries that transmit position information through the water column. When capsules rupture at different depths, the tracers create visible streaks that guide search teams to the recorder's location, compensating for the limitations of acoustic signal propagation in steep underwater terrain.
3Productivity
If the approximate position of the rear part is computed from uncertain parameters, then the search operation can be initiated, but the position accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The capsules are pre-configured with specific rupture depths based on predefined pressure conditions. This preliminary setup ensures that when the recorder is submerged, capsules will rupture at predictable depths, creating visible tracer streaks that provide accurate position information before the search teams even begin their search operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the uncertain mechanical/computational methods for estimating recorder position with a physical chemical mechanism involving pressure-induced capsule rupture and tracer dispersion. This substitution transforms the position determination from a computational estimation based on uncertain parameters to a direct physical observation of tracer locations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables accurate and rapid location of the flight data recorder, enhancing the chances of retrieving it by providing visible fluorescent trails at specific depths and facilitating the positioning of ULB beacon receivers.
Implementation Method 1
each capsule is subject to the pressure of the ambient water which compresses it. When the compression forces exerted on the column of water on the capsule are too great and are no longer compensated by the internal pressure, the structure of the capsule breaks at embrittlement elements
Implementation Method 2
A streak of color that can be detected by optical instruments of the search teams is then visible in the water and/or on the surface of the water
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a flight data recorder. It is equipped with capsules designed to break at determined depths. The capsules release hydraulic tracing elements, generating a luminous streak in the water, when they are broken, so that the searches for the flight data recorders, or black boxes, are made easier.