Automatic Supersonic Descent Planning for Sonic Boom Constraints
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Supersonic flight presents challenges such as certification limitations and the need to manage sonic booms during automated descent, requiring effective transition maneuvers that consider altitude, populated areas, weather, and flight restrictions.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for automatic descent mode that determines descent trigger conditions, generates a descent plan including supersonic-to-subsonic transitions, and generates actuator instructions to control the vehicle, while avoiding populated areas, weather, and supersonic flight restrictions, and overriding restrictions based on population analysis to minimize sonic booms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a supersonic vehicle performs automated descent, then the descent efficiency is improved, but sonic booms may affect populated areas
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs population analysis and identifies restricted areas before the descent maneuver is executed. The descent plan is pre-calculated to avoid populated areas and supersonic flight restriction zones, ensuring that the vehicle transitions to subsonic speed before entering restricted areas, thereby preventing sonic boom impact on populated areas while maintaining efficient descent.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the descent plan based on real-time conditions including weather data, population density, and flight restrictions. The automated descent system can modify the transition maneuver timing and location to optimize both descent efficiency and minimize sonic boom impact on populated areas, making the system adaptable to changing environmental conditions.
2Speed
If the vehicle maintains supersonic flight, then flight speed is improved, but certification restrictions and flight limitations are violated
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-identifies supersonic flight restriction zones and planned descent points before the vehicle enters restricted areas. By calculating the optimal transition maneuver location in advance based on clearance data and flight restrictions, the system ensures compliance with certification requirements while maintaining supersonic speed as long as possible in permitted airspace.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated descent system continuously monitors the vehicle's position relative to supersonic flight restriction zones and adjusts the transition maneuver timing accordingly. The system uses feedback from navigation data and clearance information to ensure the vehicle transitions to subsonic speed at the appropriate location, maintaining compliance with certification restrictions while optimizing flight speed performance.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are methods, systems, and non-transitory computer-readable medium for controlling an automatic descent of a vehicle. For instance, the method may include: determining whether a descent trigger condition is present; and in response to determining the descent trigger condition is present, performing an automatic descent process. The automatic descent process may include: obtaining clearance data from an on-board system of the vehicle; generating a descent plan based on the clearance data, the descent plan including a supersonic-to-subsonic transition and/or a supersonic-descent to a target altitude; and generating actuator instructions to a control the vehicle to descend to the target altitude based on the descent plan.