TAWS End-of-Conflict Detection with Vertical Speed Margin
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current TAWS systems do not provide an 'end of conflict with the terrain' signal, leading to prolonged flight times as crews wait for clear altitude before terminating terrain avoidance maneuvers, lacking freedom of maneuver and vertical speed margin information.
Innovation Solution
An onboard system that includes a detector for collision risks, a message generator, and additional vertical speed margin protection volumes to ensure safe distances and freedom of maneuver, providing an 'end of conflict with the ground' message with vertical speed margin indication after confirming safe distances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If crews wait until clearly above safe altitude to terminate terrain avoidance maneuver, then safety is improved, but flight time is unnecessarily prolonged
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring terrain clearance and providing real-time information to the crew about safety status. The TAWS system monitors the aircraft's position relative to terrain and provides feedback signals (warnings, alarms, and end-of-conflict indications) that enable the crew to make informed decisions about when to terminate avoidance maneuvers, optimizing the balance between safety and flight time.
2Measurement precision
If additional protection volumes are implemented to detect end of conflict, then accuracy of conflict detection is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the protection volume concept into multiple distinct volumes with specific functions: the original maneuver protection volume for collision avoidance, and the additional route resumption protection volume for detecting when the aircraft can safely resume normal flight. This segmentation allows each volume to be optimized for its specific detection purpose, improving overall accuracy while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular design.
Data Source
AI summary
The TAWS system, in addition to an FTLA function for detecting the risk of collision with the terrain, has an end-of-conflict announcement function COT which is activated after the cessation of a warning or alarm concerning the risk of collision with the ground originating from the FTLA function. This COT function, when activated, checks that the aircraft (A) is observing minimum vertical and lateral safe distances, and estimates the lower vertical speed margin with which a new ground collision risk warning will not be retriggered. After confirming the observance of the minimum safe distances, the COT function has an end-of-conflict message (“Clear of terrain”) sent with a lower vertical speed margin indication.