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The Quest for Onboard Real-Time Characterization of Aircraft Stability and Control
Date: May 18, 2007, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. *Please note date change
Presented By: Dr. Gene Morelli
Initial characterization of aircraft stability and control is typically
based on wind tunnel tests of subscale models and/or computation fluid
dynamics (CFD) calculations. Subsequently, the full-scale aircraft must
be evaluated in flight, to validate or improve the ground-based
predictions. Conventional flight testing for aircraft stability and
control employs an incremental approach involving many flights, because
of the requirement for data analysis and modeling on the ground after
each flight, to verify or modify predictions before proceeding to the
next test points. This flight envelope expansion process is
time-consuming and expensive, and must be repeated whenever a
configuration change is made to the aircraft. If the data analysis,
modeling, and required updates to the experiment design can be done in
real time while the aircraft is in the air, flight envelope expansion
becomes much more efficient, with significant savings in flight test
time and money.
A related situation occurs in the area of aircraft safety, where the
aircraft stability and control characteristics may change due to damage,
faults, or hazardous conditions such as icing. In these instances, the
aircraft undergoes the equivalent of a configuration change, and
real-time onboard knowledge of the current aircraft stability and
control characteristics is crucial for improving safety through pilot
notification and reconfigurable control.
Characterization of the aircraft stability and control using onboard
computations done in real time is a capability that is now within reach,
due to advances in real-time modeling algorithms and improved flight
instrumentation. Successful development of this capability would have
far-reaching implications for efficient flight testing, control system
design, aircraft health monitoring, pilot training, aircraft fleet
maintenance, and safety.
This seminar provides an overview of previous research related to
onboard real-time modeling to characterize aircraft stability and
control, followed by a discussion of technical challenges and NASA
research in this area.
+ See Full Technical Seminar Series Schedule
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