Dynamic Evaluation Strategies for Multiple Aircrafts Formation Using Collision and Matching Probabilities

Configuration evaluation is a key technology to be considered in the design of multiple aircrafts formation(MAF)configurations with high dynamic properties in engineering applications.This paper deduces the relationship between relative velocity,dynamic safety distance and dynamic adjacent distance of formation members,then divides the formation states into collision-state and matching-state.Meanwhile,probability models are constructed based on the binary normal distribution of relative distance and relative velocity.Moreover,configuration evaluation strategies are studied by quantitatively analyzing the denseness and the basic capabilities according to the MAF collision-state probability and the MAF matching-state probability,respectively.The scale of MAF is grouped into 5 levels,and previous lattice-type structures are extended into four degrees by taking the relative velocities into account to instruct the configuration design under complex task conditions.Finally,hardware-in-loop(HIL)simulation and outfield flight test results are presented to verify the feasibility of these evaluation strategies.

CALCULATING METHOD OF AERODYNAMIC HEATING FOR HYPERSONIC AIRCRAFTS

A new calculating method of aerodynamic heating for unsteady hypersonic aircrafts with complex configuration is presented.This method,which considers the effects of high temperature chemical non-equilibrium and the heat transfer process in thermal protection structure,is based on the combination of the inviscid outerflow solution and the engineering method,where the Euler solver provides the flow parameters on boundary layer edge for engineering method in aerodynamic heating calculation.A high efficient interpolation technique,which can be applied to the fast computation of longtime aerodynamic heating for hypersonic aircraft,is developed for flying trajectory.In this paper,three hypersonic test cases are calculated,and the heat flux and temperature distribution of thermo-protection system are shown.The numerical results show the high efficiency of the developed method and the validation of thermal characteristics analysis on hypersonic aerodynamic heating.

Simulation of Space Charge Impact on Partial Discharge Inception Voltage in Power Busbars Dedicated to Future Hybrid Aircrafts

Reducing greenhouse gases, saving energy resources and mass optimization require technological changes towards increasingly electric vehicles. At the same time, performance improvement of semiconductor and dielectric materials further promotes electronic components confinement, resulting in a significant increase of embedded power densities. In the particular case of future hybrid propulsion aircrafts, electrical power that intended to supply reactors would be converted through power electronics components mounted on power busbars and insulated by solid dielectrics materials. These dielectrics materials have to respond to various electrical constraints of use (HVDC), in spite of environment change of aircraft parameters such as low pressure, temperature and thermal cycles, humidity... Unfortunately, partial discharges phenomenon is the most problem within electrical insulation system (EIS). Based on a topological model of power busbars designed for power converters dedicated to hybrid aircraft, partial discharge studies were conducted by simulation in various charging conditions of a PTFE insulator. Simulation results, which focus on electric field thresholds criteria of partial discharge inception voltage in air, reveal a net sensitivity of a space charge accumulation and distribution on dielectrics behaviour even for low space charge density, depending on their location in dielectrics. Compared to the behaviour observed with implanted homocharges, when by increasing homocharges density from 0.5 C/m3 to 2 C/m3 we observe a decrease of electric field by 450%, simulation results show a highest risk of partial discharge inception when heterocharges are accumulated inside dielectrics. Their accumulation increases the electric field in triple points beyond electric field thresholds of partial discharge inception in air. The simulated electric field reaching 22 kV/mm with only 2 C/m3 of heterocharges density accumulated in dielectric/busbars interfaces.

A high-impedance fault detection scheme for DC aircrafts based on comb filter and second derivative of voltage

Faults in a DC aircraft power system typically lead to serious equipment damage,which severely threatens the safety of the whole aircraft system.A fast and accurate real-time fault detection scheme is necessary for aircraft power systems to provide high reliability in the system.In this paper,a new fault detection device(FDD)is proposed based on the comb filter and second derivative of the system voltage to detect both low and highimpedance faults(HIFs)in a fast way.The proposed method utilizes the comb filter in the middle of the two first derivatives to detect both high and low-impedance faults within several microseconds.For demonstrating the efficiency,authenticity,and compatibility of the proposed method,digital time-domain simulations are carried out and verified by real-time simulations using an OPAL-RT simulator under different scenarios such as low-and high-impedance fault,overload,and motor starting to verify distinguishing between non-fault disturbances and faults.The results,which are compared with reported methods,prove the accuracy and speed of the proposed FDD in a DC aircraft.

The Contribution of United States Aircraft Reconnaissance Data to the China Meteorological Administration Tropical Cyclone Intensity Data:An Evaluation of Homogeneity

This paper investigates the homogeneity of United States aircraft reconnaissance data and the impact of these data on the homogeneity of the tropical cyclone(TC)best track data for the seasons 1949-1987 generated by the China Meteorological Administration(CMA).The evaluation of the reconnaissance data shows that the minimum central sea level pressure(MCP)data are relatively homogeneous,whereas the maximum sustained wind(MSW)data show both overestimations and spurious abrupt changes.Statistical comparisons suggest that both the reconnaissance MCP and MSW were well incorporated into the CMA TC best track dataset.Although no spurious abrupt changes were evident in the reconnaissance-related best track MCP data,two spurious changepoints were identified in the remainder of the best-track MCP data.Furthermore,the influence of the reconnaissance MSWs seems to extend to the best track MSWs unrelated to reconnaissance,which might reflect the optimistic confidence in making higher estimates due to the overestimated extreme wind“observations”.In addition,the overestimation of either the reconnaissance MSWs or the best track MSWs was greater during the early decades compared to later decades,which reflects the important influence of reconnaissance data on the CMA TC best track dataset.The wind-pressure relationship(WPR)used in the CMA TC best track dataset is also evaluated and is found to overestimate the MSW,which may lead to inhomogeneity within the dataset between the aircraft reconnaissance era and the satellite era.

Assessment of Meteorological Threats to the Coordinated Search and Rescue of Unmanned/Manned Aircraft

The architecture and working principle of coordinated search and rescue system of unmanned/manned aircraft,which is composed of manned/unmanned aircraft and manned aircraft,were first introduced,and they can cooperate with each other to complete a search and rescue task.Secondly,a threat assessment method based on meteorological data was proposed,and potential meteorological threats,such as storms and rainfall,can be predicted by collecting and analyzing meteorological data.Finally,an experiment was carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed method in different scenarios.The experimental results show that the coordinated search and rescue system of unmanned/manned aircraft can be used to effectively assess meteorological threats and provide accurate search and rescue guidance.

Analysis and Research on Aerodynamic Characteristics of Quad Tilt Rotor Aircraft

For the quad tilt rotor aircraft, a computational fluid dynamics method based on multiple reference frames (MRF) was used to analyze the influence of aerodynamic layout parameters on the aerodynamic characteristics of the quad tilt rotor aircraft. Firstly, a numerical simulation method for the interference flow field of the quad tilt rotor aircraft is established. Based on this method, the aerodynamic characteristics of isolated rotors, rotor combinations at different lateral positions on the wing, and rotor rotation directions under different inflow velocities were calculated and analyzed, in order to grasp their aerodynamic interference laws and provide reference for the design and control theory research of such aircraft.

On COVID-19-safety ranking of seats in intercontinental commercial aircrafts:A preliminary multiphysics computational perspective

The evolution of coronavirus disease(COVID-19)into a pandemic has severely hampered the usage of public transit systems.In a post-COVID-19 world,we may see an increased reliance on autonomous cars and personal rapid transit(PRT)systems,with inherent physical distancing,over buses,trains and aircraft for intracity,intercity,and interstate travel.However,air travel would continue to be the dominant mode of intercontinental transportation for humans.In this study,we perform a comprehensive computational analysis,using ANSYS Fluent,of typical intercontinental aircraft ventilation systems to determine the seat where environmental factors are most conducive to human comfort with regards to air quality,protection from orally or nasally released pollutants such as CO_(2)and coronavirus,and thermal comfort levels.Air velocity,temperature,and air pollutant concentration emitted from the nose/mouth of fellow travelers are considered for both Boeing and Airbus planes.In each plane,first class,business class,and economy class sections were analyzed.We present conclusions as to which is the optimum seat in each section of each plane and provide the data of the environmental conditions to support our inferences.The findings may be used by the general public to decide which seat to occupy for their next intercontinental flight.Alternatively,the commercial airliners can use such a model to plan the occupancy of the aircraft on long-duration intercontinental flights(viz.,Airbus A380 and Boeing B747).

A bi-population immune algorithm for weapon transportation support scheduling problem with pickup and delivery on aircraft carrier deck

The weapon transportation support scheduling problem on aircraft carrier deck is the key to restricting the sortie rate and combat capability of carrier-based aircraft.This paper studies the problem and presents a novel solution architecture.Taking the interference of the carrier-based aircraft deck layout on the weapon transportation route and precedence constraint into consideration,a mixed integer formulation is established to minimize the total objective,which is constituted of makespan,load variance and accumulative transfer time of support unit.Solution approach is developed for the model.Firstly,based on modeling the carrier aircraft parked on deck as convex obstacles,the path library of weapon transportation is constructed through visibility graph and Warshall-Floyd methods.We then propose a bi-population immune algorithm in which a population-based forward/backward scheduling technique,local search schemes and a chaotic catastrophe operator are embedded.Besides,the randomkey solution representation and serial scheduling generation scheme are adopted to conveniently obtain a better solution.The Taguchi method is additionally employed to determine key parameters of the algorithm.Finally,on a set of generated realistic instances,we demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms all compared algorithms designed for similar optimization problems and can significantly improve the efficiency,and that the established model and the bi-population immune algorithm can effectively respond to the weapon support requirements of carrier-based aircraft under different sortie missions.

Anti-Disturbance Control for Tethered Aircraft System With Deferred Output Constraints

In this paper,we investigate the peaking issue of extended state observers and the anti-disturbance control problem of tethered aircraft systems subject to the unstable flight of the main aircraft,airflow disturbances and deferred output constraints.Independent of exact initial values,a modified extended state observer is constructed from a shifting function such that not only the peaking issue inherently in the observer is circumvented completely but also the accurate estimation of the lumped disturbance is guaranteed.Meanwhile,to deal with deferred output constraints,an improved output constrained controller is employed by integrating the shifting function into the barrier Lyapunov function.Then,by combining the modified observer and the improved controller,an anti-disturbance control scheme is presented,which ensures that the outputs with any bounded initial conditions satisfy the constraints after a pre-specified finite time,and the tethered aircraft tracks the desired trajectory accurately.Finally,both a theoretical proof and simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Refined Aerodynamic Test of Wide-Bodied Aircraft and Its Application

The large dual-channel wide-bodied aircraft has a long range and a high cruise Mach number.Therefore,its aerodynamic design requires a high level ofwind tunnel test refinement.Based on the requirements of aerodynamic design for the future wide-bodied aircraft and the characteristics of high-speed wind tunnel tests,the error theory is introduced to analyze the factors affecting the accuracy of the test data.This study carries out a series of research on the improvement of refined aerodynamic test technology in an FL-26 wind tunnel,including design and optimization of the support system of wide-bodied aircraft,model attitude angle measurement,Mach number control accuracy,measurement and control system stability,test data correction and perfection,high-precision force balance and standard model development.In addition,the effect of the standard specification of the refined aerodynamic test is investigated to improve the data quality.The research findings have been applied in the standard model test and subsequent models of wide-bodied aircraft.The results show that whenMach numbers are less than 0.9,the control accuracy of Mach numbers in the FL-26 wind tunnel is smaller than 0.001 and the measurement error of attack angle is smaller than 0.01°.Therefore,it has the ability to correct the data influenced by factors,such as support/wall interference,model deformation,floating resistance and airflow deflection angle.The repeatability accuracy of the standard model’s comparison test shows that the lift coefficient is less than or equal to 0.0012,the drag coefficient is less than or equal to 0.00004,pitching moment coefficient is less than or equal to 0.0004.The bending resolution of the model’s deformation measurement is less than 0.2 mm,and the tensional deformation is smaller than 0.04°.The revised aerodynamic data and model deformation measurement results have good agreement with that of the ETW wind tunnel.The results demonstrate that the improved technology presented in this paper can significantly enhance the refined aerodynamic test of wide-bodied aircraft.

Adaptive fuze-warhead coordination method based on BP artificial neural network

The appropriate fuze-warhead coordination method is important to improve the damage efficiency of air defense missiles against aircraft targets. In this paper, an adaptive fuze-warhead coordination method based on the Back Propagation Artificial Neural Network(BP-ANN) is proposed, which uses the parameters of missile-target intersection to adaptively calculate the initiation delay. The damage probabilities at different radial locations along the same shot line of a given intersection situation are calculated, so as to determine the optimal detonation position. On this basis, the BP-ANN model is used to describe the complex and highly nonlinear relationship between different intersection parameters and the corresponding optimal detonating point position. In the actual terminal engagement process, the fuze initiation delay is quickly determined by the constructed BP-ANN model combined with the missiletarget intersection parameters. The method is validated in the case of the single-shot damage probability evaluation. Comparing with other fuze-warhead coordination methods, the proposed method can produce higher single-shot damage probability under various intersection conditions, while the fuzewarhead coordination effect is less influenced by the location of the aim point.

Mechanical Dispatch Reliability Prediction for Civil Aircraft Considering Operational Parameters

To effectively predict the mechanical dispatch reliability(MDR),the artificial neural networks method combined with aircraft operation health status parameters is proposed,which introduces the real civil aircraft operation data for verification,to improve the modeling precision and computing efficiency.Grey relational analysis can identify the degree of correlation between aircraft system health status(such as the unscheduled maintenance event,unit report event,and services number)and dispatch release and screen out themost closely related systems to determine the set of input parameters required for the prediction model.The artificial neural network using radial basis function(RBF)as a kernel function,has the best applicability in the prediction of multidimensional,small sample problems.Health status parameters of related systems are used as the input to predict the changing trend ofMDR,under the artificial neural network modeling framework.The case study collects real operation data for a certain civil aircraft over the past five years to validate the performance of the model which meets the requirements of the application.The results show that the prediction quadratic error Ep of the model reaches 6.9×10−8.That is to say,in the existing operating environment,the prediction of the number of delay&cancel events per month can be less than once.The accuracy of RBF ANN,BP ANN and GA-BP ANN are compared further,and the results show that RBF ANN has better adaptability to such multidimensional small sample problems.The efforts of this paper provide a highly efficientmethod for theMDR prediction through aircraft system health state parameters,which is a promising model to enhance the prediction and controllability of the dispatch release,providing support for the construction of the civil aircraft operation system.

Investigation of Nonlinear PI Multi-loop Control Strategy for Aircraft HVDC Generator System with Wound Rotor Synchronous Machine

In order to enhance the transient performance of aircraft high voltage DC(HVDC)generation system with wound rotor synchronous machine(WRSM)under a wide speed range,the nonlinear PI multi-loop control strategy is proposed in this paper.Traditional voltage control method is hard to achieve the dynamic performance requirements of the HVDC generation system under a wide speed range,so the nonlinear PI parameter adjustment,load current feedback and speed feedback are added to the voltage and excitation current double loop control.The transfer function of the HVDC generation system is derived,and the relationship between speed,load current and PI parameters is obtained.The PI parameters corresponding to the load at certain speed are used to shorten the adjusting time when the load suddenly changes.The dynamic responses in transient processes are analyzed by experiment.The results illustrate that the WRSM HVDC generator system with this method has better dynamic performance.

Hardware-in-loop adaptive neural control for a tiltable V-tail morphing aircraft

This paper proposes an adaptive neural control(ANC)method for the coupled nonlinear model of a novel type of embedded surface morphing aircraft which has a tiltable V-tail.A nonlinear model with sixdegrees-of-freedom is established.The first-order sliding mode differentiator(FSMD)is applied to the control scheme to avoid the problem of“differential explosion”.Radial basis function neural networks are introduced to estimate the uncertainty and external disturbance of the model,and an ANC controller is proposed based on this design idea.The stability of the proposed ANC controller is proved using Lyapunov theory,and the tracking error of the closed-loop system is semi-globally uniformly bounded.The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method are verified by numerical simulations and hardware-in-the-loop(HIL)simulations.

Preface

Aircraft icing is a widespread phenomenon in flight practice and has been recognized as a significant hazard to flight safety.Accidents caused by icing have shadowed the development of aviation since the birth of airplanes.Aircraft safety in icing conditions has become a crucial re⁃quirement for airworthiness certification,and icing hazard assessment and protection design have grown into one of the most important tasks in aircraft development.However,consider⁃able scientific issues on aircraft icing still need to be clarified due to the complex icing process,and new technological breakthroughs on aircraft icing protection are urgently required to tackle the safety and economy challenges posed by modern aviation.

A cloud Bayesian network approach to situation assessment of scouting underwater targets with fixed-wing patrol aircraft

The battlefield situation changes rapidly because underwater targets'are concealment and the sea environment is uncertain.So,a great number of situation information greatly increase,which need to be dealt with in the course of scouting underwater targets.Situation assessment in sea battlefield with a lot of uncertain information is studied,and a new situation assessment method of scouting underwater targets with fixed-wing patrol aircraft is proposed based on the cloud Bayesian network,which overcomes the deficiency of the single cloud model in reasoning ability and the defect of Bayesian network in knowledge representation.Moreover,in the method,the cloud model knowledge deal with the input data of Bayesian network reasoning,and the advantages in knowledge representation of cloud theory and reasoning of Bayesian network are applied;also,the fuzziness and stochasticity of cloud theory in knowledge expression,the reasoning ability of Bayesian network,are combined.Then,the situation assessment model of scouting underwater targets with fixed-wing patrol aircraft is established.Hence,the directed acyclic graph of Bayesian network structure is constructed and the assessment index is determined.Next,the cloud model is used to deal with Bayesian network,and the discrete Bayesian network is obtained.Moreover,after CPT of each node and the transformation between certainty degree and probability are accomplished;the final situation level is obtained through a probability synthesis formula.Therefore,the target type and the operational intention of the other side are deduced to form the battlefield situation.Finally,simulations are carried out,and the rationality and validity of the proposed method are testified by simulation results.By this method,the battlefield situation can be gained.And this method has a wider application range,especially for large sample data processing,and it has better practicability.

Real-Time Indoor Path Planning Using Object Detection for Autonomous Flying Robots

Unknown closed spaces are a big challenge for the navigation of robots since there are no global and pre-defined positioning options in the area.One of the simplest and most efficient algorithms,the artificial potential field algorithm(APF),may provide real-time navigation in those places but fall into local mini-mum in some cases.To overcome this problem and to present alternative escape routes for a robot,possible crossing points in buildings may be detected by using object detection and included in the path planning algorithm.This study utilized a proposed sensor fusion method and an improved object classification method for detecting windows,doors,and stairs in buildings and these objects were classified as valid or invalid for the path planning algorithm.The performance of the approach was evaluated in a simulated environment with a quadrotor that was equipped with camera and laser imaging detection and ranging(LIDAR)sensors to navigate through an unknown closed space and reach a desired goal point.Inclusion of crossing points allows the robot to escape from areas where it is con-gested.The navigation of the robot has been tested in different scenarios based on the proposed path planning algorithm and compared with other improved APF methods.The results showed that the improved APF methods and the methods rein-forced with other path planning algorithms were similar in performance with the proposed method for the same goals in the same room.For the goals outside the current room,traditional APF methods were quite unsuccessful in reaching the goals.Even though improved methods were able to reach some outside targets,the proposed method gave approximately 17%better results than the most success-ful example in achieving targets outside the current room.The proposed method can also work in real-time to discover a building and navigate between rooms.

20 ppm Anhydrous Ammonia Odor Agent Proposed for Hydrogen Fuel for Safe Detection of Leaks

Preferably 20 ppm anhydrous ammonia (NH3) is proposed to be added to hydrogen fuel (H) made from renewable energy sources (green hydrogen), so that H leaks may be easily detectable by smell, but not dangerously toxic. Including this odor agent, would allow H to be distributed safely in pipes, as required by law, and it would allow H to be safely stored, transported, and exported for sale, and widely commercialized. Further research is suggested to identify optimum pressure, temperature, and automated technique for injecting NH3 into H, and to chart the minimum concentration needed, as a function of temperature and humidity. An application to make hypersonic H burning aircraft safer for ground maintenance crews is proposed. An ability to make, store and distribute H, made from local sources of renewable energy, would reduce a need for fossil fuels, especially in poor, remote communities, where it could improve their economy by creating an export product for sale, while reducing pollution.

Functional Sustainability of a Flight Dynamics Control System for Stable Hovering Flight of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV),such as in Agricultural Applications:Mathematical Modeling and Simulation

The simulation of a control system for the longitudinal axis of the rotary or fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)is demonstrated in this study.The control unit includes design considerations of two controllers to provide robust stability,tracking of the proposed linear dynamics,an adequate set of proportional-integral-derivative(PID)controller gains,and a minimal cost function.The PID control and linear quadratic regulator(LQR)with or without full-state-observer were evaluated.An optimal control system is assumed to provide fast rise and settling time,minimize overshoot,and eliminate the steady-state error.The effectiveness of this approach was verified by a linear model of the UAV aircraft in the semi-dynamic simulation platform of Matlab/Simulink,in which the open-loop system was assessed in terms of flight robustness and reference tracking.The experimental results show that the proposed controllers effectively improve the configuration of the control system of the plant,maintain the sustainability of the dynamic flight model stability,and diminish the flight controller errors.The LQR provides robust stability,but it is not optimal in the transient phase of particular plant output.The PID control system can adjust the controller’s gains for optimal hovering(or stable slow flight)and is especially useful for the tracking system.Finally,comparing aircraft stability using PID and LQR controllers shows that the latter has less overshoot and a shorter settling time;in addition,all proposed controllers can be practically deployed as one UAV’s system,which can be handled as an exemplary model of the UAV flight management system.