“Optimization of aircraft maintenance/support infrastructure using genetic algorithms—level of repair analysis”

Level of repair analysis (LORA) is an approach used during the design stage of complex equipment for analysis of the cost effectiveness of competing maintenance strategies. LORA is carried as a part of the life cycle cost and cost of ownership analysis and plays a significant role in minimizing the life cycle cost and cost of ownership of the capital equipment. Since many purchasing decisions of complex equipment are based on cost of ownership, it has become essential to carry out LORA to compete in the market. In this paper, we develop a mathematical model for LORA and propose a solution methodology based on genetic algorithms. The concept is illustrated using a hypothetical aircraft engine.     

基于LPV的航空发动机鲁棒变增益控制

随着我国现代化进程的不断加快,航天航空技术标准越来越高,对于航空发动机运转工况的鲁棒性和适应性提出了更高的要求。传统的航空发动机变增益设计步骤繁琐,不能将发动机置于整个航空器的运转去考虑设计,使发动机变增益缺乏相应的稳定性和适应性,易出现系统问题。为此,提出一般基于LPV的航空发动机鲁棒变增益控制系统,依据航空发动机结构参数,考虑到航空器在空中负载特性,计算出新的约束极点 模糊变增益,在航空器发动机工作范围连续增益,避免了传统增益切换情况,在转速控制上确定误差等因素,将非线性控制设计分解为多个线性子问题,使航空器控制系统能够沿着LPV参数轨迹保持良好的运转,保持稳定性能。仿真实验证明,提出的基于LPV的航空发动机鲁棒变增益控制系统控制效果优于传统方法,在航空器发动机转速改变时,控制精度能够满足要求 ,改变航空器负载时,有效对目标进行变增益控制。提出的控制方法对航空发动机鲁棒变增益控制问题提供了新的解决办法,具有较大应用价值。     

A simulation method of aircraft plumes for real-time imaging

Real-time infrared simulation technology can provide a large number of infrared images under different conditions to support the design, test and evaluation of a system having infrared imaging equipment with very low costs. By synthesizing heat transfer, infrared physics, fluid mechanics and computer graphics, a real-time infrared simulation method is proposed based on the method of characteristics to predict the infrared feature of aircraft plumes, which tries to obtain a good balance between simulation precision and computation efficiency. The temperature and pressure distribution in the under-expansion status can be rapidly solved with dynamically changing flight statuses and engine working states. And a modified C–G (Curtis–Godson) spectral band model that combines the plume streamlines with the conventional C–G spectral band model was implemented to calculate the non-uniformly distributed radiation parameters inside a plume field. The simulation result was analyzed and compared with the CFD++, which validates the credibility and efficiency of the proposed simulation method.     

Estimation of directivity and sound power levels emitted by aircrafts during taxiing, for outdoor noise prediction purpose

Integrated noise model (INM) is the most internationally used software to calculate noise levels near airports. Take off, landing or pass by operations can be modeled by INM, but it does not consider aircrafts taxiing, which, in some cases, can be important to accurately evaluate and reduce airports’ noise assessment.Aircraft taxiing noise emission can be predicted using other prediction tools based on standards that describe sound attenuation during propagation outdoors. But these tools require data inputs that are not known: directivity and sound power levels emitted by aircraft during taxiing.This paper describes methods used to calculate directivity indexes and sound power levels, based on field measurements made in Madrid-Barajas Airport (Spain). Obtained results can be used as inputs for general purpose outdoor sound prediction software, which will be able to evaluate noise at airports vicinity as industrial noise.Directivity and sound power levels have been estimated in octave and third octave band terms, for several aircraft families.     

Aircraft and crew scheduling for fractional ownership programs

Fractional aircraft ownership programs, where individuals or corporations own a fraction of an aircraft, have revolutionized the corporate aviation industry. Fractional management companies (FMC) manage all aspects of aircraft operations enabling the owners to enjoy the benefits of private aviation without the associated responsibilities. We describe here the development of a scheduling decision support tool for a leading FMC. We present mathematical models, exact and heuristic solution methods. Our computational results using real and randomly generated data indicate that these models are quite effective in finding optimal or near-optimal solutions. The first phase of the implementation of one of these models at the FMC led to a significant improvement in effective utilization of the aircraft, reduction of costs due to reduced empty moves, and hence increased profits.     

CONSURF系统中机身造型曲线的若干几何性质

本文用计算几何学的观点对Ａ．Ａ．Ｂａｌｌ在前英车航空公司研制成功的ＣＯＮＳＵＲＦ系统进行分析，证明了这一系统的机身造型曲线具有包络性质，分段性质，变差缩减性质，奇点拐点分布性质和保凸性质。     

Effects of multiple blade interaction on the containment of blade fragments during a rotor failure

A finite element analysis is used to study the impact and the containment aspects of rotor blade fragments that are produced during a aircraft jet engine rotor failure. The impact and containment studies are performed on a ring-type containment structure and various fragment types are considered in this study. For each type of fragment, the ring thickness is varied incrementally and the ring response, residual kinetic energy level of the fragments, magnitude of impact forces and the overall containment or failure are determined. First, only a single fragment is considered and the rotor is assumed to contain no other blades. Next, the remaining blades are introduced and the effects of multiple collisions with the other blades on the containment are analyzed. The explicit, nonlinear finite element code Dyna3d is used for the numerical computations in this study and the results are compared with the experimental results performed on a T58 rotor at the spin facility of the Naval Air Propulsion Test Center.     

A standardised test environment to compare aircraft noise calculation programs

A new standardised test environment for aircraft noise calculation programs is presented. By means of this test environment different programs for aircraft noise calculation can be compared systematically. For this purpose a complete data set was developed, containing all relevant information needed to perform unambiguous aircraft noise calculations in the vicinity of an artificial airport. The input data is provided in a generic, non-program-specific form in order to be applicable to programs based on different calculation methods and data structures. In addition to the input data, guidelines on the file format of the results of calculations performed with different programs are specified to facilitate direct comparisons. The test environment and its data structure are outlined and examples of calculations according to this scheme are presented.     

A new indicator to measure the noise impact around airports: The Real Estate Tolerance Level (RETL) – Case study around Charles de Gaulle Airport

The Community Tolerance Level (CTL) is a new indicator which characterizes the impact of aircraft noise around local airport. It corresponds to the exposure sound level (DENL or DNL) where 50% of the population is highly annoyed. Inspired by this indicator, this paper aims at calculating the Real Estate Tolerance Level (RETL) which corresponds to the exposure sound level where a property price is 50% depreciated compared to the price of the same property which would be situated in an area whose DENL is below 50 dB(A). The use of a notarial database analyzed with the Hedonic Price Model (HPM) made it possible to calculate the percentage of property price depreciation around CDG airport, with 1-dB steps of DENL, and so far to calculate the RETL. 19,891 house transactions and 23,264 apartments have been localized with a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and crossed with the Sound Environment Curves provided by Airport of Paris. The RETL value for single houses and for apartments around CDG is 75.8 dB. It is comparable to the mean CTL value which has been estimated to 73.3 dB from the DNL data of 43 airports over the world (about 73.9 dB from DENL data). The RETL is predictable without field survey and could characterize the impact of aircraft noise around local airports. It could be a good indicator to follow the evolution of population tolerance over the years.     

航空复合材料及其基体树脂的太赫兹光谱特性研究

现如今各类航空复合材料大量应用在航空飞机制造领域,而不同基体树脂的复合材料具有不同的性能优势,其物理性能关系到复合材料的设计、使用与检测。为研究不同种类的航空玻璃纤维复合材料及其基体树脂在太赫兹频段的光谱特性与介电性能,利用太赫兹时域光谱技术(THz-TDS)在0.2~1.0 THz频段内研究了3类不同航空玻璃纤维复合材料及其基体树脂：环氧树脂3238A/玻璃纤维EW180A,氰酸酯树脂9915/玻璃纤维QW120A,双马来酰亚胺树脂QY8911/玻璃纤维ZW100A的光谱吸收和介电色散特性,计算得到了不同航空复合材料及其基体树脂的折射率ｎ、吸收系数α、介电常数实部ε′和介电常数虚部ε″,并结合改性添加剂进行了基体树脂的对比分析,以及结合增强体玻璃纤维进行了复合材料的对比分析,在此基础上,使用Debye模型对树脂体系中偶极子的弛豫过程进行了理论计算,并对实验结果进行了拟合分析。研究表明,对于ε″和α,均以QW120A/9915＜ZW100A/QY8911＜EW180A/3238A和9915＜QY8911＜3238A的顺序增大,这是由于在树脂体系中含有的极性官能团和分子越多,偶极子取向极化引起的弛豫运动则会越剧烈,介电耗损就越大;随着交变电场频率的增加,偶极子因弛豫运动落后于电场的变化,需要更多的能量克服材料内粘滞阻力,引起介电耗损增大,导致ε″和α随之增大,并且均未有明显的吸收峰;由于树脂体系中分子链结构和极性基团的含量不同,对于各类复合材料和浇注料,氰酸酯树脂的ε′和n均最小,介电性能最好也最稳定,双马来酰亚胺树脂和环氧树脂介电性能次之,稳定性稍差,顺序为QW120A/9915＞ZW100A/QY8911＞EW180A/3238A和9915＞QY8911＞3238A;在聚合物树脂内部,偶极子的极化行为由于弛豫运动而受阻尼影响,滞后于交变电场的周期性变化,导致取向极化的程度相对减弱,ε′和ｎ呈现反常的色散现象,即ε′和ｎ随频率的增大而降低,而对于复合材料,玻璃纤维作为无机非金属材料弱化了聚合物树脂中极化行为的影响,均未出现反常色散现象;由于混合型树脂体系中不同极性的基团发生极化响应的机制不同,导致实际介电耗损高于拟合结果,而ε′和ｎ并不受影响,因而在使用Debye方程进行拟合时,ε″和α的拟合结果稍有误差。首次报道了不同航空复合材料及其基体树脂在太赫兹频段的介电性能差异、光谱特性及其规律,给出了环氧、氰酸酯和双马来酰亚胺三种不同航空树脂及其玻璃纤维复合材料在太赫兹频段的基础参数,为太赫兹频段下固体电介质材料透波性能的研究补充了新的内容,为航空复合材料的太赫兹无损检测提供了重要参考,并且对航空复合材料性能改进、吸波复合材料、光电半导体材料、太赫兹超材料和高性能雷达罩等研究具有重要意义。