Single measurement testing, pros and cons

There is a school of thought that believes making a single measurement of some parameter is a proper test procedure. For reasons of speed and the large number of measurements to be made on an item, so the reasoning goes, one cannot afford to make multiple measurements, calculate the average and the variation of the readings. What are the consequences of this approach? Can one test a unit to its specifications using this approach? What are the trade-offs inherent in single measurement testing? What happens if an erratic unit is tested? An alternative testing method involves taking a few repeat values, averaging them and estimating their repeatability. The same set of questions apply. The pros and cons of these two approaches will be discussed. Practical real world examples will be presented     

航空发动机和工业燃气轮机热喷涂热障涂层用金属黏结层:回顾与展望

超音速火焰喷涂制作的金属黏结层加料浆喷涂制作的柱状晶结构陶瓷隔热层被视作新一代航空发动机和燃气轮机用热喷涂热障涂层,其中采用的MCrAlY金属黏结层正朝着长寿命、低成本、适用于新燃料的方向发展。本文综述近年来航空发动机和燃气轮机热端部件热障涂层用MCrAlY金属黏结层研究进展,并对涂层的结构设计与成分设计进行探讨。     

Designing to MIL-STD-2165: Testability

The V-22 avionic hardware is the first to be designed under MIL-STD-2165 testability program requirements. This paper presents an overview of the avionics design-for-testability approach and lessons learned to date relative to the application of MIL-STD-2165. The paper will discuss incorporation of testability requirements up front in the avionics design which will drive the supportability philosophy at both the Organizational and Depot levels of maintenance. The paper will compare previous avionics hardware testability requirements versus those applied to the V-22 avionics and highlight areas of improvement. A discussion of testability design impacts on reduced level of testing (i.e. WRA/SRA/System) will be included. In addition, the paper discusses an innovative approach to meeting the user requirements for a man-portable forward deployed maintenance capability that forms the basis for a two level support scenario (Organizational and Depot). The innovation comes from the fact that the on-board Central Integrated Checkout system will provide data as well as fault isolation and will use this data as a mechanism to reduce the size and complexity of the stimulus and measurement hardware at either the Organizational or Depot level depending on the deployment requirements.     

Kalman Filter Design Considerations for Space-Stable Inertial Navigation Systems

Terrestrial inertial navigation is typically performed using an instrumented platform stabilized in a ?local-level? configuration for convenient generation of geographic navigation information. The local-level geographic reference must be maintained by torquing the system gyros, a requirement which may be incompatible with high-precision inertial sensors currently under development. Gyro torquing in a gimballed navigation system can be avoided by employing a ?space-stable? mechanization of the platform where an inertial, rather than geographic, reference is used for navigation calculations. The software design problems associated with this concept, especially those related to the application of Kalman filtering, are the principle focus of this paper. Although the space-stable configuration has been used extensively for spacecraft navigation and guidance, it has not been widely applied to terrestrial navigation, either for air or marine applications. The chief problem in this application is to perform navigation in local-level coordinates, using system outputs generated in an inertial reference frame. It can be demonstrated that, although the navigation system error dynamics are identical for the local-level and space-stable configurations, the dynamics of the sensor errors which drive these systems are quite different. These differences in sensor error propagation characteristics impose new requirements for the design of procedures to accomplish system calibration, alignment, and reset. This paper outlines a Kalman filtering approach which is applicable to all of the above procedures, and presents numerical results to demonstrate its effectiveness.     

一种确定钣金成形件毛坯的新方法

针对钣金成形工艺设计中的毛坯展开问题,利用高分子聚合物在冻结温度时力学特性和金属的相似性及其形状记忆特性,提出了一种确定钣金成形件毛坯形状的新方法——物理逆向法。给出了此方法的理论依据,并进行了相应的试验验证。结果表明此方法是可行的。此方法对于复杂的拉深成形件和复杂的覆盖件的进一步研究更有实际意义,有利于提高产品质量和降低成本。     

基于CST参数化方法气动优化设计研究

翼型及机翼优化设计中,设计变量的个数对优化算法的收敛速度及代理模型的精度有很大的影响.因此,在精确描述翼型的同时,发展较少设计变量的翼型参数化方法对翼型优化设计有着重要的意义.本文基于CST(class function/shape function transformation)翼型参数化方法对Kriging模型的预测精度进行研究,并采用改进的粒子群优化算法构建气动优化设计系统.某亚声速机翼单点减阻设计及超临界翼型的稳健性设计表明该系统具有较高的设计质量,方法可靠,有较高的工程应用前景.     

飞机炮舱减振结构设计与研究

本文对飞机的炮舱结构进行有限元分析，在不改变整体主要尺寸的基础上，对飞机炮舱结构进行了阻尼减振结构设计。此设计方案可以取得炮舱结构动力响应应力值减少约30％以上的减振效果，进而从治理振源人手，使飞机结构动力学设计迈上一个新台阶。     

Perspectives for Strategic Analysis in Advancing Ocean Technology

There is a growing need for the scientist, engineer, and administrator to better understand the kinds of overall, across-the-board planning problems involved in the development of off-shore coastal areas. A recommended approach is to use systems analysis techniques. Principles will be set forth on maintaining and improving the quality of the ocean environment, with considerations of cost in so doing. Each proponent of an aspect of ocean technology usually believes that his field must be greatly enlarged in the near future. Along with these advances there is the likelihood of unnecessary social costs emanating from undesirable modifications of the environment. In making the analysis, an early step is to identify specific needs and appropriate roles. A next step is to lay out alternatives for achieving objectives both within a given organization and external to it. The alternatives may be appraised through their costs and benefits. But how do you make choices between goals when resources are limited? How can we gather the data, accomplish the evaluation, and do the planning that will make rational choices possible? This paper elucidates the problems involved in these kinds of questions and suggests methodology that might lead toward solutions.     

基于Lyapunov函数的不确定模糊控制系统设计

研究一类不确定T-S模糊系统的稳定性问题,考虑了平行与非平行分配补偿控制器的设计,并把线性矩阵不等式方法运用到了非平行分配补偿控制器中。基于Lyapunov函数把系统稳定的充分条件延伸到了不确定模糊控制系统。最后通过数值实例说明了本结论的有效性。     

直升机振动水平控制技术途径探讨

直升机的振动水平,是衡量当代直升机先进程度最主要的因素之一。直升机振动水平控制是非常复杂的系统工程,需要系统的控制方法、流程和技术。本文将面向工程实际,结合直升机的研制流程,从技术途径方面进行探讨。     

Realization of an optimized wing camber by using formvariable flap structures

According to market research predictions, a large growth in the number of passengers as well as airfreight volume can be expected for the civil transport aircraft industry. This will lead to an increased competition between aircraft manufacturers. To stay competitive it will be essential to improve the efficiency of new generation of aircraft. Transonic wings of civil aircraft with their fixed geometry offer an especially large potential for improvement. Such fixed geometry wings are optimized for only one design point, characterized by the following parameters: altitude, mach number and aircraft weight. Since these vary permanently during the mission of the aircraft the wing geometry is rarely optimal. As aerodynamic investigations have shown, one possibility to compensate for this major disadvantage lies in the chordwise and spanwise differential variation of the wing camber for mission duration. This paper describes the design of a flexible flap system for an adaptive wing to be used in civil transport aircraft that allows both a chordwise as well as a spanwise differential camber variation during flight. Since both lower and upper skins are flexed by active ribs, the camber variation is achieved with a smooth contour and without any additional gaps. This approach for varying the wing's camber is designed to be used for replacement and enhancement of a given flap system. In addition, the kinematics of the rib structure allows for adaptation of the profile contour to different types of aerodynamic and geometric requirements.     

航空发动机机载健康管理系统设计方法

为解决航空发动机机载健康管理系统正向设计流程不清晰、设计需求不明确、需求设计对应及追溯不规范的问题，在对 比国内外现有健康管理功能架构体系的基础上，结合正向设计中需求捕获、需求分析和功能分配，研究了由上到下的航空发动机 健康管理系统正向设计基本流程，开发了航空发动机健康管理正向设计流程平台，实现了机载功能架构的设计。引入基于模型的 系统工程思想，采用面向对象的工程设计思路，建立功能目标量化、功能描述、模块定义等图形化设计方法，验证了该设计方法在 硬件设计中的可用性。通过研究航空发动机机载健康管理系统设计方法并分析机载功能组成，建立了可扩展的流程平台，基于模 型设计方法建立了可用的硬件设计模型，可为航空发动机机载健康管理系统设计提供参考。     

Firewire: standard computer industry interconnect for test & measurement

Do you know what Firewire is? If not, you soon will, IEEE 1394, or Firewire, is an up-and-coming electronics industry standard that will soon be in wide use for interconnecting a massive variety of electronic equipment. It will be used for connecting CD-ROMs and scanners to computers, and it will be used for connecting VCRs, DVDs and satellite dishes to digital televisions. How does this affect Test & Measurement? This paper discusses Firewire, along with it's lower-end companion, USE, and how they can and will be utilized in T&M applications to replace T&M specific technologies, such as IEEE 488, and MXI. The advantages-and disadvantages-of these new technologies are discussed along with what the Test & Measurement industry should do to support these new technologies.     

Performance evaluation of multi-sensor classification systems

A common problem in classification is to use one/more sensors to observe repeated measurements of a target's features/attributes, and in turn update the targets' posterior classification probabilities to aid in target identification. This paper addresses the following questions: 1. How do we quantify the classification performance of a sensor? 2. What happens to the posterior probabilities as the number of measurements increase? 3. Will the targets be classified correctly? While the Kalman filter allows for off-line estimation of kinematic performance (covariance matrix), a comparable approach for studying classification accuracy has not been done previously. We develop a new analytical approach for computing the long-run classification performance of a sensor and also present recursive formulas for efficient calculation of the same. We show that, under a minimal condition, a sensor will eventually classify all targets perfectly. We also develop a methodology for evaluating the classification performance of multi-sensor fusion systems involving sensors of varying quality. The contributions of this paper are 1. A simple metric to quantify a sensor's ability to discriminate between the targets being identified, and its use in comparing multiple sensors, 2. An approximate formula based on this metric to compute off-line estimates of the rate of convergence toward perfect classification, and the number of measurements required to achieve a desired level of classification accuracy, and 3. The use of this metric to evaluate classification performance of multi-sensor fusion systems.     

Sustainable land use using consensus mapping and conflict resolution

Land use conflicts are the typical example of spatial conflicts. They are intrinsically complex and require a comprehensive approach to their solutions. It is necessary to come to grips with the nature of their complexity to provide adequate support to deal with them. Development of land management plans through the participation of stakeholders is being appreciated and accepted as a requirement for sustainable land use. However, the involvement of stakeholders (participatory approach) gives rise to many questions. Who are the stakeholders? How to identify them? How to empower them? How to lead them through the process of negotiation? How to collate their interests to resolve the conflicts? How to facilitate this process? etc. This is an endeavour to answer the questions relevant to the support and facility that can be provided for conflict resolution by using the suitable techniques and technology. This paper introduces the concept of GIS-based collaborative decision-making and presents a general model that is developed on the basis of decision theory to support the process of conflict resolution in the context of sustainable land use.     

Integrated flight control systems: a new paradigm for an old art

The automatic flight control computer was a revolutionary development in the early days of flight, even in its primitive electromechanical form. It evolved into an electronic computing device, starting as an analog computer and maturing into software run on a digital, general-purpose microprocessor. The current accepted industry standard is to use a dedicated microprocessor in its own enclosure for this function that is essentially firewalled from the rest of the systems on the aircraft. This paper will explore the opportunity to integrate the flight control function into an integrated processing platform, which is a robustly partitioned platform that supports multiple functions of dissimilar design assurance levels. This approach provides all of the benefits of an integrated system, while still maintaining the separation provided by a stand-alone unit. The paper will consider both the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. The discussion will describe each of the alternatives in general and then focus specifically on autopilot and flight control functions that have potential for integration. The end goal of the paper is to impress on the reader an understanding of the different alternatives available for autopilot, flight control, and avionics modernization in general. This includes the development of a selection matrix that will assist the reader in making decisions on how best to implement these functions according to criticality and the volatility of their future requirements     

Hardware-Constrained Hybrid Coding of Video Imagery

The design, implementation, and performance of a video bandwidth compression system is described. In this system, compression is obtained by several methods including the use of DCT/DCPM hybrid coding, frame rate reduction, and resolution reduction. The overall compression ratio is up to 1000:1. The hardware-constrained design of the DCT and the DPCM is described and a new method is derived to solve the optimum integer bit-assignment problem associated with the block quantization process in the DPCM. Computer simulation results are presented which predict that the performance of the system using the derived optimal bit assignment method is superior to those obtained by other bit assignment methods. The real-time hybrid coding system design is optimized for a set of ?modified? average statistics to compress a wide variety of input video images. This approach eliminates the problem of nonzero dc mean value which could otherwise cause serious degradations in the system performance. The compression system is fully implemented and the quality of the reconstructed video as predicted by computer simulation has been demonstrated by the actual hardware performance. The PSNR of the reconstructed imagery is in excess of 36 dB at 2 bits per pixel.     

一种新的自适应滑动模控制器设计方法

 基于ARMA模型研究了一类具有输出反馈的离散系统滑动模变结构控制方法,提出的算法将滑动模变结构控制与系统的参数辨识结合在一起,从而使设计系统具有较强的自适应性和鲁棒性。提出方法的可行性和优化性通过一实例获得验证。     

Toward Accurate On-Ground Attitude Determination for the Gaia Spacecraft

The work presented in this paper concerns the accurate On-Ground Attitude (OGA) reconstruction for the astrometry spacecraft Gaia in the presence of disturbance and of control torques acting on the spacecraft. The reconstruction of the expected environmental torques which influence the spacecraft dynamics will be also investigated. The telemetry data from the spacecraft will include the on-board real-time attitude, which is of order of several arcsec. This raw attitude is the starting point for the further attitude reconstruction. The OGA will use the inputs from the field coordinates of known stars (attitude stars) and also the field coordinate differences of objects on the Sky Mapper (SM) and Astrometric Field (AF) payload instruments to improve this raw attitude. The on-board attitude determination uses a Kalman Filter (KF) to minimize the attitude errors and produce a more accurate attitude estimation than the pure star tracker measurement. Therefore the first approach for the OGA will be an adapted version of KF. Furthermore, we will design a batch least squares algorithm to investigate how to obtain a more accurate OGA estimation. Finally, a comparison between these different attitude determination techniques in terms of accuracy, robustness, speed and memory required will be evaluated in order to choose the best attitude algorithm for the OGA. The expected resulting accuracy for the OGA determination will be on the order of milli-arcsec.