Open Systems: a process for achieving affordability

A major factor that will drive the definition and design of future avionics systems is affordability. Affordability is being addressed on numerous fronts such as hardware re-use, software re-use, COTS leveraging, and reduced cycle times. Each of these thrusts provide potential cost saving along with unique challenges. What is needed is a process that integrates these initiatives while ensuring the overall system objectives are achieved. An Open Systems-based process is key to integrating these initiatives and balancing affordability and system performance goals. Although Open Systems are being widely recognized as a key to affordability, most interpret Open Systems as a set of system attributes that need to be achieved. There are numerous claims of vendors saying they have an Open Systems architecture; or how their system will evolve to an Open Systems architecture. This emphasis is not on increasing affordability, but on attaching a politically-correct label to their product. In this paper, we focus on the Open Systems process as the key to affordability. An Open Systems process is based on Open Systems principles. This paper discusses the Open Systems principles and process in detail and shows how this process integrates numerous affordability initiatives     

涡桨发动机方案阶段经济可承受性分析

基于涡桨发动机经济可承受指标的定义,建立了涡桨发动机方案阶段的技术指标体系,提出了涡桨发动机全寿命周期费用指标及估算方法。给出了涡桨发动机方案阶段性能/费用权衡分析、全寿命周期费用估算及经济可承受性指标分析的过程,并以同一涡桨发动机为基准,对比分析了单转子方案和双转子方案的经济可承受性,最终得出该型发动机双转子方案经济可承受性更优的结论。     

Making batteries last longer [for electric vehicles]

The early 1900's era of electric cars ended because the batteries didn't last long enough, and a new gasoline-engine-powered car cost less than a replacement battery. Long-life batteries are the key to achieving a low life-cycle cost for the electric vehicles that will help solve the air-pollution problem in our cities. New ways of making batteries last longer are discussed     

Probability of error for BPSK modulation from electrostaticinterference [in orbital situation]

In an orbital situation any spacecraft is bombarded by charged particles that span a broad range of energies. Some of the particles may be trapped within the materials of the spacecraft. Recent data indicates that an S-band phased-array antenna on a spacecraft may experience electrostatic discharges from such ion deposition at the elements of the array. These discharges may induce RF interference of sufficient magnitude to degrade transponder performance. This issue is addressed by considering the degradation to a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) signal. A simple model for the electrostatic phenomenon is described, and error probabilities are evaluated. The discharges and induced pulse rates are shown to be well below the interference level     

A bull market [GPS]

An overview of GPS is provided from the perspective of a magazine editor, with an emphasis on marketplace applications of the technology. Maritime, aviation, and vehicle tracking uses are discussed, focusing growth in the civil sector. Reliability issues and future developments are considered     

High-performance front-end converter for avionics applications [aircraft power systems]

The distributed power systems of future commercial aircraft will adopt variable frequency generation (360 to 800 Hz). Front-end converters in the system will be required to have a high efficiency and a low total harmonic distortion (THD) of the input current. This paper explains the design of a zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) active-clamped isolated low-harmonic SEPIC rectifier for such applications. Utilization of the transformer leakage inductance for ZVS and a single-layer transformer design contribute to a high efficiency. An accurate averaged switch model has been developed, which shows that the control-to-input-current transfer function of this converter does not exhibit resonances observed in the conventional SEPIC. As a result, for closed-loop operation using average current control, damping of the coupling capacitor is not required. Operating at a switching frequency of 200 kHz, an experimental 100 W, 28 V output rectifier achieves a THD of 3-4% and efficiency exceeding 90% over the entire line frequency range.     

Systematic methods for knowledge acquisition and expert systemdevelopment [for combat aircraft]

Nine cooperating rule-based systems, collectively called AUTOCREW which were designed to automate functions and decisions associated with a combat aircraft's subsystems, are discussed. The organization of tasks within each system is described; performance metrics were developed to evaluate the workload of each rule base and to assess the cooperation between the rule bases. Simulation and comparative workload results for two mission scenarios are given. The scenarios are inbound surface-to-air-missile attack on the aircraft and pilot incapacitation. The methodology used to develop the AUTOCREW knowledge bases is summarized. Issues involved in designing the navigation sensor selection expert in AUTOCREW's NAVIGATOR knowledge base are discussed in detail. The performance of seven navigation systems aiding a medium-accuracy inertial navigation system (INS) was investigated using Kalman filter covariance analyses. A navigation sensor management (NSM) expert system was formulated from covariance simulation data using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method and the ID3 algorithm     

Use of service history for certification credit for COTS [avionic software]

Much has been written in the last ten years about how the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components would revolutionize the aerospace industry avionics, communication, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) as well as global air traffic management (GATM). Civil aviation authorities around the world have been faced with numerous requests to certify aircraft containing increasing percentages of COTS components, much of it never designed or intended for use in the safety critical environment of an aircraft. Product service history is one method for demonstrating that such software is acceptable for use. In theory, product service history would seem to be a fairly simple concept, both to understand and to apply. However, in practice, such use has proven extremely problematic, as questions of how to measure the historic performance and the relevance of the provided data have surfaced. This paper elaborates a research effort funded by the United States Federal Aviation Administration to collect, analyze, and synthesize what is known and understood about applying product service history. The effort is limited to the topic of software product service history as applied in the certification of airborne systems and equipment.