Development and flight test of a real-time energy management display

Abstract

A real-time energy management display is developed and evaluated, and the feasibility and utility of the display in providing real-time guidance and information on an aircraft's energy state is investigated. Flight simulations were conducted with the UTSI's Aviation Systems research flight simulator to validate the display and to evaluate its utility for flying along constant specific excess power (PS) contours and for directly obtaining PS contours from level acceleration flight test. This study considers the energy state of the aircraft from the point of view of the relation that exists between specific excess power, PS, and the forces in flight. The approach yields as one result a cubic function for the PS of the aircraft. We then directly solve for velocity, V, as the control parameter for a given PS as a function of altitude, H. Using LabView software, this technique is used to build a real-time energy management display which provides guidance and real-time information on the aircraft's energy state. Flight simulation results proved the display to be successful in obtaining direct PS contours from level acceleration flight tests and in providing guidance for flights along constant PS contours at low airspeeds, although it was difficult to keep the PS constant.

Realaus laiko energijos valdymo monitoriaus kūrimas ir bandymas skrydžio metu

Santrauka. Sukurtas ir įvertintas realaus laiko energijos valdymo monitorius, ištirtos jo galimybės ir panaudojimas informacijai apie energijos būklę teikti. Skrydžio simuliacijos rodo, kad monitorius sėkmingai gauna tiesioginį PS kontūrą greitėjančio skrydžio metu ir gali nukreipti skrydžius palei nuolatinį PS kontūrą, esant nedideliam greičiui, nors ir sunku išlaikyti nuolatinį PS.

Reikšminiai žodžiai: perteklinė galia, horizontalusis pagreitėjimas, aukštis, greitis.

First published online: 13 Jan 2012

Keyword : specific excess power, level acceleration, altitude, velocity