The introduction of Fly-By-Wire (FBW), though increasing support to the pilots during flight, removed any kind of feedback coming from the movement of control surfaces. In the absence of feedback, the flight crew has not the possibility to feel the changes in the aerodynamic forces due to a generic input given via the yoke, but instead has to fly with a controller that presents the same resistance for any kind of movement requested by the captain or the co-pilot. In order to solve the problem, some aircraft manufacturers studied and presented the so-called Active Inceptor Systems (AIS): is the latest technology regarding flight controls, that despite been largely analyzed, just few producers decided to equip their aircrafts with. The main idea is to present a new generation of side sticks equipped with variable and programmable feedback, enhancing the Situational Awareness (SA) of the crew [1]. By SA is meant the ability of the pilot to understand what is happening in the surrounding area and how its actions influence the goals of the mission, in both short and long term period [2]. As aforementioned, very few aerospace manufacturers have decided to mount these components on board. Within them, the first company that presented an aircraft with this technological advancement is Gulfstream, with its brand new G400 and G800 [3] series. At the same time, also Collins Aerospace is developing a similar concept and is planning to enter the market with its own Active Inceptor [4]. The goal of this work is to present the development of a two degrees-of-freedom joystick, taking inspiration from aerospace technologies and, in particular, from AIS. The first step will be a brief introduction to flight controls and their evolution in time, followed by the presentation of the state of the art in terms of AIS, focusing on their functioning and operational environment. Secondly, will be discussed the design phase of the object, explaining major decisions and how imposed requirements were achieved.
L’introduzione del Fly-By-Wire, seppur inserendo un importante ausilio ai piloti durante tutte le fasi del volo, ha eliminato ogni tipo di feed-back proveniente dalle superfici di controllo. In altre parole, i piloti per un generico movimento della cloche, non hanno la possibilità di percepire direttamente le variazioni delle forze aerodinamiche sulla barra di comando, avendo a che fare con comandi che presentano la stessa resistenza al moto indipendentemente dall’input dato. Per ovviare al problema e migliorare le sensazioni durante il volo, molti costruttori aeronautici hanno a lungo studiato i cosi-detti Active Inceptor Systems (AIS), una nuova tecnologia che, al momento, solamente poche aziende in campo aeronautico hanno deciso di installare a bordo dei propri aeromobili. Il concetto è quello di introdurre dei comandi di volo dotati di un feedback variabile e totalmente programmabile, che punta a migliorare la Situational Awareness (SA) dei piloti [1]. Con SA si intende la capacità del pilota di essere consapevole di ciò che sta accadendo nell’ambiente attorno a sé e come le proprie azioni vadano ad influire su eventi, obiettivi e traguardi della missione, sia nel breve che nel lungo periodo [2]. L’obiettivo di questo progetto è dunque quello di presentare lo sviluppo di un joystick a due gradi di libertà di derivazione aeronautica, basandosi sulla tecnologia proposta dagli Active Inceptor Systems. Si è cercato dunque di produrre un side stick a feedback attivo, dotato di funzionalità similari a quelli montati a bordo dei Gulfstream G400 e G800 o dell’Embraer KC-390, primi velivoli civili a disporre di quest’innovazione [3]. In prima istanza, verrà presentata una breve introduzione riguardo i controlli di volo e la relativa evoluzione nel tempo e successivamente verrà illustrato lo stato dell’arte per gli AIS, analizzando la tecnologia applicata per questo tipo di sistemi. Infine si procederà con la presentazione del design process, analizzando i principali passaggi seguiti nella progettazione, illustrando come le decisioni prese permettessero di soddisfare i requisiti preposti.
Design and development of an aeronautical active inceptor unit
Ronchini, Riccardo
2021/2022
Abstract
The introduction of Fly-By-Wire (FBW), though increasing support to the pilots during flight, removed any kind of feedback coming from the movement of control surfaces. In the absence of feedback, the flight crew has not the possibility to feel the changes in the aerodynamic forces due to a generic input given via the yoke, but instead has to fly with a controller that presents the same resistance for any kind of movement requested by the captain or the co-pilot. In order to solve the problem, some aircraft manufacturers studied and presented the so-called Active Inceptor Systems (AIS): is the latest technology regarding flight controls, that despite been largely analyzed, just few producers decided to equip their aircrafts with. The main idea is to present a new generation of side sticks equipped with variable and programmable feedback, enhancing the Situational Awareness (SA) of the crew [1]. By SA is meant the ability of the pilot to understand what is happening in the surrounding area and how its actions influence the goals of the mission, in both short and long term period [2]. As aforementioned, very few aerospace manufacturers have decided to mount these components on board. Within them, the first company that presented an aircraft with this technological advancement is Gulfstream, with its brand new G400 and G800 [3] series. At the same time, also Collins Aerospace is developing a similar concept and is planning to enter the market with its own Active Inceptor [4]. The goal of this work is to present the development of a two degrees-of-freedom joystick, taking inspiration from aerospace technologies and, in particular, from AIS. The first step will be a brief introduction to flight controls and their evolution in time, followed by the presentation of the state of the art in terms of AIS, focusing on their functioning and operational environment. Secondly, will be discussed the design phase of the object, explaining major decisions and how imposed requirements were achieved.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Design and Development of an Aeronautical Active Inceptor Unit.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/195701