SYSTEM-LEVEL DEVELOPMENT OF FAULT-TOLERANT DISTRIBUTED AERO-ENGINE CONTROL ARCHITECTURE NASA'S VISION FOR A…

Public award description

SYSTEM-LEVEL DEVELOPMENT OF FAULT-TOLERANT DISTRIBUTED AERO-ENGINE CONTROL ARCHITECTURE NASA'S VISION FOR AN "INTELLIGENT ENGINE" WILL BE REALIZED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TRULY DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEM AND RELIABLE SMART TRANSDUCER NODE COMPONENTS; HOWEVER A SIGNIFICANT HURDLE IN ITS REALIZATION IS THE RELIABILITY OF THESE COMPONENTS WHEN SUBJECTED TO THE HARSH OPERATING ENVIRONMENT THROUGHOUT THE ENGINE. IN THIS PHASE I AWARD, IMPACT TECHNOLOGIES, IN COLLABORATION WITH GE AVIATION, WILL DEVELOP A FAULT-TOLERANT SMART TRANSDUCER NODE THROUGH A DISTRIBUTED ENGINE CONTROL SIMULATOR (DECSIM) DESIGN TOOL THAT WILL UTILIZE A COMMERCIAL OF-THE-SHELF (COTS) OPEN-SYSTEM COMMUNICATIONS STANDARD AND WILL INTERFACE WITH THE C-MAPSS ENGINE MODEL. IN PHASE I, IMPACT WILL SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOP: I) THE DECSIM UTILITY, II) THE SMART NODE SELF-VALIDATION AND CROSS-VALIDATION CAPABILITIES, III) THE OVERALL DISTRIBUTED CONTROL ARCHITECTURE, AND IV) THE FIRMWARE CODE THAT WILL RESIDE ON HARDWARE. AT THE END OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM, IMPACT WILL DEMONSTRATE THE FUNCTIONALITY OF A CANDIDATE DEC SMART NODE IN HARDWARE WITHIN THE DECSIM FRAMEWORK. THE FINAL SMART NODE TECHNOLOGY WILL ALLEVIATE THE SEVERE SYSTEM-LEVEL LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT CENTRALIZED ARCHITECTURES THAT INCLUDE A LARGE WEIGHT IMPOSITION, LIMITED DESIGN FLEXIBILITY, AND LIFE CYCLE COST BURDENS ASSOCIATED WITH CERTIFICATION AND OBSOLESCENCE MANAGEMENT.