Intelligent Sensor Node for Distributed Engine Control for Advanced Propulsion System Application

The implementation of intelligent propulsion concepts for the next generation of advanced propulsion systems requires development of advanced enabling technologies such as smart sensors, which are capable of intelligently using all of the available sensors for the synthesis of robust control strategies and the automated management of the health of the engine in order to complete a given mission. The proposed Intelligent Sensor Node (ISN) is a high temperature capable, modular design with the capability to interface with and manage multiple engine control sensors for pressure, temperature and other parameters, and communicate with the FADEC. The ISN can be reconfigured for interfacing with different classes of control sensors without hardware changes, and contains all of the circuitry needed for signal conditioning, acquisition, digital calibration and compensation. The ISN is an enabling building block for the realization of distributed FADEC control system architectures, and is equally applicable to hybrid or legacy FADEC system applications.