Dynamic Decision Support (D2S) for Real-Time Assessment of System Health and Fault Contingency Planning

Impact Technologies, in collaboration with Honeywell Engines and Systems, propose to develop an innovative Dynamic Decision Support (D2S) concept for critical aircraft systems using simulation-based fault classifiers and adaptive contingency management techniques, which will be implemented through a real-time software agent architecture. The significant technology advancement proposed herein is based on using dynamic model simulations in a real-time computing environment to not only diagnose faults, but also to determine "on the fly" how accommodate for them. Current on-board technologies have to map fault conditions to an associated set of pre-determined contingency plans, which can not possibly account for the entire set of fault scenarios that can occur in flight. Hence, the innovations of this project include: 1) Development and demonstration of an agent-based software architecture that is capable of executing simulation models of critical aircraft systems with an adaptive flight control component that performs fault contingency management in real-time; 2) Develop simulation-based fault classification algorithms for the Honeywell Power Thermal Management System (PTMS) with real-time functionality in all system operating modes; 3) Develop contingency management algorithms using dynamic performance assessment calculations and flight control command generation under faulty aircraft system dynamics constraints; and 4) Develop a Simulink-based demonstration of the dynamic contingency management and fault-adaptive control system with application to the Honeywell PTMS.