Model-Based Reconfigurable Fault Tolerant Control of Jet Engines

In this proposal, Intelligent Automation, Inc. (IAI) proposes a novel reconfigurable fault tolerant control (FTC) approach for advanced jet engines to realize the full potential of model-based engine control technology. The proposed FTC architecture will be achieved through the integration of the model-based engine control concept with a new nonlinear diagnostic scheme that is employed to detect, isolate, and accommodate any faults in the engine signals used for adaptation of the onboard engine model. Therefore, the onboard engine model provides a good representation of the component performance of the physical engine even in the presence of faulty signals for adaptation. The reconfigurable adaptive engine model enables real-time monitoring of engine component performance, sensor/actuator fault diagnosis and accommodation by using virtual measurements of measurable engine variables, and optimal direct thrust control for individual engine. The proposed nonlinear fault diagnosis scheme employs a new nonlinear approach to residual generation and a transferable belief model based diagnostic reasoning method, which has the capability of directly dealing with nonlinear systems/faults, unstructured modeling uncertainty, the occurrence of new or unanticipated faults. The proposed method will lead to fuel efficiency, improved safety and engine performance, and longer service life of future jet engines.