MATLAB Based Telemetry Integration Utility for Store Separation Analysis

Abstract

NAVAIR uses a six-degree of freedom (6DoF) instrumentation telemetry package attached to the store to gather quantitative data needed by testers and analysts to better understand the store separation characteristics. The 6DoF unit is flexible enough to adapt many of the various types of stores tested, such as the family of general purpose bombs. Flight test telemetry from the 6DoF unit is used by the store separation branch, along with other methods such as photogrammetrics, to validate store separation simulation models and demonstrate safe separation characteristics. To this end, telemetry data was processed by the engineer in a number of computational environments, such as FORTRAN and EXCEL. NAVAIR desired that the raw 6DoF telemetry data be processed in a MATLAB/Simulink environment for ease of integration with other elements of store separation simulation. Working in collaboration with faculty at the Unites States Naval Academy, a MATLAB/Simulink based tool was developed that processes the 6DoF telemetry and compares the resulting store trajectory with results from photgrammetrics. Faculty at the USNA incorporated the telemetry prediction problem into an engineering analysis course (EA308) for sophomore and junior level aerospace engineering students. The course project served as the basis for a Matlab-based telemetry integration utility program delivered to NAVAIR for store separation analysis. The resulting code was tested on a number of store separation trajectories with good agreement.