Aerospace Context Research Articles

AESTHETICS IN THE “MAN-MACHINE-ENVIRONMENT” SYSTEM: THE SEARCH FOR HARMONY

The modern "human-technology-environment" (MMESE) system encompasses a wide range of interconnected issues. This system can be approached from various perspectives, including safety, efficiency, globalization, and more. The aim of this article is to explore the aesthetic dimension of MMESE in the aerospace context. In a broad sense, aesthetics serves as a space for realizing the "human-technology-environment" system. In practical terms, aesthetics serves as an indicator of the harmonious interaction of all components of this system. The aesthetic component acts as a catalyst for change, facilitating the implementation of improvements and new solutions in the professional environment. Within the "human-technology-environment" system, technical aesthetics enables the addressing of issues related to satisfaction, inspiration, as well as the ergonomics and comfort of aerospace engineering.

Manufacture and characterisation of a structural supercapacitor demonstrator

Structural power composites, a class of multifunctional materials, may facilitate lightweighting and accelerate widespread electrification of sustainable transportation. In the example considered in this paper, structural power composite fuselage components could provide power to open aircraft doors in an emergency and thus reduce or eliminate the mass and volume needed for supercapacitors currently mounted on the doors. To demonstrate this concept, an 80 cm long multifunctional composite C-section beam was designed and manufactured, which powered the opening and closing of a desktop-scale composite aircraft door. Twelve structural supercapacitor cells were made, each 30 cm × 15 cm × 0.5 mm, and two stacks of four cells were integrated into the web of the beam by interleaving and encasing them with low-temperature-cure woven carbon fibre/epoxy prepreg. This article culminates by considering the engineering challenges that need to be addressed to realise structural power composite components, particularly in an aerospace context.

Designing a semantic based common taxonomy of mechanical component degradation to enable maintenance digitalisation

Digital data management and enterprise systems have become key to support the digitalisation of maintenance activities. With traditional maintenance activities still striving for efficiencies, platforms such as the natural language processing (NLP) are supporting industries to mine textural data, not just extracting degradation terminologies but providing the maintainer with holistic insights on the degradation process. Traditionally, the degradation analysis, the first step in maintenance, is a manual process for defect characterisation, followed by failure investigation and a remaining useful life estimation. To enable digitalisation, transfer of human cognitive decision making from the physical world to the digital world is key. This paper enables this cognitive knowledge transfer through the design of a common degradation taxonomy and extracting terminology relationships to produce degradation causality with an NLP knowledge extraction approach. Further, this paper proposes and demonstrates a framework to present the data in the form of a knowledge graph populated using an application-level ontology. Use cases in the aerospace context have been used to show the power of the NLP and conceptual journey into the digitalisation of maintenance.

On the application of population-based structural health monitoring in aerospace engineering.

One of the major obstacles to the widespread uptake of data-based Structural Health Monitoring so far, has been the lack of damage-state data for the (mostly high-value) structures of interest. To address this issue, a methodology for sharing data and models between structures has been developed-Population-Based Structural Health Monitoring (PBSHM). PBSHM works on the principle that, if populations of structures are sufficiently similar, or share sections which can be considered similar, then data and models can be shared between them for use in diagnostic inference. The PBSHM methodology therefore relies on two key components: firstly, identifying whether structures are sufficiently similar for successful transfer of diagnostics; this is achieved by the use of an abstract representation of structures. Secondly, machine learning techniques are exploited to effectively transfer information between the structures in a way that improves damage detection and classification across the whole population. Although PBSHM has been conceived to deal with large and general classes of structures, much of the detailed developments presented so far have concerned bridges; the aim of this paper is to provide similarly detailed discussions in the aerospace context. The overview here will examine data transfer between aircraft components, as well as illustrating how one might construct an abstract representation of a full aircraft.

On the experimental scaling and power dissipation of violent sloshing flows

Violent and vertical sloshing flows appear when the fuel tanks of aircraft wings are shaken by air gusts or turbulence. The liquid slosh inside of the tank significantly damps the wing vibrations and its behaviour is still not fully understood. In this paper a simplified version of the problem is tackled, presenting the results obtained in an experimental campaign that investigates the scaling effects and the influence of the most relevant non-dimensional numbers of the problem. Single degree of freedom (SDOF) Froude scaled decay tests are devised in order to study the vertical sloshing problem in an aerospace context establishing relations between the slosh induced damping ratio and three of the most relevant non-dimensional numbers, namely the filling level, density ratio and initial amplitude. The experimental results indicate a maximum damping for a 50% fill level and a positive relationship between the damping ratio with the density ratio. The initial amplitude also increases with the damping ratio up until a threshold amplitude after which the damping starts to decrease. A clear explanation of the liquid induced damping ratio behaviour, confirmed for the three selected scales, is given in terms of two magnitudes: the sloshing force intensity and the phase-shift between this force and the tank motion. These two magnitudes are the key elements behind the physical interpretation of the liquid dissipation in the problem.Finally, the power dissipated by the liquid is calculated and correlated with the liquid slosh damping ratio, the sloshing force intensity and the phase-shift. This correlation shows an equivalency of the damping ratio with the dissipated power.

Polyetherimide powders as material alternatives for selective laser-sintering components for aerospace applications

Abstract

Implementing Model‐Based Systems Engineering for the Development and Support of an Additive‐Layer Manufacturing Plant in the Aerospace Context

AbstractOne of the revolutionary changes of the 21st century in the aerospace industry is the emergence of Additive Layer Manufacturing or 3D printing technology. This is so for a number of reasons. There is virtually no material waste in the production process. Existing aircraft parts of current designs can be produced in less time and for a fraction of the cost, whilst still meeting the ‘form, fit and function’ requirements of those existing parts. Modified parts that are stronger and lighter, but which could not previously be produced with traditional manufacturing methods and tools, can be designed and produced. Going even beyond parts, new designs will increasingly be enabled with larger ALM machines that are capable of printing much larger components, which have most of the traditional parts already integrated. This dramatically reduces manufacturing and assembly times and costs, as well as weight, while increasing the level of functional integration by such components.This paper reports on the application of MBSE for the development and support of a new ALM Plant in the UK. The establishment of this ‘ALM System’ followed years of cutting‐edge research activities on laser and electron beam powder bed technologies. The requirements for and the solution architecture of the ALM System were developed using various methods and supporting tools, until the requirements cascade and part of the corresponding system design, down to the level of certain detailed production processes, was modeled in SysML using MagicDraw.

End of life aircrafts recovery and green supply chain (a conceptual framework for addressing opportunities and challenges)

Purpose – This paper aims to address the different aspects of end-of-life (EOL) aircraft problems and their effects on original manufacturer’s supply chain. Aircraft manufacturers, in the greener aviation context, need to care about the footprint of planes at the EOL. Considering the challenges in EOL aircraft recovery, the reverse logistics and green supply chain solutions in the other industrial sections cannot be applied in the aerospace industry. A conceptual framework with four elements, supply chain competency, governance policy, relationship in supply chain and aerospace industry context, provides a basis for assessing the opportunities and challenges of the green supply chain in this industry. Design/methodology/approach – The basic research method utilized in this paper is the literature review. The literature review is a research methodology that includes examining books, journals, conference proceedings and dissertations for available information on the area of research. The research area regarding EOL aircraft is new. A substantial amount of literature exists in the field of end-of-life vehicle, but the main content of literature about the aircraft recycling can be obtained via relatively few literature, technical reports, news and industrial experts’ opinions. The literature is complete in some respects while inadequate in others. A considerable amount of information has been gathered through graduate student projects. The other information has been collected via contacts with professionals involved in an EOL aircraft recycling project. The basis for this methodological framework comes from a research process proposed by Mayring (2010) that emphasizes on four steps: material collection, descriptive analysis, category section and material evaluation. Findings – This paper addresses the opportunities and challenges of applying a green supply chain for aircraft manufacturers and analyzes the different aspects of aircraft at the EOL in the context of green supply chain. Research limitations/implications – This study enriches the literature by identifying EOL aircraft value chain analysis in the sustainable development context. It provides an introduction to a fresh research theme and sheds some light on green supply challenges in the aerospace industry. Practical implications – The proposed conceptual framework in this paper helps practitioners to realize the opportunities and challenges of aircraft manufacturers in applying long-term strategies with respect to EOL aircrafts. The proposed framework helps manufacturers to evaluate different perspectives of the EOL aircraft problem. Moreover, the current contribution of aircraft manufacturers into EOL projects is not in a systematic structure and performed through several managerial and professional meetings. The proposed framework in this study is a valuable tool to evaluate the different opportunities and challenges in an organized way. Originality/value – This work provides a valuable framework for future research related to green supply chains in the aerospace context. It also aids practitioners to realize the EOL aircraft problem in the context of the green supply chain, considering the opportunities and challenges.

Replacing target setting by value models in the ‘house of quality’ for value-based requirements specifications

Setting targets for engineering characteristics is common practice in the ‘house of quality’ for establishing requirements specifications. However, if deployed arbitrarily, this practice is prone to errors and can often yield irrational results. Three potential methodological problems have been identified, regarding the setting of independent targets for each engineering characteristic, setting fixed targets and cascading down targets from the system level to the component level have been identified. In this article, targets are categorised as constraints and goals because of their different implications for value trade-offs. Then, a ‘multi-attribute utility theory’ based approach is proposed, in which a system value model is developed in order to replace the setting of targets for system engineering characteristics and component value models are further derived to replace the setting of targets for component engineering characteristics. These value models enhance the traditional approach to requirements specification so that value-based requirements specifications can be developed. A case study is deployed to demonstrate the applicability of the approach in the civilian aerospace context for the development of requirements for commercial aircraft. The benefits of the proposed approach are twofold: (1) value becomes an explicit construct and (2) value can be rationally modelled and simulated in the ‘house of quality’ in order to establish value-based requirements specifications. Furthermore, identified methodological problems in terms of setting engineering characteristic targets at any level are mitigated.

Infrared: A Key Technology for Security Systems

Infrared science and technology has been, since the first applications, mainly dedicated to security and surveillance especially in military field, besides specialized techniques in thermal imaging for medical diagnostic and building structures and recently in energy savings and aerospace context. Till recently the security applications were mainly based on thermal imaging as surveillance and warning military systems. In all these applications the advent of room temperature, more reliable due to the coolers avoidance, low cost, and, overall, completely integrable with Silicon technology FPAs, especially designed and tailored for specific applications, smart sensors, has really been impacted with revolutionary and new ideas and system concepts in all the infrared fields, especially for security applications. Lastly, the advent of reliable Infrared Solid State Laser Sources, operating up to the Long Infrared Wavelength Band and the new emerging techniques in Far Infrared Submillimeter Terahertz Bands, has opened wide and new areas for developing new, advanced security systems. A review of all the items with evidence of the weak and the strong points of each item, especially considering possible future developments, will be reported and discussed.

7.4.3 Ontology‐driven Requirements Engineering —A case study of OntoREM in the aerospace context

AbstractOntoREM is an Ontology‐driven Requirements Engineering Methodology (process, methods and tools) that aims to improve the quality of requirements while also reducing the time and cost needed to develop, maintain and re‐use requirements. In order to evaluate the potential of such an ontology‐driven approach, OntoREM was applied to the aircraft operability (AO) domain and generic AO requirements for the wing design were developed. These requirements were subsequently compared to corresponding AO requirements that were developed for the wing design of two different development contexts for which a traditional requirements process was applied. Similarly, the elapsed process times to develop the requirements were compared, as measured for OntoREM and estimated for the traditional requirements process. The preliminary outcomes of this case study strongly suggest that the application of the OntoREM approach led to better quality requirements in considerably less time and hence at less cost per requirement. Further saving potential exists through increasing automation of OntoREM. In addition, there are several, additional advantages of applying this methodology that, for example, enable the reuse of domain ontologies including requirements in even less time i.e. at lower cost in the future, not to mention the advantages of explicitly capturing domain knowledge. An industrial scale pilot application of OntoREM has been proposed in order to mature the methodology and its underlying IT infrastructure for the anticipated global use in the context of entire aircraft development programmes in order to prepare for full integration into the Airbus Product Development Process (PDP).

Tool-supported enhancement of diagnosis in model-driven verification

We show on a case study from an autonomous aerospace context how to apply a game-based model-checking approach as a powerful technique for the verification, diagnosis, and adaptation of system behaviors based on temporal properties. This work is part of our contribution within the SHADOWS project, where we provide a number of enabling technologies for model-driven self-healing. We propose here to use GEAR, a game-based model checker, as a user-friendly tool that can offer automatic proofs of critical properties of such systems. Although it is a model checker for the full modal μ-calculus, it also supports derived, more user-oriented logics. With GEAR, designers and engineers can interactively investigate automatically generated winning strategies for the games, by this way exploring the connection between the property, the system, and the proof.

Instituto de Fisiologia Aeroespacial:

The Aerospace Physiology Institute (IFISAL) was established as a key sector within the Ministry of Aeronautics, aiming to modernize and enhance Aerospace Medicine in Brazil. Located at the Air Force University, IFISAL plays a crucial role in the training, research, and development of professionals in the field, including medical officers from the Air Force and other Armed Forces, as well as civilian physicians. Moreover, the institute offers specialized courses such as the Specialization Course in Aerospace Medicine (CEMAE) and the Instructor Preparation Course in Physiological Training (CPI-TF), aiming to improve the understanding of physiological reactions in flight, the assessment of human limitations in aerial activities, and the prevention of potentially dangerous situations. With modern infrastructure and adequate logistical support, IFISAL seeks to promote Flight Safety and operational excellence in the Brazilian aerospace context. (Summary prepared by the editorial team).