May 13, 2015
Photo credit: Luther Caverly
Carleton’s iAero Team
Aerospace is one of Carleton’s long-standing areas of research strengths. The federal government recently added this sector to its science and technology strategy to encourage cross-disciplinary approaches, something that Carleton is working hard to pursue along with six partner institutions.
Called iAero, the collaboration includes 25 researchers across Canada and aims to improve current technology with embedded intelligence to enhance competitiveness making Canada’s exports in aerospace stronger. Industry partners include Bombardier, MDS Aero, CAE, GasTOPS, D-TA, Marinvent, Thales, Celeris and Wolna Technology, among others.
To meet these needs, here is an overview of how Carleton is contributing.
the collaboration includes 25 researchers across Canada and aims to improve current technology to enhance competitiveness making Canada’s exports in aerospace stronger
Modelling/design and simulation
Lead: Metin Yaras, Carleton University
In the past, it was difficult to predict how aerospace structures would behave under stress – particularly those crucial parts such as wings. Analysis tools of a few years ago could only combine a property or two at a time, such as whether when a wing flexes it generates a sound.
Using advanced multiphysics modelling techniques, Carleton has helped to speed up the calculations of how materials change during a flight. Today, researchers can tell a lot of things by looking at the same wing flexing. Properties that can now be calculated include whether it will crack, or how the flexing will affect voltage across the aircraft as wires inside move with the wing.
While computers are more powerful today than five or 10 years ago, the best practice is to constantly optimize. The best chance of success and quick calculations comes from making the models and computer code as efficient as possible. This allows for more rapid calculations of all the difficult capabilities that need to be predicted – whether it’s the aircraft’s drag in the air, or how emissions and noise are affected while it’s flying.
Software methodologies and development for integrated systems
Lead: Dorina Petriu, Carleton University
Think of the number of computer systems available on a typical commercial aircraft. The pilots use autopilot to ensure they are on the right course. To save on fuel, the airplane has automated power management so that the optimal amount is used for different phases of flight. More advanced aircraft include diagnostics on their health through the use of sensors. And even the passengers can enjoy on-board entertainment that delivers movies, television, games and more directly to each seat.
As you can see, a typical aircraft has all sorts of processes on board. Any time you want to add a new software system to a plane, however, safety considerations must be paramount. How do you make sure one computer does not clash with another? What happens if more power must go quickly to a crucial system – do you take power away from others, or do something else?
What’s most important is making sure the software does not end up with a phenomenon known as “system hang”, which happens when new capabilities are added in an uncoordinated way by programmers without considering the computing system as a whole. This points to the need for strong software verification that will ensure airplanes will remain safe while new capabilities are added.
Sensing and sensor fusion
Lead: Memorial University, Carleton lead: Langis Roy
What if you were able to predict ahead of time if an airplane part was going to fail? This would greatly reduce the costs of maintenance. Instead of pulling an aircraft off the line to do preventative maintenance checks, the new line of thinking suggests that sensors could be used to supplement or perhaps replace some of these inspections.
The real challenge is to make sure that those sensors which include semiconductors can work under all conditions. These are the crucial part of computer chips that convert measured quantities to electrical current. This would allow the sensors to be placed, say, on the exterior of the plane that sees great temperature fluctuations. Or perhaps inside an engine, where it gets extremely hot.
The sensors not only need to be robust, but also able to transmit information wirelessly – ideally, in real time. That way, aircraft maintenance personnel can see how the airplane is responding while flying. Conditions such as temperature, pressure and heat can then be considered while trying to diagnose problems in the aircraft.
The iAero collaboration ensures that Carleton’s and Canada’s contribution will be useful, making the planes and aircraft components manufactured in our country more competitive worldwide
Diagnostics, prognostics and health monitoring applications
Lead: University of Sherbrooke, Carleton lead: Jeremy Laliberté
Once you have sensors that can work on an airplane, how best do you place them in the vehicle? What is the array that will tell you how the airplane is performing and whether it needs maintenance right away? Knowing the minimum requirements of that set of sensors will assist maintenance planners in determining what is required to give a picture of the aircraft’s structural health and other systems.
Once the configuration of the sensors is determined, the next question is who to transmit the information to. If a problem is detected, it’s an open question as to whether – for example – the flight crew should be informed. Depending on how busy the people on board are and how urgent the situation is, perhaps it would be best to transmit the information to ground personnel instead so that the crew can focus on flying safely.
Tied in with this application is determining how much time is left before an airplane must be repaired. Perhaps a small problem crops up that will be unsafe with time, but does not need to be addressed right away. How quickly should the airplane be pulled for maintenance? An appropriately designed sensor array, along with intelligent component-level to vehicle-level to fleet-level management schemes, could help personnel make that determination.
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Performance enhancements applications
Lead: University of Toronto, Carleton lead: Fred Nitzsche
Embedded intelligence can not only help keep current aircraft safe, but it can also help aircraft designers make the next generation of planes better. Actively controlling the amount of noise in the landing gear could lead to the design of a new generation that is quieter. Or being able to dynamically affect how much lift comes from the wings could help designers create a newer set that makes the aircraft soar higher, quicker.
This can lead to all sorts of innovations. Stronger and more lightweight materials mean that the aircraft does not need as much fuel to fly, saving on gas costs and carbon emissions. Creating “morphing wings” and other movable parts will reduce noise in the aircraft, making it more comfortable for passengers and communities below flight paths alike.
What will the aircraft of tomorrow look like? These five areas give us a sense of what to expect. Smarter safety systems, lighter and better materials, actuators, controllers and computers that communicate well with each other are all things researchers expect on planes of the next decade. The iAero collaboration ensures that Carleton’s and Canada’s contribution to these matters will be useful, making the planes and aircraft components manufactured in our country more competitive worldwide.
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