Failure Detection through Functional Redundancy.
Abstract
A high degree of reliability in control data instrumentation is vital to the Air Force's mission. This objective is typically accomplished by comparing the outputs of redundant system components. However, weight, volume, and cost penalties of such equipment redundancy can be substantial. Data systems already onboard the aircraft--the air data computer, inertial system, attitude and heading reference system, and the rate gyros and accelerometers of the automatic flight control system--provide functionally related data. This form of inherent functional redundancy among sensor signals can be exploited rather than resorting exclusively to hardware duplication to achieve the desired level of data system reliability. A major objective of this study was to demonstrate both concept feasibility and the extent of performance capabilities of a functional redundancy failure detection algorithm. Thus, in a performance improvement program, both missed alarms and false alarms were minimized. The other main goal was to develop the failure detection algorithm and an associated performance analysis program into a systematic and flexible design tool which would then be used to generate an eventual implementation of a tuned and optimized software package for a particular onboard application of functional redundancy for failure detection. Such an engineering tool was developed and it promises to assist substantially in converting the performance potential of functional redundancy into reality.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA076906
Entities
People
- Peter S. Maybeck
Organizations
- Flight Dynamics Laboratory