WO2021214799A1

WO2021214799A1 - Intelligent winglet angle control system for passenger aircraft by artificial intelligence and advanced controllers

Info

Publication number: WO2021214799A1
Application number: PCT/IR2020/050016
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mohammad FAROKHZAD; Amir JALALINEJAD; Farzad VATANKHAH; Hoda JALALINEJAD
Original assignee: Farokhzad Mohammad; Jalalinejad Amir; Vatankhah Farzad; Jalalinejad Hoda
Priority date: 2020-04-25
Filing date: 2020-05-07
Publication date: 2021-10-28

Abstract

Concerning receiving flight information in different flight situations such as takeoff cruise landing and so on from the Autopilot system or sensor system of that system separately or in combination, intelligent Winglet angle control system can alter the Winglet angles and adjust the best Winglet angle to obtain the maximum efficiency of Winglet and wingtips.

Description

Intelligent Winglet Angle Control System for Passenger Aircraft by Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Controllers

Electronic Engineering & Aerospace Engineering

According to the conducted experiments, NASA began designing in Winglet in the 80^th and was transmitted to other passenger aircraft and was used by other companies for designing. Winglets are small wings that are located at the end of the wing root and produce little lift force. However, they are not too small. For example, Airbus Winglets 380 is about 7/4 m.

Winglets direct the circular airflow or vortex airflow around the bottom of the wing into the fuselage and inhibit the formation of drag force, which helps the fuel consumption up to 3%. Of course, it should be noted that 3% of fuel consumption is considerable.

New Boeing 737MAX Winglets have improved fuel consumption by 1.8% over conventional Winglets.

For instance, the intelligent design appeared for the first time in the year 2012. This series of new radical bulks named Split-Tip Scimitar, which its design was proposed in August 2011 and was introduced after experiments pertinent to the wind tunnel, is almost similar to bulks used in the Mc Donnell Douglas MD-12 aircraft. Making use of these bulks in the Boeing 737 Max aircraft reduced fuel consumption by 1/5%, besides a decrease in weight and an improvement in wing performance. The superiority obtained from this bulks are depends on the length of the flight route so that this efficient improvement and optimization of fuel consumption in one 500 nautical mile flight will be 1% (at the speed of 0/79 Mach with 162 passengers) and in one 3000 nautical mile flight will be 1/8% (with the same conditions). It should be noted that these bulks can be installed and used in the new generation 737- 800 on the customer's request.

The winglet is known as the bottom part of the aircraft’s wing that rises vertically upward or in some cases either upwards or downwards. 5% bottom of the aircraft's wing root is referred to as a blind spot that causes turbulence and vortex.

The most noticeable impact of the Winglet mechanism is the reduction in the vortex flows of the wings tip and finally the drag force. But it is suggested to discuss vortex or vortices on the wings to comprehensive them fully.

The wings of the aircraft that cause the aircraft to fly and create lifting forces, they cause drag forces in some cases. Two different pressures will appear on the wing when the aircraft is soaring or moving at a positive angle of attack.

In the upper part of the wing, the pressure is less than the atmospheric pressure and there is a pressure equal to or greater than the atmosphere in the lower part of the wing. Since the airflow is always moving from the high pressure to low pressure, it flies the aircraft. At that time, the airflow tends to be inclined to fuselage and exits from wing bottom. Moreover, the movement of air from low to up leads to the formation of one tunnel or vortex, which is located at the bottom of the wing. The power and intensity of this tunnel or vortex will increase when the angle of attack increases. Also, the drag force built by them is usually low.

Nowadays, Winglet has solved this problem that also solves other problems. Also, Winglet reduces turbulence and aircraft shaking.

After designing such a part, it is worth knowing if the Winglet angle is suitable for all flight points such as takeoff bank landing, acceleration, and altitude reduction. Nowadays a special kind of Winglet is built for each aircraft for all aircraft conditions and flight points. This Winglet is constant and is not connected to another system of the aircraft. This matter makes this Winglet to have no high efficiency for different flight conditions and flight points and to tolerate only one constant angle for each part of the flight. Although it can have one specific angle for each part of the flight at the same conditions, it presents the best and the highest efficiency for a safer flight with less fuel consumption.

As previously mentioned, some problems, such as turbulence, drag and sudden shake and so on, influence the aircraft and fuel consumption of aircraft, which they are solved by Winglets now.

After designing such a part, it is worth knowing to if Winglet angle is suitable for all flight points such as takeoff bank landing, acceleration, and altitude reduction. Nowadays a special kind of Winglet is built for each aircraft for all aircraft conditions and points of the flight. This Winglet is constant and is not connected to another system of the aircraft. This matter makes this Winglet to have no high efficiency for different flight conditions and flight points and to tolerate only one constant angle for each segment of the flight. Although. It can have one specific angle for each segment of flight at the same conditions and present the best and the highest efficiency for a safer flight with less fuel consumption.

A highly flexible system with the help of artificial intelligence can be applied to solve this problem. This system will have the capacity to make the best decision in all the online conditions that the flying bird confronts with it and then to choose the best Winglet angle. Then it can order the hydraulic system of the moving Winglet to change the angle, and the feedback system will accurately follow that goal.

The intelligent Winglet Angle Control System for passenger aircraft by artificial intelligence and advanced controllers is formed from the following three basic sections, which each section is described completely:

Sensors section - central controller section - flexible winglet section

Sensors Section

This section consists of several sensors and receivers for ambient conditions that can accurately sense angle, acceleration, missionary position, vortex flows and winds around the aircraft and can send them to the central controller section. Also, information is sent to the central controller section by the pilot team or aircraft's automatic pilot.

The sensors of this section will be as follows if their input system is obtained from the autopilot or aircraft's automatic pilot.

Gyroscope

The gyroscope is applied to specify the slope, angle, horizon line, and then some other cases like these. Newer devices (such as today's mobile phones) have a gyroscope sensor that is used to specify the position of the phone. Like when you rotate your phone and the phone detects and adjusts the screen.

When something is rotating around an axis, it has an angular acceleration. The speed rate of the rotating wheel is measured by the use of unit ‘RPS’ or ‘DPS’. RPS is the shortage form of the “Revolutions per Second” and means “round per second”, and DPS is the shortage form of the “Degree per Second” and means “Degrees in the second".

Tri-axial gyroscope (MEMS Micro Mechanical) can detect rotation around X, Y, and Z-axis. Gyroscopes are usually used in devices that do not rotate very fast. For instance, aircraft do not rotate, but they move a few degrees in each direction and have a little rotation. By recognizing these movements and rotations, the gyroscopes also send accurate outputs to the central controller section.

Accelerometer

As it is clear from the name of this sensor, this sensor measures the acceleration and provides its rate to the central controller. Moreover, this section generally gives the controller the precise angle of the aircraft, and some conditions such as takeoff or landing are specified by this sensor. The accelerometer itself is made of several other sensors, such as microscopic crystal structures, which are highly affected concerning acceleration forces.

Barometer

One of the most considerable parameters in a plane flight is its altitude of the earth. One sensor is needed to measure the altitude of the earth. This sensor is presented in several different types that have the same working principles. There are also different modules with this IC from different companies that are different from each other. Some of the modules have more parts on board.

The advanced pressure sensors used in this system are also able to measure the temperature for you in addition to measuring the pressure. The measurement accuracy of this sensor is relatively suitable for use in model aircraft since it measures the temperature with an accuracy of 0/01 ° C and the pressure with an accuracy of Pa ± 0/16 which is equivalent to one meter.

Differential Pressure Sensor

These types of pressure sensors measure the pressure difference between two pressure lines (pressure points) that both enter the sensor simultaneously as inputs. 4 numbers of this sensor can be installed in several parts of the wing and obtain the lift coefficients of the drag and so on in the controller section. For example, positioning the sensor at the upper and lower parts of the airfoil determines the high and low air pressure levels of the aircraft’s airfoil, leading to the output of the aircraft’s wing lift, which can play a significant role in achieving the Winglet angle.

Also, proximity sensors that will determine the band level, and several other sensors, including the humidity thermometer, can contribute to the controller in this process.

Central Controller Section

This section is obliged to control the Winglet online angle concerning the current conditions of the aircraft. The output of this system is the sensor section and the output of this section will be the Winglet flexible controllers. The mentioned system consists of a processor or microcontroller that receives the inputs of acceleration, angle, altitude, temperature, humidity and differential pressure from the sensor section. In the microcontroller of the system, the mentioned values provide a final angle for transferring to the following section through one formula and each aircraft will obtain a specific value in this section according to computer analysis. For example, an aircraft with a weight of 1 ton needs 45 ° Winglet angle to take off, to eliminate the maximum amount of drag during takeoff. In contrast, such another aircraft with a weight of 2 tons requires a 55º Winglet angle to take off and the mentioned values are just indicating the effect of weight on the Winglet angle. Generally, all parameters including velocity, altitude, angle, and differential pressure must be under the effect of this formula, to give the best angle to the aircraft during takeoff and give the highest lift during flight and reduce fuel consumption low angle changes and long distances and controls the drag during landing. So, less runway length is required for takeoff and the aircraft will stop faster. It should be mentioned that each aircraft in this section can also adopt its own specific rules and it is logical that the design of each aircraft is different from each other and it’s needed for each aircraft to adopt required analysis for that aircraft.

The central control system can also be achieved from aircraft data in two ways: the automatic pilot section sensor section. The sensor section was discussed in the previous section. The selection of this section is up to the Airline Company that is eager to use the sensor section or apply to the aircraft's autopilot system to achieve the amount of Winglet angle and combine these systems. The best option for using a system is the use of these systems in combination.

This system applied an intelligent microcontroller to calculate the Winglet angle and select the best Winglet angle in different conditions of flight and then send it to the flexible Winglet section.

Microcontroller Components: Microcontrollers have components such as computer components which are mentioned in the following: Processing Unit (CPU): The CPU is known as the microcontroller brain, and this processor extracts, decodes and performs the data specifically. Programmable memory extracts instructions and decodes their CPUs.

Memory: In microcontrollers, memory stores all programs and data like microprocessors. Microcontrollers are built with a certain amount of ROM, RAM or flash memory to save the program code.

Input and outputs (I/O): Input and output ports are applied to connect to different devices like printers, displays, and so on.

Serial Ports: These ports can make a connection between the microcontroller and a variety of accessories such as parallel ports.

Timers: A microcontroller can be made of one or more timers or counters. Timers and counters control all timing and counting operations in one microcontroller. The timer carries out the external pulse counting and basic pulse generating operations, clock functions, frequency measurement, fluctuation making, and so on.

Analog to Digital Converter (ADC): This is used to convert analog to digital signals and the input signals should be analog for ADC. The generation of the digital signal is taken place for the benefit of different applications.

Digital to Analog Converter (DCA): this converter implements the functions in contrast with ADC and is generally mounted on analog devices such as DC motors and so on, with the purpose of monitoring on these devices.

Interpret Controller: This controller is required to control the delay for the running program.

Special Functioning Block: Some microcontrollers are involved in this special functioning block for one specific device such as space systems, robots, and so on. These blocks have extra ports for conducting specific operations.

How is one microcontroller programmed? Microcontrollers have special compilers and are embedded in one device called programmer to be programmed, and the program is saved in its ROM memory with a cable connected to the computer.

Different types of microcontroller used in the central controller section are as follows:

AVR Microcontroller

The Atmel server proposed the AVR microcontroller in the year of 1966 and its architecture was based on Harvard architecture. Its basis was on a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC). This architecture saves data and applications separately and uses them at the same time. This family of microcontrollers is more suited for chips that use flash memory to store the program in contrast with programmable EPROM, EEPROM or ROM that other microcontrollers use them at the same time. Flash memory is an unchangeable programmable memory. Although conducting instructions is fast in this architecture, writing programs is more difficult. AVR is the microcontroller’s name based on the RISC architecture and is not an acronym word. AVR is adopted from the names of architectural developers of this microcontroller Alf-Egil Bogen and Vegard Wollan.

ARM- Cortex Controller

It is known as one of the most popular microcontrollers in embedded systems used in the industry due to its many features. ARM microcontrollers have high sensitivity and performance, which are used in a wide range of devices such as industrial control systems, wireless networks, and sensors and bodywork systems. ARM Cortex controller is an advanced microcontroller from the ARM family, developed with the ARMv7 architecture. The ARM-Cortex family is grouped into three families. They are as follows:

ARM- Cortex Ax series - ARM- Cortex Rx series - ARM- Cortex Mx series

At present, many developers present 32-bit microcontrollers based on ARM Cortex-M3 microcontrollers. These chips support low- and high-level programming languages. The way of assembling the ARM with the proliferation of the processors in the handset and wearable tools becomes so popular among people. Also, these microcontrollers are found in different types and are presented with higher processing power than the previous microcontroller. The reliability of this kind of microcontroller is high and has low noise proneness.

Now, it's time to mention one example in the Winglet control system section. In this pilot system, one AVR-series microcontroller is used, and also IMU module and nine-axis AHRS are applied in the sensor section. This module provides almost all your needs to build an inertial measurement system or the same IMU with 9 degrees of freedom and 9-axes. The very high accuracy and advance system of inertial DMP (Digital Imaging Processor) are the unique characteristics of this module. This module consists of two separate chips which are tried to describe each in detail. Concerning the 12C interface, please set up this module with the help of a microcontroller. Tri-axial gyro sensor with 16-bit accuracy and 2000 degree/ second measurement range, tri-axial velocity sensor with 16-bit accuracy and measurement range up to 16g, tri-axial compass sensor with 13-bit accuracy also has a FIFO buffer with 1024-bit capacity and temperature sensor with the measurement range of -40º C to +85º C. The file of this project also is available in the accessory sections and the values of angle and altitude acceleration and so on, are observed with considering the instructions in the following sections. By entering the values in a specific formula that the airline company specifies, a certain output can be obtained and transferred into Winglet’s flexible section.

º C. The file of this project also is available in the accessory sections and the values of angle and altitude acceleration and so on, are observed with considering the instructions in the following sections. By entering the values in a specific formula that the airline company specifies, a certain output can be obtained and transferred into Winglet’s flexible section.

display.setCursor(0, 0); display.print(" x y z ");

display.setCursor(0, 8); display.print((int)(1000*ax));

display.setCursor(24, 8); display.print((int)(1000*ay));

display.setCursor(48, 8); display.print((int)(1000*az));

display.setCursor(72, 8); display.print("mg");

display.setCursor(0, 16); display.print((int)(gx));

display.setCursor(24, 16); display.print((int)(gy));

display.setCursor(48, 16); display.print((int)(gz));

display.setCursor(66, 16); display.print("o/s");

display.setCursor(0, 24); display.print((int)(mx));

display.setCursor(24, 24); display.print((int)(my));

display.setCursor(48, 24); display.print((int)(mz));

display.setCursor(72, 24); display.print("mG");

display.setCursor(0, 32); display.print((int)(yaw));

display.setCursor(24, 32); display.print((int)(pitch));

display.setCursor(48, 32); display.print((int)(roll));

display.setCursor(66, 32); display.print("ypr");

display.setCursor(0, 40); display.print(altitude, 0); display.print("ft");

display.setCursor(68, 0); display.print(9.*Temperature/5. + 32., 0);

display.setCursor(42, 40); display.print((float) sumCount / (1000.*sum), 2); display.print("kHz");

In the codes above all the values are illustrated on the same screen and this section was an example of obtaining values from a complete sensor, to comprehend that after obtaining values from the sensors the values can be entered into the microcontroller program code. Then this section was compared with the formula obtained in the wing and body analysis in the wind and body analysis software, and the values transferred a specific number in the output into the flexible Winglet control section through one formula.

Flexible Winglet Section

This is the most important section of the system and is responsible for changing the Winglet angles mechanically. Generally, aircraft use hydraulic systems to change the aircraft's movable control sections. Also, new electric aircraft use servo motors for changing the movable control section. Concerning the analysis of each airline company, this section will be different. The number of Winglet sections and the maximum and minimum degree of motor Winglet in these sections are determined by the aircraft manufacturer and can be personalized.

The sections that can control the Winglet motor system will be electric and hydraulic:

What is a hydraulic system in an aircraft?

Hydraulic is one system that uses fluid pressure to transfer energy. The hydraulic system uses engine power to generate the hydraulic force, which is done by the hydraulic pump. This hydraulic force is distributed to all parts of the aircraft via pipelines and lanes. The hydraulic force can also be again converted to mechanical force through an actuating cylinder.

Actuating Cylinder

The hydraulic pump converts mechanical force into hydraulic force. The actuating cylinder converts the hydraulic force into mechanical force. If one electric system is used instead of a hydraulic system in the system, a generator will be replaced by a pump and an engine will also replace the actuating cylinder.

The minimum components required for a hydraulic system are:

Reservoir
Pump
Selector valve
Actuator

Hydaulic Pump

Among the advantages of this hydraulic system can be: low weight, ease of periodic inspection, ease of installation and low consumption in terms of energy. Without considering the energy loss due to the friction between the fluid and the transmission lines and the viscosity of the flight control surfaces, they must always work at that time. So the best option is the hydraulic system.

According to the aircraft’s controller system, this section can be adjusted by hydraulic controllers. The amount of oil injected into the flexible winglet can also be controlled.

The servo motor is generally an electromotor and a series of electronic circuits such as drives are placed next to it. The electromotor containing shaft is responsible for the rotation and electronic equipment is required to give accuracy to electromotor, which includes angle control, acceleration control, rate control, and so on. There are servo motors in different types with gearboxes and without gearboxes and they are generated in very small to large sizes. Small sizes are used in robotics projects and mechatronic equipment. Servo motors can be seen in two types of AC and DC electricity, and different mentioned types are used concerning our needs. Another type of servo motors has linear performance instead of rotary performance. So as the servo motor is connected to one gearbox the gearbox is required to convert the rotary motion to linear motion.

Concerning the desired aircraft, the Winglet control system can also be used as a servo motor and its difference with hydraulic type is in the difference between performance rate, weight, and some electronic and feedback parameters. To control the Winglet in this option, one type of servo motor compatible with the system is provided, and then the desired Winglet will be controlled by PWM pulses. The system also sends feedback to the controller in addition to control, which can also bring one optimum output.

Summarily, it can be deduced from the mentioned sections that the system generally consists of electronic and electromechanical parts and is suggested to adjust the exact Winglet angle of each section of the aircraft flight. This system can compute the best Winglet positioning angle by own information inputs such as sensors or autopilot or the combination of these two options, and then proceed to send the signal to the Winglet section to change the angle of the Winglet electrically or hydraulically.

1. Reduction in the amount of fuel consumption

2. Increasing lift in all aircraft modes while flight

3. Reducing the turbulences of a wingtip in different flight modes

4. Reducing drag in different flight modes

5. Increasing the consistency

6. Increasing the ease of takeoff

7. Reducing the takeoff distance of aircraft

8. Increasing the drag while aircraft’s landing

9. Reducing runway distance during landing

10. Making the autopilot system intelligent and better aircraft management

[Fig.1]

[Fig.2] - Winglet with the angle of 0º

[Fig.3]

[Fig.4]- Winglet with the angle of 45º

[Fig.5]

[Fig.6] Winglet with the angle of 75º

[Fig.7] - 1/1- Analysis of Winglet motions with airfoil, a series of Naka in four different angles

[Fig.8] - 2/1- The chart of drag lift analysis in Winglet with different angles

[Fig.9]- 1/2- Building and sampling the Winglet at 6 different angles and extraction of relevant outputs

(The structure1 is related to the state without Winglet)

[Fig.10]

[Fig.11]- 2/2- Analysis of drag lift charts for different Winglet angles

[Fig.12]

[Fig.13]- 3/2- Analysis of the wind tunnel of the wings made of six different configurations

[Fig.14]

[Fig.15]

4/2- Diagram of Winglet vortex flow at different angles

The digraph indicates the number of vertices of Winglet's wingtip at different angles.

According to the cases mentioned in the invention section, this system is applicable by any airline company and any type of aircraft. The way of its configuration on each aircraft is that airline companies’ technicians firstly obtain the best Winglet angles in different flight conditions such as takeoff, cruise landing and so on, then compute its formulas within the software and transfer it to Winglet’s central controller section. After that, the autopilot system, which has valuable flight information such as bird angle and altitude and rate and so on, is connected to the Winglet’s controller section, or the sensory section will be added to the aircraft to convert some factors such as bird angle and altitude and rate and so on to the controller section. The third state can be the connection of two systems to the controller section to compute the control section with the airline companies’ formulas and the best Winglet positioning angle and send an instruction to the flexible Winglet section and then the Winglet operator section changes the Winglet angle. These changes are supposed to be different at each time of the flight and each flight company can have its unique analysis due to its aircraft. The system accepts all formulas and different analyses and each airline company can easily connect this section to its aircraft system.

Examples

As explained in the previous section, each flight part during flight can have one Winglet with a specific angle to present the best efficiency of this part. Various companies analyzed the bird in question according to their needs and then transferred their aircraft's specifications to the system and connected the sensor or autopilot systems of the aircraft to the Winglet central control section. After that, they adopted various formulas and analyses. The helpful system, the autopilot system, and the pilot system would exist in each part of the flight, and played a very positive role in some cases such as fuel reduction, lift increase and so on. It is worth mentioning that any airline company can easily connect this part to its aircraft system and the system has no limitation in this regard.

Claims

Concerning receiving flight information in different flight situations such as takeoff cruise landing and so on from the automatic pilot system or sensor system of that system separately or in combination, intelligent Winglet angle control system can alter the Winglet angles and adjust the best Winglet angle to obtain the maximum efficiency of Winglet and wingtips.
According to the cases mentioned in the invention section, this system is applicable by any airline company and any type of aircraft. The way of its configuration on each aircraft is that airline companies’ technicians firstly obtain the best Winglet angles in different flight conditions such as takeoff, cruise landing and so on, then compute its formulas within the software and transfer it to Winglet’s central controller section. After that, the autopilot system, which has valuable flight information such as bird angle and altitude and rate and so on, is connected to the Winglet’s controller section, or the sensory section will be added to the aircraft to convert some factors such as bird angle and altitude and rate and so on to the controller section. The third state can be the connection of two systems to the controller section to compute the control section with the airline companies’ formulas and the best Winglet positioning angle and send an instruction to the flexible Winglet section and then the Winglet operator section changes the Winglet angle. These changes are supposed to be different at each time of the flight and each flight company can have its unique analysis due to its aircraft. The system accepts all formulas and different analyses and each airline company can easily connect this section to its aircraft system.
As explained in the previous section, each flight part during flight can have one Winglet with a specific angle to present the best efficiency of this part. Various companies analyzed the bird in question according to their needs and then transferred their aircraft's specifications to the system and connected the sensor or autopilot systems of the aircraft to the Winglet central control section. After that, they adopted various formulas and analyses. The helpful system, the autopilot system, and the pilot system would exist in each part of the flight, and played a very positive role in some