Propulsion
Impact offers it's military and commercial customers a comprehensive package of advanced diagnostic, prognostic and automated troubleshooting software modules focused on improving propulsion system safety, availability and reducing life cycle costs. Specific diagnostic and prognostic solutions include engine sensor fault detection, performance degradation assessment and prediction, rotor system analysis, accessory vibration analysis, advanced reasoning methods for performing automated fault isolation, and maintenance tasking. These advanced PHM modules can be customized for application on propulsion systems with various sensor suites and data interfaces.
Existing applications have included:
Continuous Power Assurance Demonstration Video
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SignalPro™ Anomaly Detection System
The SignalPro™ Anomaly Detection System is a data driven modeling engine that helps provide early indication of subtle changes in system behavior - such as from system degradation or sensor calibration drift. This advanced warning enables operational changes that can help avoid increased damage and optimize scheduling of maintenance. SignalPro is especially useful in systems that have inherent variability in the expected measurements due to operating conditions such as load level, speed, ambient temperature, etc. SignalPro effectively cancels out the normal operational variation to find the ‘unwanted’ or unexpected variation.
VibeCheck™ Vibration Diagnostic Modules
Real-time assessment of mechanical faults (i.e. bearing, rotordynamic, and structural) using vibration signatures at specified locations on the engine can be implemented using feature-based diagnostic techniques. Domain knowledge associated with particular vibration fault frequencies, fixed frequency ranges, per-rev excitations, and structural resonance is extracted from the vibration spectrums acquired from the test cell. For a particular engine type, these spectrums are used to develop a knowledge base from which fuzzy logic membership functions and rulebases are customized for diagnosing mechanical faults.The figures below illustrate a typical engine fault matrix and a vibration “tracked order” plot in VibeCheck™ captured during gradual acceleration from idle to military power.
PerformanceCheck™ Performance Diagnostic Module
Sensor data can be passed to automated fault detection and diagnostic routines for analyzing engine performance related faults. These routines are based on extensive empirical knowledge of how healthy engines operate under normal test cell conditions (based on engine test cell data and engine models), and any deviation from this "normal" pattern of expected parameters will be detected and further analyzed. Faults resulting from sensor failure modes are promptly isolated by PerformanceCheck™, while more complex faults will be identified by advanced fault pattern classification and statistical analysis schemes.
Independent performance diagnostic techniques that examine particular aspects of performance degradation are fused together to obtain the most robust performance diagnosis possible. These independent techniques include a Statistical Fault Classifier and a Kalman Filter Single Fault Isolator (Kalman SFI).
Active Combustion Pattern Factor Control
Impact Technologies developed and performed application studies for an innovative active combustion pattern factor controller (APFC) for gas turbines. The APFC system determines combustion flame temperatures, validates the values, and integrates an assessment of signal and combustion hardware health to determine how to trim the fuel flow to individual fuel nozzles.
Key aspects of the system include:
On-line Fluid/Oil Monitoring
Impact Technologies has developed a fully integrated in-line/online
fluid quality sensing technology for use in monitoring a wide variety
of lubrication and hydraulic systems. The fluid quality sensor
autonomously monitors overall oil fluid health using multiple
sensing technologies that combine to provide strong diagnostic
abilities. Thepatented backbone sensing technology uses broadband
AC impedance measurements to determine changes in the fluid’s electrochemical properties.
This technology has been applied to a number of applications, with different contaminants and degradation modes:
A number of real-time off-board communication methods (including serial, analog, digital, Modbus and CAN) have been implemented for different customers.
ImpactAdvisor™Automated Troubleshooting Module
Troubleshooting involves the evaluating and selecting the most efficient path to solving a suspected problem. Traditionally, troubleshooting is initially performed with a manual then develops into an subjective process as the maintenance personnel gain experience. ImpactAdvisor™ simultaneously collects all pieces of evidence (manually-submitted and automatically-retrieved) and evaluates their effectiveness at solving the problem at hand. Potential troubleshooting paths (fault trees) are evaluated for their technical relationships to the evidence that was submitted, as well as the historical successes and failures of previous maintainers at trying to fix the same problem. A combination of model-based (technical) and historical (learned) relationships between evidence and solution yields a suggested troubleshooting path is provided that is the most likely fix the problem, based on technical relationships and historical success rate.
Related Technical Publications & Presentations:
Application Solutions
> Aerospace
> Ground Vehicles
> Marine Systems
> Power & Industrial
> Electronic Systems
> Maintenance Management
> Design & Systems Eng.
> Commercial Systems
Integration
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Propulsion |
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Avionics |
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Flight Controls |
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Structures |
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Drive Train |
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Accessories |
Related Technology
> Active Combustion Pattern Factor Controller
