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Aerial refueling is a critical element of Navy operations, made difficult by the inherent aerodynamic interference between the tanker and receiver aircraft. Current flight simulation capabilities a...

The methodology of simulation of a rotorcraft flight has been developed and applied to simulate several stages of flight of light helicopter. The methodology is based on coupling of several computational models of Computational Fluid Dynamics, Flight Dynamic. The essence of the methodology consists in calculation of aerodynamic forces acting on the flying rotorcraft by solving during the simulation the Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) equations. In this approach, the rotorcraft is flying inside the computational 3D mesh modelling the space filled with the air. The flight simulation procedure is completely embedded in the URANS solver ANSYS FLUENT. Flow effects caused by rotating blades of main or tail rotor are modelled by application of the developed Virtual Blade Model (VBM). In this approach, real rotors are replaced by volume discs influencing the flow field similarly as rotating blades. Time-averaged aerodynamic effects of rotating blades are modelled using momentum source terms placed inside the volume-disc zones. The momentum sources are evaluated based on the Blade Element Theory, which associates local flow parameters in the blade sections with databases of 2D-aerodynamic characteristics of these sections. Apart of the VBM module, two additional UDF modules support the simulation of helicopter flight: the module responsible for modelling of all kinematic aspects of the flight and the module gathering the momentary aerodynamic loads and solves 6 DOF-Equations describing a motion of the helicopter seen as solid body. Exemplary simulation of helicopter flight, starting from a hover, through an acceleration and fast flight until a deceleration and steep descent, has been discussed.

Discharge scenarios and control schemes in ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) are evolving more and more complex. Especially in physics investigations for ITER and DEMO sophisticated scenarios exploit the operational space. This increases the probability of design flaws or human errors in the pulse configuration, but also aggravates the potential damage in the failure case. The ASDEX Upgrade Flight Simulator Fenix, which is currently under construction, will provide a fast and efficient simulation tool for testing and validating discharge scenarios, as well as control and monitoring functions, during their development and immediately prior to experimental pulse execution. This ensures, that the scenarios and settings are adequate to reach the experimental goals and that the margins to operational limits are sufficiently large also during the dynamic evolution of the discharge. Simplified physics and plant system “control” models combined with a representation of the ASDEX Upgrade Discharge Control System (DCS) allow for fast simulation runs with reasonable prediction quality. In the simulation an event generator can trigger plasma instabilities, technical failures and external events to test the resilience of the designed pulse against unplanned incidents. The granularity of modelling shall be customizable, such that the simulator can also be used for detail investigations with elaborate physics at the cost of longer simulation time. As a basis for implementation the ITER Plasma Control System Simulation Platform (PCSSP) has been chosen. The flight simulator, extends PCSSP with an ASTRA co-simulator for the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak model and with custom modules for its actuators, diagnostics and control system. Plugins will enable reading original AUG discharge programs and configuration files, as well as storing the results in the AUG shot file database.

This paper focuses on the flight mechanical characteristics of an active high-lift supported transport-type aircraft. The presented configuration combines a boundary-layer controlled flaps system with the benefits of propeller slipstream deflection. The underlying aerodynamic models and assumptions are provided. The extraordinary flight performances especially at low airspeed will be pointed out, as well as potential weaknesses. Special attention is paid to the unusually strong aerodynamic couplings in the lateral motion. Therefore, flight dynamics characteristics will be presented and their challenges discussed. The key influences are pointed out and an outlook will be given, how to exploit this knowledge for safe and satisfactory aircraft operation and handling.

Fenix, the ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) flight simulator under development, is based on the Plasma Control System Simulation Platform (PCSSP) developed for ITER, the ASTRA transport code and the SPIDER equilibrium code. Fenix will give a session leader the possibility to check whether the discharge will meet experimental goals prior to execution. It is also designed to facilitate the development of control system features and the validation of physical models. It reads the AUG discharge program and checks if all the parameters and reference waveforms are reasonable during the discharge simulation. ASTRA serves as a plant model (physical model of AUG tokamak) which outputs idealised diagnostic signals (temperature, density, etc.). ASTRA calculates these data from the particle and energy transport in the plasma core, plasma edge, Scrape of Layer (SOL) and divertor. It also includes particle balance, L-H transition and sawtooth models, and it is equipped with the 2D equilibrium reconstruction code SPIDER. The second component of Fenix is a model of the Discharge Control System (DCS) and AUG actuators. The DCS model processes diagnostic signals from ASTRA, computes commands for actuators and sends them back to ASTRA closing the feedback loop. Controllers for coil currents to control plasma current, position and shape are implemented in the model as well as gas puff valves (divertor and midplane) and the pellet injector to control electron density. The DCS model also simulates external heating actuators such as NBI, ECRH and ICRH. Fenix has methods for reading configuration files and archiving. This article presents modelling of the ASTRA and DCS components, and the first results from the simulations of the flattop phase.

Digital Copilot is a prototype information system providing cognitive assistance to pilots in general aviation. This paper presents the methods and results of an analysis quantifying the expected s...

This Paper presents the validation studies results of an engine mathematical performance model identification for flight management system trajectory prediction and optimization applications. The m...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In this study, the authors used simulation to explore factors that might influence hospitals' decisions to adopt evidence-based interventions. Specifically, they developed a simulation model to examine the extent to which hospitals would benefit economically from the transitional care model (TCM). The TCM is designed to transition high-risk older adults from hospitals back to communities using interventions focused on preventing readmissions.The authors used qualitative methods to identify and validate simulation facets. Four simulation experiments explored the economic impact of the TCM on more than 3,000 U.S. hospitals: (1) magnitude of readmission penalty, (2) application to specific diagnosis-related groups, (3) level of cost sharing between payer and provider, and (4) capitated versus fee-for-service payments. The simulator projected hospital-specific economic effects. The authors used Monte Carlo methods for the simulations, which were parameterized with public data sets from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and TCM data from randomized controlled trials and comparative effectiveness studies.Under current conditions, the simulation indicated that only 10 of more than 3,000 Medicare-certified hospitals would benefit financially from the TCM. If current readmission penalties were doubled, the number of hospitals projected to benefit would increase to 300. Targeting selected diagnosis cohorts would also increase the number of hospitals to 300. If payers reimbursed providers for 100% of the TCM costs, 2,000 hospitals would benefit financially. Under a capitated payment model, 1,500 hospitals would benefit from the TCM.Current CMS penalties-or reasonable increases-have little economic effect on the TCM. In the current environment, two strategies are likely to facilitate adoption: (1) persuading payers to reimburse TCM costs and (2) focusing on hospitals with higher bed occupancies and higher revenue patients.

Experimental studies into aircraft stability and performance can be enhanced by using a rig in which the aircraft model support approximates free flight within a wind tunnel. Such multi-degree-of-freedom wind tunnel rigs often impose kinematic restrictions on the aircraft model's translational motion. This study investigates these kinematic effects, with particular attention to a spherical constraint where the aircraft is held at the end of afixed length pivoting arm. Here the motions of the aircraft and kinematic constraints are derived as differential-algebraic equations and assessed numerically. The impact is found mainly on translational motion with negligible effect on the aircraft's rotation. A concept to reduce these kinematic effects on the aircraft's motion by applying an external force onto the aircraft is proposed. This compensation, which partially accounts for the constraints on the aircraft motion, is shown to reduce the effects of the arm, allowing for improved physical simulation.

Since projectiles with large slenderness ratio are prone to elastic deformation, the effect of structural deformation is necessary to be taken into consideration for dynamic modeling. In order to obtain the precise aerodynamic performance and flight dynamic characteristics of flexible projectiles, a new numerical flight simulation system is developed based on computational fluid dynamics and generalized dynamic-mesh technique. Furthermore, flight dynamic stability of a typical flexible projectile is carried out in detail by introducing PID controller. By means of installing the sensors at various locations, the effect of different mode shapes on the characteristics of the closed-loop flight dynamic system is researched. Numerical results indicate that, when the disturbance due to elastic vibration is added into the mixed signals gained from the angular velocity/acceleration sensors, the feedback response of the closed-loop system becomes adversely divergent. In contrast, the stability of the closed-loop system is not sensitive to the elastic disturbance added to the centroid velocity and acceleration. Moreover, the stability of closed-loop system is much less affected by the unsteady aerodynamic loading due to elastic vibration than the interference of the elastic vibration on the dynamic signals detected by the sensors. The phenomenon can be explained by the requirement on the stability of the long and short period modes of flight dynamics, which can provide some guidance for the layout of the sensor and the design of control system of the projectiles with large slenderness ratio.

Modern computational fluid dynamic simulations of flows about naval vessels produce an enormous amount of flow-field data. The computations are performed in order to model details of the erratic un...

A three-degree-of-freedom flight simulator platform with a translational and two rotational movement capabilities is studied. Based on the Lagrange method the dynamic model is established and then simplified by eliminating the sub-diagonal elements of the matrixes. A washout algorithm is employed to qualify the platform for flight simulation in limited space. In order to improve the modeling and experimental accuracies further when some dynamic parameters of an actual platform are unknown, the stepwise identification method is proposed to solve this problem. By dividing the driving torque into the load torque, reducer driving torque, screw driving toque and integrated friction torque, and main dynamic parameters are identified by applying proper trajectories and estimated by the weighed least square method. The procedures of identification are verified through comparing the driving forces from the identified model and those of servo motor encoders.

Presented work is primarily oriented on the experimental verification of the influence of fatigue on the psychological condition of the flying personnel, using psychological and performance tests. For the evaluation of a pilot performance, the 24 hours experiment was conducted. In total, eight subjects participated in the experimental measurements. Eight participants went through several tests, including simulator flights, to investigate the effects of the fatigue on the results of psychological measurements. Measurements included workload evaluation, using NASA task load evaluation concept and performance testing, using the so-called OR-test. Significant statistical differences between measurements performed during 24 hours were not found in the case of NASA task load Scores. In the case of OR-test, Friedman ANOVA and subsequent post-hoc analysis show that the greatest decrease in performance was observed in approximately 22 hours of wakefulness, i.e. approximately in half of the measuring process. The concept of 24-hour measurements for the quantification of fatigue is not commonly used yet as well as objectivization using performance testing. As the apparent effect of fatigue is mainly on performance testing results, it can be argued that this work could serve as a basis for further studies on fatigue. Also, it could serve as a support for introducing new pilots' psychological testing procedures in the future, which could contribute to current efforts to improve aviation safety.

In order to comply with the existing standard requirements or specifications, a new computational method for aircraft take-off and landing performance, which deals with the characteristics of the high precision of parameters in the process of take-off and landing based on flight simulation technique. The simulation model for a twin-engine normal layout aircraft is constructed in detail, including nonlinear motion equation, aerodynamic, engine, landing gear and dynamical mass model. According to performance calculation standard and pilot control specification for different take-off modes and landing stages, the simulation process for one engine inoperative(OEI) take-off, angle of attack(AoA) hold take-off, standard take-off, reject take-off and landing are designed, and corresponding performance computer software is developed to achieve the goal of accuracy as well as full parameters calculation. Compared with the existing methods, the computational complexity of this method is increased, the process is detailed, the parameters are increased, and more influencing factors can be analyzed quantitatively. Results show that OEI take-off distance is the longest, standard take-off is suitable for light aircraft, angle of attack hold take-off is appropriate in plateau or limited thrust. Landing distance is related to glide angle. Therefore, light aircraft landing can reduce the approach speed and increase the glide angle.

Learning to conduct qualitative research is a complex endeavor. In this article, I introduce mixed reality simulations as a scaffolded learning tool to support student mastery of learning and knowing how to conduct qualitative research. Like flight simulators used to train airline pilots prior to flying an actual airplane, mixed reality simulations provide active practice opportunities to interact with avatars in order to practice newly learned skills. I discuss this in the context of my experiences using mixed reality in an undergraduate youth participatory action research methods course as a scaffold before joining research teams with high-school-aged coresearchers.

This review article is based on an invited keynote presentation at the 22ndWorkshop of the Aero acoustics Specialists Committee of the CEAS. The event was held in September 2018 in Amsterdam with the main focus on the relation between aircraft design and noise impact. This article reviews the last years of joint research activities between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Technical University of Braunschweig (TU BS) in the field of low-noise aircraft design. The joint research was initiated around 2008 between the DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology and the Institute of Aircraft Design and Lightweight Structures at TU BS. Around that time, DLR was developing a first version of an aircraft noise prediction tool. This tool has then consequently been implemented as a module into the aircraft design synthesis code of the TU BS. In 2012, for the first time, a fully automated and fully parametric aircraft design process with integrated noise prediction capabilities was established, i.e., including a full approach and departure flight simulation. The main focus lies on conventional tube-and-wing aircraft with turbofan or turboprop engine concepts. Ever since 2012, the tools have been under constant development and the simulation chain for low-noise aircraft design has been applied to various aircraft concepts. This article is comprised of a description of the tool development from 2008 until early 2018 and a selected application example. Some lessons learned and a brief outlook on future developments and applications conclude this review.

A parallelized flight simulator for the dynamic analysis of airborne wind energy (AWE) systems for ground- and fly-generation configurations is presented. The mechanical system comprises a kite or fixed-wing drone equipped with rotors and linked to the ground by a flexible tether. The time-dependent control vector of the simulator mimics real AWE systems and it includes the length of the main tether, the geometry of the bridle, the torque of the motor controllers of the rotors, and the deflections of ailerons, rudder and elevator. The use of a lagrangian formulation with a minimal coordinate approach and discretizing the main tether as a chain of inelastic straight rods linked by ideal (dissipative-less) rotational joints, yielded a non-stiff set of ordinary differential equations free of algebraic constraints. Several verification tests, including a reel-in maneuver that admits an analytical solution, are presented. The efficiency of the parallelization with the number of tether segments, and trade-off analysis of the lagrangian and hamiltonian formulations are also considered. The versatility of the simulator is highlighted by analyzing two maneuvers that are relevant for AWE scenarios. First, the simulator is used to compute periodic figure-of-eight trajectories with an open-loop control law that varies the geometry of the kite's bridle, as frequently done in ground-generation AWE systems. Second, an unstable equilibrium state of a tethered drone equipped with two rotors for energy harvesting is stabilized by implementing a closed-loop control strategy for the deflection of the control aerodynamic surfaces. This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad of Spain and the European Regional Development Fund under the project ENE2015-69937-R (MINECO/FEDER, UE). GSA work is supported by the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad of Spain under the Grant RYC-2014-15357. RS was partially supported by the EU projects AWESCO (H2020-ITN-642682) and REACH (H2020-FTIPilot-691173). Publicado

Pilot's seat cushion parameters on seating comfort have been investigated using finite element approach. Various parameters such as stiffness and thickness have been considered to study the seating comfort. Uniaxial compression test has been conducted on seat cushion foam to establish the stress-strain relationship. This stress-strain test data has been used for selection of appropriate hyper-elastic model and extraction of material model parameter by using curve fitting. Simplified models of human buttock, pelvic bones and cushion foam have been developed to simulate the mechanical response of cushion foam under gravity load. The result of finite element analysis has been found in good agreement with computational results related to contact stress at interface of buttock-seat cushion available in literature.

The quantitative assessment of flight risk under icing conditions was taken as the research object. Based on multifactor coupling modeling idea, the pilot-aircraft-environment coupling system was built. Considering the physical characteristics and randomness of aircraft icing, the extreme values of critical flight risk parameters were extracted by the Monte Carlo flight simulation experiment. The flight characteristics were studied comprehensively and heavy-tail characteristics and the distributions of different flight parameters were verified. Flight risk criterion was developed and one-dimensional extreme flight risk probability was calculated. Further, in order to solve the limitation of one-dimensional extreme value, with the Copula theory, the joint distribution model of flight parameters with three distinct distribution types was built. The optimal Copula model was selected by identification of unknown parameters and goodness of fit tests, and the three-dimensional extreme flight risk probability was defined. Based on the quantitative flight risk, the accident induction mechanism under icing conditions was discussed. Airspeed and roll angle under asymmetry icing conditions were more sensitive and had a more significant impact on flight safety. This method can provide reference for safety manipulation, boundary protection, and risk warning during icing flight.

The possibility of obtaining the better flight dynamics model of the flight simulator, relative to the real flight characteristics of a helicopter, is investigated. The paper presents an operating methodology of the imitation model that corrects values of forces and moments acting on the helicopter during flight. We perform the approbation of the proposed method, which corrects characteristics of the base model to conditionally modified helicopter characteristics.

The need for efficient propulsion systems allied to increasingly more challenging fixed-wing UAV mission requirements has led to recent research on the autonomous thermal soaring field with promising results. As part of that effort, the feasibility and advantages of model predictive control (MPC)-based guidance and control algorithms capable of extracting energy from natural occurring updrafts have already been demonstrated numerically. However, given the nature of the dominant atmospheric phenomena and the amplitude of the required manoeuvres, a non-linear optimal control problem results. Depending on the adopted prediction horizon length, it may be of large order, leading to implementation and real-time operation difficulties. Knowing that, an alternative MPC-based autonomous thermal soaring controller is presented herein. It is designed to yield a simple and small non-linear programming problem to be solved online. In order to accomplish that, linear prediction schemes are employed to impose the differential constraints, thus no extra variables are added to the problem and only linear bound restrictions result. For capturing the governing non-linear effects during the climb phase, a simplified representation of the aircraft kinematics with quasi-steady corrections is used by the controller internal model. Flight simulation results using a 3 degree-of-freedom model subjected to a randomly generated time varying thermal environment show that the aircraft is able to locate and exploit updrafts, suggesting that the proposed algorithm is a feasible MPC strategy to be employed in a practical application.

The influence of a neutral atmospheric boundary layer on a one-way coupled dynamic interface simulation is evaluated. The effort is performed within the context of time-accurate large-eddy simulati...

A safe revision of current aircraft separation minima requires detailed knowledge of the vortex decay and its effect on encountering aircraft. The wake vortex system generated by an aircraft rolls ...

This paper considers the performance and stability of high-speed vehicles due to 7changes in the vehicle configuration that introduce the interaction of multiple physics. A conventional vehicle mod...

A mathematical model is proposed for calculating the forces and moments acting on an aircraft in the region affected by the wake vortex generated by another aircraft. This model takes into account various random factors and determines the wake vortex characteristics, as well as its shape, which depends on integral and distributed characteristics of atmospheric turbulence. The computational scheme, which involves the use of artificial neural networks, allows real-time calculation of the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft and to ensure training of pilots on flight simulators.

The flight control law design for tanker should ensure that the closed-loop response can meet the aerial refueling mission requirements. In order to reveal the movement characteristics of the tanker and the handling characteristics of the pilot in aerial refueling, the flight path capture and hold under gust disturbance task is designed as the demonstration maneuver mission to evaluate the flying qualities for tanker in aerial refueling task, which is based on the design requirements of maneuvering tasks used in mission-oriented flying qualities assessment. By analyzing the flight path tracking and holding requirements of the tanker in aerial refueling mission, the relevant parameters that reflect the response characteristics of the tanker in pitch and roll axes are put forward. The ground flight simulation test based on mission-oriented flight quality assessment is conducted, and the test pilot’s assessment results based on Cooper-Harper rating and PIO scales are obtained for different flight control law configurations. The suggested requirements of the closed-loop response characteristics of the pitch and roll axes of the tanker are put forward, which can be specifications for the aerial refueling mode flight control design of tanker.

Purpose The main purpose of this study is to introduce the pilots’ load model and developed concept of load measuring system for operator load management. Design/methodology/approach In future aeronautical system, the role of operators (pilots and air traffic controllers [ATCOs]) will be in transition from active controlling to passive monitoring. Therefore, the operators’ load (task, information, work and mental) model was developed. There were developed measuring systems integrating into the pilot and ATCOs working environment eye tracking system outside measuring equipment. Operator load management was created by using the measurement. Findings In future system depending on time and automation level, the role of information and mental load will be increased. In flight simulator practice, developed load management method serves as a good tool for improving the quality of pilot training. According to the test results, the load monitoring and management system increase the safety of operators’ action in an emergency situation. Research limitations/implications The developed method were tested in two flight simulators (one developed for scientific investigation and other one applied for pilot training) and ATM management laboratory. Practical implications By deployment of the develop load monitoring and management system, the safety of aircraft flights and air transport management will be increased, especially in an emergency situation. Social implications People and society’s acceptance of future highly automated system will be increased. Originality value The analysis focuses on the following: developing operator’s load model as improved situation awareness model of Endsley, developing monitoring system integrated into operator’s working environment, creating load management system.

Rapid turbulence approximation on and around a vehicle is necessary for development of improved flight simulators for helicopters and aircraft, used both for pilot training and for video-gaming app...

Successful release of any air to ground weapon from a combat aircraft is determined based on the positional parameters received from the sensors and the mission cues. Laser designated pod is one of the most sought weapon sensor, which gives the accurate data for Air to Ground weapon aiming. Laser designated pod being hardware intensive system, works with real world environment, it increases the development and integration effort towards finalising the weapon aiming algorithms and also pilot vehicle interface requirements. A novel method using mathematical models and the atmospheric error models is proposed to develop a high fidelity laser designated pod simulation model for functional and performance evaluation of weapon algorithms. The factors affecting the weapon trajectory computations are also considered in the sensor model outputs. The sensor model is integrated in the high fidelity flight simulator, which consists of both aircraft and Real world systems either as actual or simulated for close loop pilot evaluation. The behaviour of the sensor model is cross validated and fine-tuned with the actual sensor output and confirmed that the developed laser designated pod sensor simulation model meets all the requirement to test the air to ground weapons in the flight simulator.

Wind tunnel testing of large deformable soft kites for wind energy conversion is expensive and in many cases practically not feasible. Computational simulation of the coupled fluid–structure interaction problem is scientifically challenging and of limited practical use for aerodynamic characterization. In this paper we present a novel experimental method for aerodynamic characterization of flexible membrane kites by in situ measurement of the relative flow, while performing complex flight maneuvers. We find that the measured aerodynamic coefficients agree well with the values that are currently used for flight simulation of soft kites. For flight operation in crosswind maneuvers during which the traction force is kept constant, the angle of attack is inversely related to the relative flow velocity. For entire pumping cycles, the measurements show considerable variations in the aerodynamic coefficients, while the angle of attack of the kite varies only in a narrow range. This finding questions the commonly used representation of aerodynamic coefficients as sole functions of the angle of attack and stresses the importance of aeroelastic deformation for this type of wing. Considering the effect of the power setting (identical to the trim) solely as a rigid-body pitch rotation does not adequately describe the aero-structural behavior of the kite. We show that the aerodynamic coefficients vary as functions of the power setting (trim) of the kite, the steering commands and the flight direction.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and implement a general sensor model under normal and abnormal operational conditions including nine functional categories (FCs) to provide additional tools for the design, testing and evaluation of unmanned aerial systems within the West Virginia University unmanned air systems (UAS) simulation environment. Design/methodology/approach The characteristics under normal and abnormal operation of various types of sensors typically used for UAS control are classified within nine FCs. A general and comprehensive framework for sensor modeling is defined as a sequential alteration of the exact value of the measurand corresponding to each FC. Simple mathematical and logical algorithms are used in this process. Each FC is characterized by several parameters, which may be maintained constant or may vary during simulation. The user has maximum flexibility in selecting values for the parameters within and outside sensor design ranges. These values can be set to change at pre-defined moments, such that permanent and intermittent scenarios can be simulated. Sensor outputs are integrated with the autonomous flight simulation allowing for evaluation and analysis of control laws. Findings The developed sensor model can provide the desirable levels of realism necessary for assessing UAS behavior and dynamic response under sensor failure conditions, as well as evaluating the performance of autonomous flight control laws. Research limitations/implications Due to its generality and flexibility, the proposed sensor model allows detailed insight into the dynamic implications of sensor functionality on the performance of control algorithms. It may open new directions for investigating the synergistic interactions between sensors and control systems and lead to improvements in both areas. Practical implications The implementation of the proposed sensor model provides a valuable and flexible simulation tool that can support system design for safety purposes. Specifically, it can address directly the analysis and design of fault tolerant flight control laws for autonomous UASs. The proposed model can be easily customized to be used for different complex dynamic systems. Originality/value In this paper, information on sensor functionality is fused and organized to develop a general and comprehensive framework for sensor modeling at normal and abnormal operational conditions. The implementation of the proposed approach enhances significantly the capability of the UAS simulation environment to address important issues related to the design of control laws with high performance and desirable robustness for safety purposes.

One of the latest trends in the global aviation industry is to use "smart" technologies and interfaces as time saving and efficiency tools. Larger flight instrument displays have replaced conventional, analogue, instruments and can be combined with touch screen efficiency tools. Their ever-increasing size brings with them issues relating to light emissions and eye absorption. Especially emissions of certain colours of light at certain times affecting the Pilots circadian rhythms and cause eye fatigue - which is recognised to have an impact on Pilots performance. (Davies R., 2018) This research paper complements the current study and measurement of stress, fatigue and human factors with respect to increasing artificial light intensity experienced by Pilots on the Flight Deck. The authors present the results of several measurements taken using a flight simulator which meets the current regulations for Pilot training. However, the conditions have been adjusted to the realistic conditions of a Flight Deck. The research results provide Air Operators, Airlines and aeronautical designers with valuable data on human behaviour and the reactions to Flight Deck environmental changes. For the purpose of our research, we decided to use eye monitoring technology to record eye movements to determine the pilot’s performance. Eye monitoring provides data on the number of eye movements, fixations and the durations of these.

The U.S. K-12 education continues to face two major challenges, the poor performance of students in math and science in comparison to other industrialized nations of the world and paucity of professional development on integrating technology in teaching for rural school teachers. While there certainly are structural reasons for this situation, pedagogical elements contrib-ute as well. Motivation and engagement in the classroom lead to deeper learning and academic success. The learning environment therefore should engage students affectively, behaviorally and cognitively. However, the design and implementation of a learning environment to engage and motivate students is a major aspect of the pedagogical challenge. Appropriate use of technology can support the design of such a learning environment. This paper provides details of an innovative technology-based learning environment to teach certain math and physics concepts to middle school students. Learning modules using an active-learning approach through the incorporation of flight simulation software were developed. The pedagogical approach was modeled in a teacher professional development workshop. An increase was observed in teaching efficacy and outcomes expectancy of the teachers who participated in the professional development. Post workshop data indicated the teachers’ acceptance of the effectiveness of the pedagogy and self-efficacy in using the approach.

This paper discusses usability of an adaptive human control model in the context of a simple Human-in-the-loop Cyber Physical Systems (HiLCPS). The first part of the paper characterizes human factor assessment with an emphasis on the modeling of human behavior. This section is followed by a description of the human control model structure, including a definition of the individual components and their roles during the control phases. Exploiting relevant theoretical background, the authors present an example of a human controller comprising the feedback component and two different implementations of a pursuit controller. The parameters of the controllers are obtained from data measured on a flight simulator controlled by a pilot during the defined task. The first results presented in this paper indicate the possibility of use the described human control structure in HiLCPS modeling and its potential for other, more complex experiments within human factor assessment.

This paper presents a human factors analysis in aviation within the context of failure detection and identification (FDI) using statistical data analysis and clustering. We used data from experiments in a motion-based flight simulator (SIVOR) with 4 experienced pilots performing a take-off maneuvre under three conditions: normal, under engine failure and under flap failure. We propose two metrics based on statistical data analysis to evaluate and compare human behavior during flight. We also use k-means clustering in order to classify flights according to maneuvre conditions and misclassified flights are further analyzed according to which pilot has performed it. Results show that for the statistical data analysis the behavior of one specific pilot has higher dissimilarity with all other pilots. Moreover, for the k-means clustering, most of the misclassified flights were performed by this same pilot.

The rising demand for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) to perform tasks in hostile environments has emphasized the need for their simulation models for the preliminary evaluations of their missions. The efficiency of the UAS model is directly related to its capacity to estimate its flight dynamics with minimum computational resources. The literature describes several techniques to estimate accurate aircraft flight dynamics. Most of them are based on system identification. This paper presents an alternative methodology to obtain complete model of the S4 and S45 unmanned aerial systems. The UAS-S4 and the UAS-S45 models were divided into four sub-models, each corresponding to a specific discipline: aerodynamics, propulsion, mass and inertia, and actuator. The “aerodynamic” sub-model was built using the Fderivatives in-house code, which is an improvement of the classical DATCOM procedure. The “propulsion” sub-model was obtained by coupling a two-stroke engine model based on the ideal Otto cycle and a Blade Element Theory (BET) analysis of the propeller. The “mass and the inertia” sub-model was designed utilizing the Raymer and DATCOM methodologies. A sub-model of an actuator using servomotor characteristics was employed to complete the model. The total model was then checked by validation of each sub-model with numerical and experimental data. The results indicate that the obtained model was accurate and could be used to design a flight simulator. Keywords: Aerodynamics, Aerospace propulsion, Flight dynamics, Unmanned aerial vehicles modeling

Simulation and modelling course at the National Defence University (NDU) is aimed at learning how real-world models work, how to acquire data, how to visualize the acquired data, and to develop one’s understanding through simulations. The course ends with a group work, where participating students are asked to produce a working simulation model either from the given list or from their professional context. We use action research as our teaching paradigm. Action research is designed to bridge the gap between research and practice. This method guides towards real intervention, includes evaluative work and produces information that helps to find a better educational approach. Therefore, enhanced interventions are often seen as a cyclic process. This study describes two sample cases: The first one is a flight simulator that includes a lot of physics and physical phenomena. The second one illustrates modelling of Helsinki-Vantaa airport border inspection procedure which has statistical and logical nature. We show that the simulation course presented here can be recommended to any nature science students, because it offers a real linkage to the practical applications which are connected to the theory through simulations. For military officers learning is mainly practical, while in natural sciences learning is more oriented towards theoretical knowledge. In both cases simulation is a natural “bridge” in between theory and practice.

Nowadays, we encounter almost every day the effects of various stressors and stimuli that cause a stress response. This article deals with the influence of selected somatic stressors on the pilot during flight. The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of noise, hypoglycemia and increased blood alcohol on piloting accuracy during the ILS Precision Approach procedure, since the landing is the phase of flight with the highest accident rate and the pilot is subjected to the greatest mental stress. For the sake of safety, we decided to make our measurements on a flight simulator located at Zilina Airport. Five of our pilots took part in our measurements, and the ILS approach to the runway 06 of the Zilina airport was gradually completed. The results of the measurements, the flight accuracy data of the descent axis and the deviations of the flight speed from the speed determined by the flight procedures. Based on the evaluation of the measurement results for the accuracy of the piloting, the conclusions suggest that hypoglycemia had the greatest impact on the accuracy of piloting, followed by increased blood alcohol levels and the least impact on increased noise.

This paper develops a flexible collision avoidance strategy for the formation of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (multi-UAV). Firstly, To make full use of the information flow from the communication of the formation, an improved artificial potential field (IAPF) function is constructed by adding the communication topology and communication weights. Based on the IAPF functions, both collision avoidance within the formation and obstacle avoidance outside the formation are well organized to ensure flight safety. Secondly, to fuse collision avoidance and formation keeping, we design the null space behavioral (NSB) approach to combine them into a single motion command, where the formation keeping algorithm is designed as a second-order consensus algorithm. In this way, the flexible collision avoidance strategy is proposed based on IAPF and consensus, handling the relationship between collision avoidance and formation keeping flexibly. Finally, three-dimensional multi-UAV flight simulation validates the effectiveness of the proposed strategy that the formation can both implement collision avoidance quickly and keep a good geometric formation configuration simultaneously.

The use of Eye Tracking technology to study eye movements has been increased over the last period. For instance, in the fields of academic and scientific research, market research, medical research and human factors. Despite this fact that Eye Track technology is in many ways beneficial, it has been rarely used in the flight simulation. This paper pursues the objective measurement of pilot´s attention distribution during an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight. For realization, we used wireless SMI Eye Tracking Glasses, which scans pilot’s eye movements when performing the prescribed flight procedures. Our study incorporated overall six test pilots divided into two groups: the experienced and inexperienced. The aforementioned measurements were performed on the ELITE S923 Flight Simulation Training Device, situated at Žilina Airport. The main objective was to determine the extent to which the scanning techniques differ in the case of experienced and inexperienced pilots, as well. As pilot´s attention distribution while performing precision (ILS) approach and non-precision (NDB) instrument approach. The measurement itself, as well as subsequent date analysis, revealed that pilots were evincing considerable deviations in relation to scanning techniques and furthermore, the different scanning techniques during ILS and NDB approach were detected. The conclusion consists of several measurements’ outcomes and the possibilities for utilization of Eye Tracking technology in further research.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the noise generation of a low-boom aircraft design in flight trim conditions under uncertainty. The deflection of control surfaces to maintain a trimmed ...

In order to provide a fast multi-UAV cooperative data acquisition approach for 3D building model reconstruction in emergency management domain, a route planning methodology is proposed. A minimum image set including camera shooting positions and attitudes can be firstly obtained, with the given parameters describing the target building, UAVs, cameras, and image overlap requirements. A specific flight route network is then determined, and the optimal solution for multi-UAV data capture route planning is computed on the basis of constraint conditions such as the time frame, UAV battery endurance, and take-off and landing positions. Furthermore, field experiments with manual operating UAV mode, single UAV mode, and multi-UAV mode were conducted to compare the data collection and processing runtimes, as well as the quality of created 3D building models. According to the five defined LoDs of OGC CityGML 2.0 standard, the fine 3D building models conform to the LoD3. Comparison results demonstrate that our method is able to greatly enhance the efficiency of 3D reconstruction by improving the data collection speed while minimizing redundant image datasets, as well as to provide a normalized approach to assign the single or multi-UAV data acquisition tasks. The quality analysis of 3D models shows that the metric difference is less than 20 cm mean error with a standard deviation of 11 cm, which is fairly acceptable in emergency management study field. A 3D GIS-based software demo was also implemented to enable route planning, flight simulation, and data collection visualization.

The paper proposes an automatic thrust calculation method in the case of engine gear missing. The trimmed linearization method is used to calculate the equivalent throttle opening between the two gears. An automatic thrust calculation method is presented which uses the equivalent throttle opening as weight coefficient. The speed control system which has introduced the equivalent throttle opening is designed, and the speed is controlled through the combination of the speed control system and the vertical speed control system. In this way, four basic modes are realized in flight simulation——climb, glide, given the yaw angle, given the roll angle, and the special speed control mode. It takes A320 aircraft for an example, the aerodynamic parameters and the Idletrust and Miltrust coefficients are obtained from JSBSim. Carry out flight control simulation on the above modes by building aircraft flight simulation model through Simulink. The results of the flight speed control show that the proposed method can achieve precise control of the speed in multi-flight modes.

Primates are the living beings with a greater capacity of manipulation. This skill derives from they have two legs equipped with elements adapted to the manipulation and grasping. The simultaneous use of both legs and arms confer to these living beings their special features to manipulate and manage different objects. As many technical developments inspired when nature laws are observed, parallel robots are conceived in a similar way. In this way, the mechanical structure of a parallel robot is composed by a closed chain in which the end effector is linked to the basis at least by two independent kinematic chains.This definition can be in conflict with the developments about coordinated robots that also constitute closed kinematic chains. Parallel robots simplify these chains in such a way that every one has only one actuator. So, the complexity of the mechanism can be reduced and it is possible to make good use of the energy provided by the actuators to obtain a higher payload capacity or to increase the speed of movement of the end effector. The first theoretical works on mechanical parallel structures appear long time ago, even before the notion of robot. In this way the first parallel mechanism was patented in 1931 (US Patent No 1789680) and was designed by James E. Gwinnett (Gwinnett 1931). In 1940 Willard Pollard presented a robot with 5 degrees of freedom dedicated to painting tasks. The robot was composed of three legs of two links each one. The three actuators of the base drive the position of the tool.However, other more significant parallel mechanisms have been achieved from then. In this way, in 1947 Eric Gough designed the most popular parallel platform. Nowadays numerous platforms can be found with the name of MAST (Multi-Axis Simulation Table). In 1965, Mr. Stewart (Stewart, 1965) described a movement platform of 6 degrees of freedom (dof) designed to use as a flight simulator. On the contrary to the general belief the Stewart mechanism is different to the previously presented by Gough. The work presented by Stewart had and have a great influence in the academic world, and it is considered one of the first works of analysis of parallel structures. At the same time, Klaus Cappel carried out in the Franklin Institute Research Laboratory a lot of researches with parallel platforms of 6 degrees of freedom. In 1967 Cappel patented a motion simulator based on a hexapod (Cappel, 1967). Later, in 1978 Hunt (Hunt 1978) suggested that the mechanisms of the flight simulators can be used as parallel robots. Also Hunt pointed out that parallel robots required a more detailed study in the context of robotic applications due to the advantages of accuracy and rigidity of these platforms.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have widely demonstrated their utility in military applications. Different vehicle types airplanes in particular have been used for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Civil use of UAVs, as applied to early alert, inspection and aerialimagery systems, among others, is more recent (OSD, 2005). For many of these applications, the most suitable vehicle is the helicopter because it offers a good balance between manoeuvrability and speed, as well as for its hovering capability. A mathematical model of a helicopter’s flight dynamics is critical for the development of controllers that enable autonomous flight. Control strategies are first tested within simulators where an accurate identification process guarantees good performance under real conditions. The model, used as a simulator, may also be an excellent output predictor for cases in which data cannot be collected by the embedded system due to malfunction (e.g. transmission delay or lack of signal). With this technology, more robust fail-safe modes are possible. The state of a helicopter is described by its attitude and position and the characteristics of its dynamics system correspond to those of a non-linear, multivariable, highly coupled and unstable system (Lopez, 1993). The identification process can be performed in different ways, on analytical, empirical or hybrid models, each with its advantages and disadvantages. This Chapter describes how to model the dynamic of a mini-helicopter using different kinds of supervised neural networks, an empirical model. Specifically, the networks are used for the identification of both attitude and position of a radio controlled mini helicopter. Different hybrid supervised neural network architectures, as well as different training strategies, will be discussed and compared on different flight stages. The final aim of the identification process is to build a realistic flight model to be incorporated in a flight simulator. Although several neural network-based controllers for UAVs can be found in the literature, there is little work on flight simulator models. Simulators are valuable tools for in-lab testing and experimenting of different control algorithms and techniques for autonomous flight. A model of a helicopter’s flight dynamics is critical for the development of good a simulator. Moreover, a model may also be used during flight as predictor for anticipating the behaviour of the helicopter in response to control inputs. The Chapter first focuses on two neural-network architectures that are well suited for the particular case of mini-helicopters, and describes two algorithms for the training of such neural-network models. These architectures can be used for both multi-layer and radial-based

Recent inventions of Augmented Reality (AR) Head-Mounted-Device (HMD) devices such as Microsoft’s HoloLens have allowed certain innovations that up till now were only able to exist in Science Fiction. The ability to project holograms within a space have been used in the Aerospace industry since 2016, when the HoloLens was first released. However, the aviation industry has yet to harness the capability that such a device can allow. The conversion of a traditional 2D Primary Flight Display (PFD)to a Volumetric 3D representation of the PFD was explored. The 3D representation of the PFD was created in Unity 3D, and by means of the Holographic Remoting Tool the graphics were displayed on to the HoloLens. The symbology on the PFD was driven by live flight data from a flight simulator. For thisproject two different 3D PFD models were created one for a fixed-winged based aircraft, and another fora quadcopter. Two different flight simulators were used for the two different PFDs. For the fixed-wingedPFD the Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) World by Eagle Dynamics was used, and for the quadcopterPFD the AirSim plugin by Microsoft was ran using Unreal Engine 4 (UE4). Through testing it was found that both the PFD models assist the pilots to safely keep their aircraft in the air and also perform an emergency landing by only using the 3D PFD. Another conclusion made was that in its current state the3D PFD is ideal for Unmanned Arial Vehicle (UAV) pilots as a holographic Ground Control Station(GCS)

A complex wind field refers to the typical atmospheric disturbance phenomena existing in nature that have a great influence on the flight of aircrafts. Aimed at the issues involving large volume of data, complex computations and a single model in the current wind field simulation approaches for flight environments, based on the essential principles of fluid mechanics, in this paper, wind field models for two kinds of wind shear such as micro-downburst and low-level jet plus three-dimensional atmospheric turbulence are established. The validity of the models is verified by comparing the simulation results from existing wind field models and the measured data. Based on the principle of vector superposition, three wind field models are combined in the ground coordinate system, and a comprehensive model of complex wind fields is established with spatial location as the input and wind velocity as the output. The model is applied to the simulated flight of a rocket projectile, and the change in the rocket projectile’s flight attitude and flight trajectory under different wind fields is analyzed. The results indicate that the comprehensive model established herein can reasonably and efficiently reflect the influence of various complex wind field environments on the flight process of aircrafts, and that the model is simple, extensible, and convenient to use.