Rosemount Aerospace Limited

Simmonds Precision Products, Inc.

Kaare Josef Anderson

Mark Ray

Mark Sherwood Miller

Magdi A Essawy

Brian Daniel Matheis

Darren Glenn Jackson

Derrick David Hongerholt

William Kunik

Kent Allan Ramthun

David M Socha, Sr

Michael Anthony Lynch

Jennifer M Alexander

Jaime Sly

Cuong Tho Huynh

Thomas G Wiegele

Michael Paul Nesnidal

Mauro J Atalla

Brian Snyder

Christopher H Renken

Mark D Ray

Nesnidal Michael P P

Apparatus and associated methods relate to predicting failure and/or estimating remaining useful life of an air-data-probe heater. Failure is predicted or useful life is estimated based on an electrical metric of the electrical operating power provided to a resistive heating element of the air-data-probe heater. The electrical metric of the air data probe heater is one or more of: i) phase relation between voltage across the resistive heating element and leakage current, which is conducted from the resistive heating element to a conductive sheath surrounding the resistive heating element; ii) a time-domain profile of leakage current through the heating element insulation during a full power cycle; and/or iii) high-frequency components of the electrical current conducted by the resistive heating element and/or the voltage across the resistive heating element.

Predicting failure and/or estimating remaining useful life of an air-data-probe heater

An optical sensor for an aircraft includes two detectors, a light source, and a controller. The detectors are oriented along detector paths and have tilt angles and fields of view. The detectors are configured to detect light reflected from an illumination volume and to generate detector signals that correspond to intensities of detected light. The tilt angles are equal such that each detector is oriented in an opposite direction within a plane containing a light source path and the detector paths. The light source is oriented along the light source path and is configured to illuminate the illumination volume which overlaps with the fields of view within a predetermined distance range. The controller is configured to receive the detector signals, detect whether a cloud is present based upon the detector signals, determine a cloud phase, and calculate a density of the detected cloud.

Multiple angled field-of-view cloud sensor

A system for determining parameters of a cloud atmosphere within a wind tunnel. The system includes: a light projector configured to project a pulse of light energy into a projection field of view; at least one light detector having a detection field of view that forms a range-limited intersection with the projection field of view, the range-limited intersection having a maximum sampling range so as to exclude wall structures of the wind tunnel, wherein the at least one light detector is configured to detect a backscattered portion of the projected pulse of light energy backscattered from within the range-limited intersection; and a cloud parameter calculator configured to determine parameters of the cloud atmosphere based on the backscattered portions detected.

Multi-fiber single lens optical ice detector

An optical ice detector and airspeed probe includes an ice detection module and an airspeed module. The ice detection module detects the presence or absence of ice, water, or ice and water particles, and the airspeed module determines a line-of-sight speed along a directional vector, each based on backscatter light returns emitted from a common collimated light source. An electronics module determines an airspeed of an aircraft based on the line-of-sight speed determined by the airspeed module and at least one aircraft parameter received from the air data system.

Blended optical and vane synthetic air data architecture

A method of operating an optical icing conditions sensor includes transmitting a first light beam with a first transmitter and a second light beam with a second transmitter, thereby illuminating two illumination volumes. A first receiver receives the first light beam. A second receiver receives the second light beam. A controller measures the intensity of light received by the first and second receivers. The controller compares the intensities to threshold values and determines if either intensity is greater than the threshold values. The controller determines a cloud is present if either intensity is greater than the threshold values. The controller calculates a ratio of the intensities if a cloud is present. The controller determines, using the ratio, whether the cloud contains liquid water droplets, ice crystals, or a mixture of liquid water droplets and ice crystals.

Detection of aircraft icing conditions and discrimination between liquid droplets and ice crystals

Apparatus and associated methods relate to determining an effective size, quantity, shape, and type of water particles in a cloud atmosphere based on differences in amplitudes of optical signals backscattered at different backscattering angles. Off-axis backscattering&#x2014;backscattering at angles other than 180 degrees&#x2014;is affected by the effective size, quantity, shape, and type of water droplets. Detected amplitudes of optical signals that are backscattered at different angles are used to indicate the effective size, quantity, shape, and type of water particles in the cloud atmosphere. In some embodiments, optical emitters and detectors are configured to measure amplitudes of optical signals backscattered at backscattering angles of both on-axis&#x2014;180 degrees&#x2014;and off-axis varieties.

Characterization of a cloud atmosphere using light backscattered at two angles

Apparatus and associated methods relate to determining metrics of a cloud atmosphere using time difference measurements. A light projector projects a pulse of light into a cloud atmosphere, and a light sensor detects a portion of the projected pulse of light backscattered by the cloud atmosphere. A backscatter coefficient is calculated based on peak amplitude of the detected portion. An optical extinction coefficient is calculated based on a time difference between a peak time and a post-peak time, which correspond to times at which the peak amplitude of the detected portion occurs and at which the detected portion equals or crosses a sub-peak threshold, respectively. In some embodiments, a logarithm amplifier is used to facilitate processing of signals of widely varying amplitudes. In some embodiments, the sub-peak threshold is calculated as a fraction of the peak amplitude of the detected portion.

Determining metrics of a cloud atmosphere using time-difference measurements

Apparatus and associated methods relate to determining health of an electrical heater of an air data probe based on a comparison between a calculated expected value and a measured value of an electrical property of the electrical heater. The expected value of the electrical property is calculated based in part on the electrical power provided to the electrical heater and further based in part on the aircraft flight parameters and/or environmental conditions. Such aircraft flight parameters and/or environmental conditions can include at least one of: electric power source status, airspeed, air pressure, altitude, air temperature, humidity, liquid water content, ice water content, droplet/particle size distribution, angle of attack, and angle of sideslip. These aircraft flight parameters and/or environmental conditions are received via an aircraft interface.

Health monitoring of an electrical heater of an air data probe

Apparatus and associated methods relate to sampling a large volume of a cloud atmosphere so as to obtain a large signal response from even a sparse distribution of water droplets in the cloud atmosphere. Such a volume can be probed by projecting an uncollimated optical beam into the cloud atmosphere and sampling the signal backscattered from the water droplets located within the probed volume. The uncollimated optical beam can be generated by projecting a diverging pulse of light energy from a polished end of a first optical fiber. A second optical fiber can be used to receive the optical signal backscattered from the cloud atmosphere. The second optical fiber can also have substantially the same field of view as the first optical fiber, so as to receive signals from a volume of the cloud atmosphere that is substantially commensurate with the probed volume.

Multi-fiber optical sensor for icing

In one example, a method includes receiving, over an aircraft data communications bus, a plurality of non-pneumatic inputs corresponding to aircraft operational parameters. The method further includes processing the plurality of non-pneumatic inputs through an artificial intelligence network to generate an air data output value, and outputting the air data output value to a consuming system for use when a pneumatic-based air data output value is determined to be unreliable.

Synthetic air data output generation

Apparatus and associated methods relate to reliably determining both size of large water droplets and density of small water droplets in a multi-modal cloud atmosphere. A pulsed beam of light is projected into the cloud atmosphere and a receiver receives a reflected portion of the projected pulsed beam backscattered by the cloud atmosphere. The received reflected portion is split into first and second parts. First and second parts are directed to first and second detectors, each having a different gain. A ratio of the gains of the first and second detector is greater than 3:1, thereby providing a low-gain detector for producing unsaturated signals indicative of scintillation spike reflection by large water particles and a simultaneous high-gain detector for producing signals indicative of range-resolved reflections by numerous small water particles.

System and method for measuring cloud parameters

Apparatus and associated methods relate to determining a size and/or density of Super-cooled Large Droplets (SLDs) in a cloud atmosphere by simultaneously projecting both a collimated pulsed beam into a narrow-field projection volume and a divergent pulsed beam into a wide-field projection volume of the cloud atmosphere, and then detecting both the collimated and divergent pulsed beams backscattered from within a detection volume of the cloud atmosphere. Projection and detection are configured such that the detection volume intersects both the narrow-field and the wide-field projection volumes defining narrow-field/detection and wide-field/reception detection volumes, respectively. A distance between the narrow-field/detection intersecting volume and the generating and detecting apparatus is greater than a predetermined distance, thereby avoid detection of light backscattered from within the atmosphere located in a disturbance region of the cloud atmosphere within the predetermined distance from the apparatus.

Apparatus and associated methods relate to determining, based on a detected portion of a projected pulse of quasi-optical energy backscattered by water particles within a divergent projection volume of a cloud atmosphere, properties of the backscattering water particles. The pulse of quasi-optical energy is projected into the divergent projection volume of the cloud atmosphere. The divergent projection volume is defined by an axis of projection and an angle of projection about the axis of projection. The portion of the projected pulse of optical energy backscattered by water particles within the divergent projection volume of the cloud atmosphere is received and detected. Various properties of the backscattering water particles, which can be determined from the detected portion of the projected pulse backscattered by water particles can include particle density and/or particle size.

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Farmington, MN, United States of America

Kaare Josef Anderson