Methods and apparatus for detecting airflow control surface skew conditions

• US 10,137,999 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2017
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Nelson, Harvey C., Plass, Christopher E.
• Primary Examiner(s): La, Anh V
• Application Number:
  US15/474,261
• Publication Number:
  US 20180281987A1
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 340945-979, 340686
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/28 mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 9/16 at the rear of the wing
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/001 for indicating symmetry of flaps deflection
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0005 Devices specially adapted to indicate the position of a movable element of the aircraft, e.g. landing gear
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/187 Machine fault alarms
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/30 Wing lift efficiency

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for detecting airflow control surface skew conditions are disclosed herein. An example apparatus includes an aircraft wing, a support linkage, and a flap coupled to the aircraft wing via the support linkage. The example apparatus includes a sensor coupled to the flap at a location proximate to the support linkage. The sensor is configured to generate vibration data for the location. The example apparatus includes a detector communicatively coupled to the sensor. The detector is to detect a skew condition of the flap based on the vibration data.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an aircraft wing;

a support linkage;

a flap coupled to the aircraft wing via the support linkage;

a sensor coupled to the flap at a location proximate to the support linkage, the sensor configured to generate first vibration data for the location; and

a detector communicatively coupled to the sensor, the detector to;

identify a change in a rotational constraint of the flap relative to the support linkage based on a shift in a peak of the first vibration data relative to a peak of second vibration data; and

detect a skew condition of the flap based on the change.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein if the detector detects the skew condition, the detector is to generate an alert and transmit the alert to an alert output of the aircraft.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor is an accelerometer and the first vibration data includes acceleration data for a location on the flap proximate to the location where the sensor is coupled to the flap.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support linkage is a first support linkage and the sensor is a first sensor, and further including a second support linkage and a second sensor, the flap coupled to the wing via the second support linkage, the first sensor disposed proximate to the first support linkage and the second sensor disposed proximate to the second support linkage.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the detector is configured to detect the skew condition of the flap relative to the first support linkage based on the first vibration data generated by the first sensor.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the location of the sensor is selected based on a change in magnitude between vibration at a location of the flap when the flap is associated with a non-skew condition and vibration at the location of the flap when the flap is associated with the skew condition.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the location of the sensor is further selected based on a change in frequency between vibration at the location of the flap when the flap is associated with the non-skew condition and vibration at the location of the flap when the flap is associated with the skew condition.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a filter to filter the first vibration data, the detector to detect the skew condition based on a comparison of the first filtered vibration data to a threshold.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the filter is configured to:

apply a first filter to the first vibration data to generate first filtered vibration data;

apply a second filter to the first vibration data to generate second filtered vibration data;

perform a first comparison of the first filtered vibration data to a first threshold;

perform a second comparison of the second filtered vibration data to a second threshold; and

detect the skew condition based on at least one of the first comparison and the second comparison.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second vibration data is predetermined vibration data generated for the flap or another flap.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detector is to detect the skew condition as associated with the support linkage based on location data for the sensor.

12. A method comprising:

generating, via a sensor coupled to an airflow control surface of a vehicle, vibration data for the airflow control surface;

generating, by executing an instruction with a processor, spectral data based on the vibration data;

identifying a change in a rotational constraint at the airflow control surface by performing, by executing an instruction with the processor, a comparison of a location of a peak in the spectral data to a location of a peak in predetermined spectral data; and

detecting, by executing an instruction with the processor, a skew condition of the airflow control surface based on the change.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the predetermined spectral data corresponds to at least one of a known non-skew condition of the airflow control surface and a known skew condition of the airflow control surface.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the airflow control surface is a flap of an aircraft and further including:

identifying a location of the sensor relative to a first support linkage for the flap and a second support linkage for the flap; and

identifying at least one of the first support linkage and the second support linkage as associated with the skew condition based on the identification.

15. The method of claim 12, further including generating an alert based on the change and transmitting the alert to an alert output of the vehicle.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the vehicle is an aircraft and generating the vibration data is to occur during one or more of takeoff or landing of the aircraft.

17. A method comprising:

accessing, by executing an instruction with a processor, vibration data for a flap of an aircraft, the vibration data to be generated by a sensor coupled to the flap, the flap coupled to a wing of the aircraft via a support linkage;

determining a change in a rotational constraint of the flap relative to the support linkage by performing, by executing an instruction with the processor, a comparison of a position of a peak in the vibration data relative to a position of a peak in predetermined vibration data; and

identifying a skew condition of the flap based on the change.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the sensor is coupled to the flap proximate to the support linkage.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein if the skew condition is identified, further including:

generating an alert indicative of a mechanical impairment at the support linkage; and

transmitting the alert to an alert output of the aircraft.