METHOD OF OPERATING AN AIRCRAFT FUEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20110231056A1
• Filed: 11/25/2008
• Published: 09/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations Limited (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus UK Limited (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Burckhart, Antoine, Spottiswoode, Michael, Case, Ian, Sjungargard, Petter
• Granted Patent: US 9,517,836 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 17/10 Transferring fuel to adjust trim
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 37/00 Arrangements in connection with fuel supply for power plant refuelling during flight B64D39/00
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 37/14 Filling or emptying transferring fuels to adjust aircraft trim B64C
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/00 Combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value, e.g. for aircraft; Combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement, e.g. distance, speed or acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 5/005 altimeters for aircraft G01C5/02, G01C5/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/804 containing circuits handling parameters other than liquid level
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0816 to ensure stability

Abstract

A method of operating an aircraft fuel management system for an aircraft having at least one fuel tank, each fuel tank having an associated fuel quantity indicator arranged to provide an indication of the amount of fuel in the associated fuel tank, the method comprising calculating a value for the amount of fuel on board (FOB_FailedFQI) the aircraft to be utilised by the fuel management system in the event of a failure of at least one of the fuel quantity indicators, the amount of fuel on board being calculated as a value for the initial amount of fuel on board (FOBinit) minus the amount of fuel used. Additionally or alternatively a value for the gross weight centre of gravity of the aircraft is calculated using an assigned value of fuel for each of the fuel tanks having an associated failed fuel quantity indicator.

Claims

1. A method of automatically operating an aircraft fuel management system for an aircraft having at least one fuel tank, each fuel tank having an associated fuel quantity indicator arranged to provide an indication of the amount of fuel in the associated fuel tank, the method comprising calculating a value for the amount of fuel on board (FOB_FailedFQI) the aircraft to be utilised by the fuel management system in the event of a failure of at least one of the fuel quantity indicators, the amount of fuel on board being calculated as a value for the initial amount of fuel on board (FOBinit) minus the amount of fuel used.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises calculating a value for the aircraft gross weight (GW) equal to the sum of the calculated value for the amount of fuel on board (FOB_FailedFQI) and a predetermined value for the weight of the aircraft with zero fuel on board.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the value for the initial amount of fuel on board (FOBinit) is determined at the time when all the aircraft engines have started as the sum of the amount of fuel in each fuel tank provided by each associated fuel quantity indicator.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the value for the initial amount of fuel on board (FOBinit) is determined at the time when all the aircraft engines are running as the sum of an assigned value of fuel for each fuel tank having an associated failed fuel quantity indicator plus the sum of fuel in each of the remaining fuel tanks provided by each associated fuel quantity indicator.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the value for the initial amount of fuel on board (FOBinit) is determined as the sum of values for the amount of fuel in each fuel tank, whereby the values are manually entered.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the assigned value of fuel in at least one of the tanks with an associated failed fuel quantity indicator is in the range of zero to the maximum capacity of the tank

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the assigned value of is automatically set equal to the amount of fuel in another fuel tank in the system that has a working fuel quantity indicator.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the assigned value is manually entered.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically controlling transfer of fuel from any one of the aircraft fuel tanks in dependence of the calculated values.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the aircraft has a plurality of fuel tanks and a tank associated with a failed fuel quantity indicator is automatically declared empty at the same time as another tank is declared empty, where both tanks ordinarily contain substantially the same amount of fuel.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein a tank associated with a failed fuel quantity indicator is declared empty when a fuel pressure signal from a pump located within the tank is below a threshold value for longer than a predetermined period of time.

9. A method of automatically operating an aircraft fuel management system for an aircraft having at least one fuel tank, each fuel tank having an associated fuel quantity indicator arranged to provide an indication of the amount of fuel in the associated fuel tank, the method comprising calculating a value for the gross weight centre of gravity of the aircraft to be utilised by the fuel management system in the event of a failure of at least one of the fuel quantity indicators, the calculation using an assigned value of fuel in each fuel tank having an associated failed fuel quantity indicator, wherein the assigned value is automatically set equal to the amount of fuel in another fuel tank in the system that has a working fuel quantity indicator.

10-13. -13. (canceled)