METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE ESTIMATED WEIGHT OF AN AIRCRAFT AND CORRESPONDING SYSTEM

• US 20150094982A1
• Filed: 09/26/2013
• Published: 04/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dassault Aviation (Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault)
• Original Assignee: Dassault Aviation (Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault)
• Inventors: Dupont De Dinechin, Sbastien
• Granted Patent: US 10,295,396 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/175
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/07 for weighing aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/414 using electronic computing means only

Abstract

A method for determining an estimated mass of an aircraft is provided. This method includes determining a first mass of the aircraft, from characteristics of the aircraft determined before or after takeoff of the aircraft, determining, during the flight of the aircraft, a second mass of the aircraft, from a lift equation of the aircraft expressing the mass of the aircraft as a function of information representative of the load factor of the aircraft, of a lift coefficient of the aircraft, of speed information of the aircraft and of a static pressure of a mass of air passed through by the aircraft, determined from measurements by sensors of the aircraft during the flight of the aircraft, evaluating the estimated mass at said determination moment, as a function of said first and second masses.

Claims

1-14. -14. (canceled)

15. A method for determining an estimated mass of an aircraft at a selected determination moment comprising:

determining a first mass of the aircraft from characteristics of the aircraft determined before or after takeoff of the aircraft;

determining, during the flight of the aircraft, a second mass of the aircraft from a lift equation of the aircraft expressing a mass of the aircraft as a function of information representative of a load factor of the aircraft, of a lift coefficient of the aircraft, of speed information of the aircraft and of a static pressure of a mass of air passed through by the aircraft, determined from measurements by sensors of the aircraft during the flight of the aircraft; and

evaluating the estimated mass at the determination moment, as a function of the first and second masses.

16. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein the first and second masses are masses of the aircraft at an initial moment when parked, the evaluating the estimated mass including determining an estimated mass when parked at the initial moment as a function of the first and second masses, and the determining a mass of fuel consumed between the initial moment and the determination moment, the estimated mass being evaluated by subtracting the consumed fuel mass from the estimated mass when parked.

17. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein the determining of the first mass includes estimating a first initial mass of the aircraft before takeoff, estimating a second and a third initial masses of the aircraft from flight characteristics of the aircraft determined during takeoff, the first mass being determined as a function of the first, second and third initial masses.

18. The method as recited in claim 17 wherein the first mass is determined from a median of the first, second and third initial masses.

19. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein the determining of the first mass of the aircraft includes estimating a first initial mass of the aircraft from an estimate of a base mass of the aircraft, of a fuel mass of the aircraft when parked and of a mass of the load of the aircraft.

20. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein the determining the first mass of the aircraft includes estimating a second initial mass of the aircraft, the second initial mass being deduced from a thrust value of the engines, of a drag value of the aircraft and of an acceleration value of the aircraft that are determined during takeoff of the aircraft, at a selected moment.

21. The method as recited in claim 20 wherein the selected moment is three seconds after the aircraft takes flight.

22. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein the determining the first mass of the aircraft includes estimating a third initial mass of the aircraft, from a lift equation of the aircraft expressing the mass of the aircraft as a function of information representative of the load factor of the aircraft, of a lift coefficient of the aircraft, of speed information of the aircraft, and of static pressure of a mass of air passed through by the aircraft, determined during takeoff of the aircraft, at a selected moment.

23. The method as recited in claim 22 wherein the selected moment is three seconds after the aircraft takes flight.

24. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein the determining the second mass of the aircraft comprises:

determining a plurality of instantaneous masses of the aircraft at distinct flight moments, the instantaneous masses being determined from the lift equation of the aircraft;

determining, from the instantaneous masses and the consumed fuel masses between an initial moment and the flight moments, a plurality of fourth initial masses of the aircraft at the initial moment; and

determining, from the fourth initial masses, the second mass of the aircraft.

25. The method as recited in claim 24 wherein the determining the second mass of the aircraft includes computing a weighted mean of the fourth initial masses by assigning each fourth initial mass a weight coefficient depending on a credibility assigned to the value of that initial mass, in the form:

26. The method as recited in claim 25 wherein the weight coefficient assigned to the fourth initial mass determined at a moment t is equal to one when, at the moment t, the aircraft has a substantially horizontal rectilinear flight according to predetermined criteria, or zero otherwise.

27. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein the estimated mass is evaluated from a weighted mean of the first and second masses.

28. The method as recited in claim 27 wherein the weighted mean of the first and second masses is obtained by assigning each of the first and second masses a weight coefficient, the weight coefficient assigned to the second mass being proportional to the uniform rectilinear flight duration of the aircraft from an initial moment.

29. The method as recited in claim 28 wherein the weight coefficient assigned to the second mass is expressed in the form:

30. A system for determining an estimated mass of an aircraft at a selected determination moment comprising:

a computer configured to determine a first mass of the aircraft, from characteristics of the aircraft determined before or after takeoff of the aircraft,

the computer being configured to determine, during the flight of the aircraft, a second mass of the aircraft, from a lift equation of the aircraft expressing the mass of the aircraft as a function of information representative of the load factor of the aircraft, of a lift coefficient of the aircraft, of speed information of the aircraft, and of a static pressure of a mass of air passed through by the aircraft, determined from measurements by sensors of the aircraft during the flight of the aircraft,

the computer being configured to evaluate the estimated mass at the determination moment, as a function of the first and second masses.