Method and Apparatus for Detecting Performance of an APU Fuel Assembly

• US 20160230676A1
• Filed: 07/23/2014
• Published: 08/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Air China Limited
• Original Assignee: Air China Limited
• Inventors: WANG, Rong, HUANG, Lei, GU, Zhuping, ZHENG, Fengliang, MA, Hongtao, WU, Jiaju, CHEN, Lei
• Granted Patent: US 9,657,649 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/00 Controlling gas-turbine plants; Controlling fuel supply in air- breathing jet-propulsion plants controlling air intakes F02C7/057; controlling turbines F01D; controlling compressors F04D27/00; controlling in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/26 Control of fuel supply F02C9/48 takes precedence; fuel valves F02C7/232
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/50 for auxiliary power units (APU's)
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/80 Diagnostics
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 15/14 Testing gas-turbine engines or jet-propulsion engines
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0235 based on a comparison with predetermined threshold or range, e.g. "classical methods", carried out during normal operation; threshold adaptation or choice; when or how to compare with the threshold
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for detecting performance of an APU fuel assembly, comprising: obtaining APU messages at multiple time points within a time period; obtaining running parameters of the APU fuel assembly according to the APU messages, the running parameters at least comprising starting time STA; calculating average value AVG and deviation index δ of the starting time STA within said time period; determining whether performance of the APU fuel assembly is in the stable phase, decline phase, or failure phase according to the deviation index δ.

Claims

1. A method for detecting performance of an APU fuel assembly of an aircraft, comprising:

obtaining APU messages at multiple time points within a time period;

obtaining running parameters of the APU fuel assembly according to the APU messages, the running parameters at least comprising starting time STA;

calculating average value AVG and deviation index δ

of the starting time STA within said time period; and

determining whether performance of the APU fuel assembly is in the stable phase, decline phase or failure phase according to the deviation index δ

.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether performance of the APU fuel assembly is in the stable phase, decline phase or failure phase comprises:

in response to that the deviation index δ

is smaller than the decline threshold value, determining that performance of the APU fuel assembly is in the stable phase;

in response to that the deviation index δ

is larger than the decline threshold value and is smaller than the failure threshold value, determining that performance of the APU fuel assembly is in the decline phase; and

in response to that the deviation index δ

is larger than the failure threshold value, determining that performance of the APU fuel assembly is in the failure phase.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining the deviation index δ

when the APU fuel assembly is in the stable phase;

wherein, the decline threshold value is about 2 times of the deviation index in the stable phase, and the failure threshold value is about 3-4 times of the stable deviation index.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the time period is about 2-4 days.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein about 5-10 APU messages are obtained within said time period.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining starting time STA_next obtained according to a next APU-related message;

in response to that STA_next is larger than AVG+nδ

or smaller than VG−

nδ

, determining whether STA_next+1 obtained according to a next APU-related message is larger than AVG+nδ

or smaller than AVG−

nδ

; and

s

in response to that the number of times for starting time STA obtained according to APU-related message continuously larger than AVG+nδ

or continuously smaller than AVG−

nδ

exceeds the preset warning number Z, sending out warnings;

wherein, n is 2-5 and Z is 3-5.

7. The method of claim 6, in response to that starting time STA obtained according to APU-related message is smaller than AVG+nδ

and larger than AVG−

nδ

, recalculating average value AVG and deviation index δ

of the starting time STA.

8. The method of claim 6, in response to that the number of times for starting time STA obtained according to APU-related message continuously larger than AVG+nδ

or continuously smaller than AVG−

nδ

exceeds the preset warning number Z, recalculating average value AVG and deviation index δ

of the starting time STA.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the deviation index δ

is standard deviation.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the n is 2 or 3, and Z is 3.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the APU starter works in normal condition.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that other parameters of APU keep normal, the other parameters comprising but not limited to;

APU exhaust gas temperature EGT, bleed air pressure PT, angle of inlet guide vane IGV and APU turbine efficiency NPA.

13. An apparatus for detecting performance of an APU fuel assembly of an aircraft comprises:

message acquisition unit, which obtains APU messages in a time period;

message parsing unit, which parses out the required running data of the APU fuel assembly; and

performance detection unit, which determines whether performance of the APU fuel assembly is in the stable phase, decline phase, serious decline phase or failure phase according to the running parameters of the fuel assembly.

14. An apparatus for detecting performance of an APU fuel assembly of an aircraft, comprising:

a processor; and

a storage coupled to the processor, which stores computer readable instructions;

the computer readable instructions run on the processor to execute the following steps;

obtaining APU messages in a time period;

parsing out running parameters of the APU fuel assembly according to the messages, the running parameters comprising starting time STA; and

determining whether performance of the APU fuel assembly is in the stable phase, decline phase, serious decline phase or failure phase.