Aircraft with reduced wing structure loading

• US 6,064,923 A
• Filed: 04/28/1999
• Issued: 05/16/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Aerospatiale Societe Nationale Industrielle
• Inventors: Bilange, Thierry, Divoux-Plantaz, Marie-Laure
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hernandez, Olga
• Application Number:
  US09/301,171
• Time in Patent Office: 384 Days
• Field of Search: 701/3, 701/120, 244/75 R, 244/117 R, 244/7 A, 244/7 C, 244/8, 244/11, 244/28, 244/72, 73/1.78, 258/1.2, 702/144, 89/37.19, 172/722, 364/130
• US Class Current: 701/3
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 13/16 actuated automatically, e.g. responsive to gust detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0066 for limitation of acceleration or stress

Abstract

An aircraft having a reduced-load wing structure is provided with a controllable canard stabilizer (5G, 5D) at the front end of the aircraft and a controller that controls the canard stabilizer. The controller generates a turn command corresponding to an increase in the lift of the canard stabilizer when, simultaneously, the turn command applied by the pilot to the elevational control surfaces (6G, 6D) exceeds a threshold and the measurement of the vertical acceleration of the aircraft exceeds a threshold.

Claims

1. An aircraft comprising:

a main wing structure (3G, 3D),

elevation control aerodynamic surfaces (6G, 6D) controlled by a deliberate-actuation member (11) which is available to the pilot and which generators a turn command dm for said elevation-control aerodynamic surfaces (6G, 6D), and

a front stabilizer (5G, 5D), the planes of which are partially or completely adjustable, in coupled fashion, in terms of angular orientation under the action of actuators (10G, 10D) controlled by calculation means (14),

wherein said calculation means (14);

continuously receive;

said turn command dm generated by said deliberate-actuation member (11),

a measurement of the angle of incidence α

c of said front stabilizer (5G, 5D),

a measurement of the Mach number M of said aircraft,

a measurement of the flight altitude Zp of said aircraft, and

a measurement of the vertical acceleration nz of said aircraft;

hold in memory;

a "nose-up" threshold dms for said turn command dm generated by said deliberate-actuation member (11),

the aerodynamic characteristics (CA) of said front stabilizer (5G, 5D), and

a first threshold nz1 for the measurement of the vertical acceleration nz of said aircraft;

calculate, for said front stabilizer (5G, 5D), a turn command dic corresponding to an increase in the lift of this stabilizer when, simultaneously, said turn command dm generated by said actuating member exceeds said nose-up threshold dms and the measurement of the vertical acceleration nz of said aircraft exceeds said first threshold nz1; and

apply said turn command dic thus calculated to said front stabilizer (5G, 5D) via said actuators (10G, 10D).

2. An aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first vertical-acceleration threshold nz1 is of the order of 2 g.

3. An aircraft as claimed in claim 1, in which there is a main device (13) for controlling said front stabilizer (5G, 5D) using said actuators (10G, 10D-19G, 19D) to which it sends a turn command dicn,

which comprises a first intermediate device (16), the output of which controls said actuators and the two inputs of which respectively receive the turn command dic calculated by said calculation means (14) and the turn command dicn generated by said main control device (13).

4. An aircraft as claimed in claim 1, which comprises a second intermediate device (17), the output of which controls said elevation-control aerodynamic surfaces (6G, 6D), and the two inputs of which respectively receive a turn command dqc generated by said calculation means (14) to counter the pitching moment generated by said front stabilizer (5G, 5D), and the turn command dq originating from said deliberate-actuation member (11).

5. An aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the planes (5G, 5D) of said front stabilizer rotate about an axis (C--C) that is transverse to the longitudinal axis (X--X) of the aircraft.

6. An aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein the planes (5G, 5D) of said front stabilizer are equipped with trailing-edge control surfaces.

7. An aircraft as claimed in claim 1, wherein said calculation means (14) hold in memory a second threshold nz2 for the measurement of the vertical acceleration nz, said second threshold nz2 being higher than said first vertical-acceleration threshold nz1, and wherein said turn command dic for said front stabilizer (5G, 5D) corresponds, on the one hand, to an at least approximately linear variation in the lift of said front stabilizer (5G, 5D) as a function of said vertical acceleration nz when this acceleration lies between said first and second vertical-acceleration thresholds nz1 and nz2 and, on the other hand, to a maximum lift ceiling value Czcs independent of said vertical acceleration nz when the latter is higher than said second vertical-acceleration threshold nz2.

8. An aircraft as claimed in claim 7, wherein said calculation means (14):

determine, on the basis of said aerodynamic characteristics (CA), the coefficient of lift Czα

c and the zero-lift angle of incidence α

oc of said front stabilizer (5G, 5D) for the measured Mach number M and measured altitude Zp;

calculate, on the basis of said coefficient of lift and of the zero-lift angle of incidence thus determined, and on the basis of said measurement of the angle of incidence α

c of said front stabilizer (5G, 5D), the coefficient of lift Czc thereof;

determine said maximum lift ceiling value Czcs for said measured Mach number M and measured altitude Zp; and

calculate said turn command dic using the formula;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">dic=(Czcs-Czc)/Czα

c×

(nz-nz1)/(nz2-nz1).

9.

9. An aircraft as claimed in claim 7, wherein said second vertical-acceleration threshold nz2 is of the order of 2.5 g.

10. An aircraft as claimed in claim 7, wherein said calculation means (14) hold in memory a vertical-acceleration hysteresis value Anz for delaying the decrease in lift of said front stabilizer (5G, 5D) as a function of the decrease in said vertical acceleration nz between said second and first vertical-acceleration thresholds nz2 and nz1.

11. An aircraft as claimed in claim 10, wherein said hysteresis value Δ

nz is of the order of 0.15 g.