Method and system for detecting the ingestion of an object by an aircraft turbine engine during a mission
First Claim
1. A method for detecting the ingestion of an object by an aircraft turbine engine during flight, the method comprising:
- installing a camera inside a nacelle of said turbine engine, said camera being aimed at a fan of said engine;
connecting said camera to a computer on board of said aircraft, said computer being programmed to identify phases of flight of said aircraft and having on its resident memory a database of fan reference images characteristic to normal operation of said fan in each of said flight phases of said aircraft;
acquiring, with said camera during flight, digital images of said fan, said images being acquired at an acquisition frequency proportional to the speed of rotation and number of blades of said fan;
transmitting said images to said computer;
comparing, using said computer, said acquired digital images with fan reference images corresponding to the same flight phases as said acquired images;
selecting abnormal acquired images which differ from corresponding compared reference images; and
identifying, based on said selecting of abnormal acquired images, an abnormal operation fan condition corresponding to an alert level caused by ingestion of an object by said turbine engine.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and a system for detecting the ingestion of an object by an aircraft turbine engine during a mission is disclosed. The method includes: acquiring during the mission digital images of the operating fan of the turbine engine, these images being acquired at an acquisition frequency proportional to the speed of rotation of the fan and to the number of blades of the fan; identifying the different phases of the mission of the aircraft for each phase of the mission; comparing the images of the fan with at least one reference image corresponding to sound operation of the fan; and, if necessary, identifying each abnormal image of the fan which differs from the corresponding reference image, the identification of an abnormal image of the fan corresponding to the crossing of an alert level for detecting the ingestion of an object by the turbine engine.
25 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for detecting the ingestion of an object by an aircraft turbine engine during flight, the method comprising:
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installing a camera inside a nacelle of said turbine engine, said camera being aimed at a fan of said engine; connecting said camera to a computer on board of said aircraft, said computer being programmed to identify phases of flight of said aircraft and having on its resident memory a database of fan reference images characteristic to normal operation of said fan in each of said flight phases of said aircraft; acquiring, with said camera during flight, digital images of said fan, said images being acquired at an acquisition frequency proportional to the speed of rotation and number of blades of said fan; transmitting said images to said computer; comparing, using said computer, said acquired digital images with fan reference images corresponding to the same flight phases as said acquired images; selecting abnormal acquired images which differ from corresponding compared reference images; and identifying, based on said selecting of abnormal acquired images, an abnormal operation fan condition corresponding to an alert level caused by ingestion of an object by said turbine engine. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for detecting the ingestion of an object by an aircraft turbine engine during flight, the system comprising:
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a camera installed inside a nacelle of said turbine engine and aimed at a fan of said engine; and a computer on board of said aircraft and connected to said camera, said computer being programmed to identify phases of flight of said aircraft and having on its resident memory a database of fan reference images characteristic to normal operation of said fan in each of said flight phases of said aircraft, wherein said computer is programmed to; acquire, with said camera during flight, digital images of said fan, said images being acquired at an acquisition frequency proportional to the speed of rotation and number of blades of said fan; compare said acquired digital images with fan reference images corresponding to the same flight phases as said acquired images; select abnormal acquired images which differ from corresponding compared reference images; and identify, based on said selecting of abnormal acquired images, an abnormal operation fan condition corresponding to an alert level caused by ingestion of an object by said turbine engine. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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Specification