Active Avionics and HUMS Integrated System Architecture

在减少对环境的排放方面日益严格的要求导致飞机系统的复杂性增加。这对飞行中的运行状况和维修造成了进一步的压力，这可能直接影响到成本，更重要的是影响到乘客的安全。此次征求建议书明智地确定了对分布在机身周围的单一主动系统的高优先级要求，该系统将提供所有主动系统的互联性和控制。因此，非常需要提供一种简单、可靠和长期的解决方案，通过集成的嵌入式网络架构来管理飞机系统航空电子设备，该网络架构可以高效可靠地服务于终端系统（例如：传感器、执行器、服务、飞行员、控制、发动机、接口、诊断等），同时减少维护和后勤支持。拟议的方案被视为为期一年的初步评估阶段。预计IAP将为进一步调查和更大规模的技术演示（由VRC和/或其他研发组织）建立基础，以验证和验证IAP结果。IAP项目确定了两个主要的调查领域。首先是航电体系结构研究，其次是健康与使用监测系统（HUMS）子系统体系结构研究。电子网络结构可以看作是机载飞行器的脊髓。它是连接终端系统的手段，它必须符合飞机的所有复杂要求。HUMS指的是机载和机载子系统数据的处理，导致各种机载系统（包括航空电子设备）的健康和使用状态的准确和最终指示。因此，子系统监控飞机系统的关键部分，决定其操作和配置。拥有一个强大、灵活、可扩展和可靠的航空电子系统架构是至关重要的，它可以有效地开发、主动操作和维护。这种网络使能能力体系结构对于实现HUMS的使用是必要的，HUMS最终能够为主动适应作战环境提供准确的飞机环境表示。此外，单一/通用集成航空电子系统架构方法，如支持案例中所述，可以提供支持未来航空电子技术的能力以及现有技术的即插即用能力。由于整个系统可能变得极其复杂，因此提供这样的功能当然是非常苛刻的。另一方面，研究目标是非常具有挑战性的，有可能有一个演示器不够复杂，无法准确地代表现实。然而，预计IAP采用的研究策略，以及与空中客车和最新技术提供商的密切对话，将降低风险，并且甚至有可能将研究转移到早期开发阶段。这样做的好处是巨大的。通过使用这种技术，飞机将减少平台重量，并能够适应环境条件。这意味着飞机将更有效地飞行，从而减少其燃料消耗需求。这无疑将使空客、其乘客和更广泛的世界受益，减少二氧化碳排放。完整的提案文件描述了该项目提出的方法，以确定如何以高度模块化的方式划分航空电子系统，以便严格控制的网络通信系统可以在运行时提供服务、监控和提供可靠配置终端系统的能力。

Increasingly stringent demands in reducing emissions to the environment result in added aircraft system complexity. This imposes further pressures on the in-flight operation status and maintenance that may have direct effect on the costs and more importantly on passenger safety. This call for proposals has wisely identified the high priority requirement for a single active system distributed around the airframe that will provide the interconnectivity and control of all active systems . It is therefore highly desirable to provide a simple, reliable and long term solution to manage the aircraft system avionics through an integrated embedded network architecture that can serve end systems (for example: sensors, actuators, services, pilots, controls, engines, interfaces, diagnostics etc) efficiently & reliably, while reducing maintenance and logistics support.The proposed programme is considered as the Initial Assessment Phase (IAP) with one year duration. It is expected that the IAP will establish the basis of further investigations and larger scale technology demonstrators (by the VRC and/or other R&D organisations) to verify and validate the IAP results. There are two major areas where this IAP project identifies for investigation. The first is the research of avionics architecture, and the second is the Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) sub-system architecture. The electronic network architecture can be considered as the spinal cord of the airborne vehicle. It is the means of interconnecting its end systems and it has to comply with all the complex requirements of an aircraft. The HUMS refers to the on and off-board processing of aircraft sub-systems data, resulting in an accurate and conclusive indication of the health and usage status of various airborne systems, including avionics. It is hence, the sub-system that monitors the critical parts of the aircraft system that determine its operation and configuration.It is of the utmost importance to have a robust, flexible, scalable and reliable avionics architecture that can be efficiently developed, actively operated, and maintained. This Network Enabling Capability architecture is necessary to enable the use of HUMS which can ultimately provide an accurate aircraft environment representation for active adaptation to the operational environment. Furthermore, the single/generic integrated avionics system architecture approach, as described in the case for support, can offer the capability of supporting future avionics technologies as well as the plug-n-play capability for existing technologies.It is certainly very demanding to provide such capabilities as the overall system can become extremely complicated. On the other hand, the research targets are very challenging with the risk of having a demonstrator not complex enough to represent closely the reality. It is however anticipated that the research strategy adopted with the IAP, and having close dialogue with Airbus and latest technology providers, the risk will be reduced having furthermore the potential of even being able to transfer the research to an early exploitation stage.The benefits can be substantial. By using this technology the aircraft would have reduced platform weight, and be able to adapt to environmental conditions. This implies that aircraft would fly much more efficiently and hence, reduce their fuel consumption requirements. This will certainly benefit Airbus, its passengers, and the wider world with reduced CO2 emissions.The full proposal document depicts the way this project proposes to identify how avionic systems can be partitioned in a highly modular way such that a tightly controlled network communication system can serve, monitor, and provide the capability to configure end systems reliably while in operation.