A Technology Survey of Emergency Recovery and Flight Termination Systems for UAS

Stansbury, Richard S.; Tanis, Wesley; Wilson, Timothy

doi:10.2514/6.2009-2038

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Emergency recovery and flight termination requirements are a necessary capability of UASs, especially larger class UASs that can cause danger to property or personnel. A technology survey of these systems by Stansbury et al [146] provide a good overview of the recovery and termination systems. The need to terminate or provide emergency recovery is critical, especially when testing unproven systems.…”

Section: Test Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple-Scenario Unmanned Aerial System Control: A Systems Engineering Approach and Review of Existing Control Methods

2016

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Abstract:The use of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in both the public and military environments is predicted to grow significantly. As the demand for UASs grows, the availability of more robust and capable vehicles that can perform multiple mission types will be needed. In the public sector, the demand will grow for UASs to be used for agriculture, forestry, and search and rescue missions. Militaries continue to demand more UAS capabilities for diverse operations around the world. Significant research has been performed and continues to progress in the areas of autonomous UAS control. A majority of the work focuses on subsets of UAS control: path planning, autonomy, small UAS controls, and sensors. Minimal work exists on a system-level problem of multiple-scenario UAS control for integrated systems. This paper provides a high-level modular system architecture definition that is modifiable across platform types and mission requirements. A review of the current research and employment of UAS capabilities is provided to evaluate the state of the capabilities required to enable the proposed architecture.

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Section: Test Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple-Scenario Unmanned Aerial System Control: A Systems Engineering Approach and Review of Existing Control Methods

2016

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“…in which the malfunctioning aircraft, if able, executes a control sequence that will intentionally crash the aircraft "in a somewhat controlled manner" [46]. For a fixed-wing UAS, the control sequence might establish a gliding descent, a slow downward spiral, or a steep spin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a survey of emergency recovery and flight termination (ERFT) systems, Stansbury et al [46] noted that the safe operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in public airspace requires . .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active flight path control for an induced spin flight termination system

Shukla

2018

2018 AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference

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In this thesis, we describe a method for controlling the cycle-averaged velocity direction of a fixed-wing aircraft in an unpowered, helical descent. While the aircraft propulsion system is disabled, either intentionally or due to a failure, the aerodynamic control surfaces (aileron, elevator, and rudder) are assumed to be functional. Our approach involves two steps: (i) establishing a stable, steady, helical motion for which the control surfaces are not fully deflected and (ii) modulating the aircraft control surfaces about their nominal positions to "slant" the helical flight path in a desired direction relative to the atmosphere, whether to attain a desired impact location, to counter a steady wind, or both. The effectiveness of the control law was evaluated in numerical simulations of a general transport model (GTM). Active Flight Path Control for an Induced Spin Flight Termination SystemPoorva J. Shukla GENERAL AUDIENCE ABSTRACTWhen an unmanned aircraft is near an authorized airspace (a region of space where the aircraft is not authorized to fly) and experiences a failure such as loss of communication with the control tower,or failure of the GPS or propulsion system, then the aircraft is generally put into an aerodynamic flight termination. In this flight termination method, the aircraft propulsion system is switched off and the control surfaces (aileron, elevator and rudder) are fixed to induce a spin in the aircraft causing it to descend in a helical fashion. However, in the presence of external gusts the aircraft might drift into the unauthorized airspace; or once the aircraft is put into spin, one may want to be able to change the impact location to a safer place. To the best of our knowledge, there exist no control strategies to alter the impact location of the aircraft once it is put into spin and while is continues to spin. In this thesis we describe a method to do so.The aircraft impact location is altered by controlling the cycle-averaged velocity direction of a fixed-wing aircraft in an unpowered, helical descent. While the aircraft propulsion system is disabled, either intentionally or due to a failure, the aerodynamic control surfaces (aileron, elevator, and rudder) are assumed to be functional. Our approach involves two steps: (i) establishing a stable, steady, helical motion for which the control surfaces are not fully deflected and (ii) modulating the aircraft control surfaces about their nominal positions to "slant" the helical flight path in a desired direction relative to the atmosphere, whether to attain a desired impact location, to counter a steady wind, or both. The effectiveness of the control law was evaluated in numerical simulations of a general transport model (GTM). DedicationTo all who read it from the start to the end, or in any order, but completely. iv AcknowledgmentsIt has been an honor and privilege to work with my advisor, Craig Woolsey. I am thankful to him for introducing me to control theory. He did not mind when I took detours to study topics not directly relat...

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“…Therefore, the main goal of fault tolerance is to prevent that simple faults develop into contingencies. A number of fault tolerant methods exist in the literature, including faulttolerant control and redundancy [157]. Faults affecting critical system components can be tolerated using redundancy.…”

Section: Contingency Management Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, the most convenient flight termination mechanism depends on the RPA model and performance. For example, the work in [157] presents a survey of current and future technologies and procedures for performing aerodynamic and ballistic terminations. Alternatives are self-destruct systems that allow an in-flight destruction to be performed without the loss of human lives [41].…”

Section: Flight Terminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automated Contingency Management in Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Molina¹

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Technological development and scientific research are steadily enabling higher levels of automation in the global industry. In the aerospace sector, the operation of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) is a clear example. Given the huge potential of the UAS market, Civil Aviation Authorities are elaborating a new regulatory framework for the safe integration of UAS into the civil airspace. The general goal is ensuring that the operation of UAS has an Equivalent Level of Safety (ELOS) to that of manned aviation. To meet the previous goal, this thesis advocates for increasing the level of automation of UAS operations by providing the automatic system on-board the aircraft with Automated Contingency Management (ACM) functions. ACM functions are designed to assist the pilot-in-command in case a contingency, and ultimately to fully replace the pilot if this is required by the situation (e.g. due to a Command and Control (C2) link loss) or if the pilot decides so. However, in order for automation to be safe, automated functions must be developed following safe design methodologies based on aerospace standards. Agraïments Vull agrair la col•laboració de totes aquelles persones i institucions que han fet possible la realització d'aquesta tesi: En primer lloc, vull fer constar que aquesta tesi ha estat co-financiada pel Fons Social Europeu 2014-2020 i pel programa VALI+d de la Generalitat Valenciana (expedient número ACIF/2016/197). De forma molt especial, vull agrair a Joan Vila la seua dedicació al llarg de tots aquests anys. El seu recolçament i la seua tasca de direcció han estat fonamentals per dur a terme aquest treball. També vull agrair a tots els membres del Department of Unmanned Aircraft del German Aerospace Center-Institute of Flight Systems la seua acollida durant la meua estada a Braunschweig; i en especial a Jörg Dittrich, director del departament; Florian Adolf, supervisor de la estada; i Christoph Torens, per la seua inestimable ajuda. Finalment, vull agrair a la meua familia el seu suport i afecte (tot i el meu geni durant la recta final!): als meus pares, el millor exemple; a Pau i Ana, pels seus consells i comprensió; a Marc, el més bonic; i a Irene, que val el cel.

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A Technology Survey of Emergency Recovery and Flight Termination Systems for UAS

Cited by 15 publications

References 8 publications

Multiple-Scenario Unmanned Aerial System Control: A Systems Engineering Approach and Review of Existing Control Methods

Multiple-Scenario Unmanned Aerial System Control: A Systems Engineering Approach and Review of Existing Control Methods

Active flight path control for an induced spin flight termination system

Automated Contingency Management in Unmanned Aircraft Systems

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