Aircraft angle of attack and air speed detection by redundant strip pressure sensors

Callegari, Sergio; Talamelli, Alessandro; Zagnoni, Michele; Golfarelli, A.; Rossi, V.; Tartagni, Marco; Sangiorgi, E.

doi:10.1109/icsens.2004.1426479

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…• Section 3 describes the mathematical methods used in the system and illustrates the development of suitable algorithms and data structures, expanding the approach preliminarily presented in the conference paper [9]. Specifically, an error propagation model leading from uncertainties on pressure readings to final uncertainties on flight parameters is here fully developed and techniques for fault detection and fault tolerance are introduced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiments on aircraft flight parameter detection by on-skin sensors

Callegari

Zagnoni²,

Golfarelli

et al. 2006

Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

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Air speed and flight attitude angles are fundamental parameters for manual of automatic control of flying bodies. Conventional measurement methods rely on probes (e.g. Pitot tubes or vanes) having a one-to-one correspondence with the physical quantities of interest and requiring specific placements. Here, a novel measurement approach is proposed, relying on indirect measurement and on a plurality of pressure readings made by thin capacitive sensors directly placed on the aircraft skin. A redundant number of probes relaxes the accuracy requirements posed on the individual units and helps achieving fault detection or fault tolerance. A strategy for efficiently processing/combining sensor data is herein presented together with an error propagation analysis, and experimental data.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiments on aircraft flight parameter detection by on-skin sensors

Callegari

Zagnoni²,

Golfarelli

et al. 2006

Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

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“…To this aim the transducers also includes an additional "reference" chamber whose capacitance value is fixed. A more detailed description of the device can be found in [14,15].…”

Section: Sample Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applicability of Field Programmable Analog Arrays to Capacitive Sensing in the Sub-pF Range

Callegari

Merendino

Golfarelli

et al. 2006

Analog Integr Circ Sig Process

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FPAAs have recently been introduced to reduce analog design costs and bridge the gap between ASICs and circuits made of standard-parts. Here, their applicability to capacitive sensing is investigated. Switched-mode FPAAs were not originally introduced for the readout of elementary sensors or their desensitization from parasitics. Nonetheless, we show that specific techniques can make them up to the task of reading capacitance variations in the tens fF range. We also show that FPAA sensor interfaces can achieve automatic, trimmer-free calibration by FPAA reconfiguration. We conclude by illustrating a sample application as a proof-of-concept of the proposed techniques.

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“…The proposed approach stems from the recent on-field verification that high-level flight-parameters can be derived from mere measurements of local pressures directly taken on the aircraft surfaces [3]. With regard to [3], the solution in [2] is optimized for low cost vehicles, trading high-end features such as the management of extremely large angles of attack and super-sonic operation for the introduction of novel sensing methodologies targeting increased reliability, cost reductions and seamless installation. Specifically, the approach is characterized by:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Obviously, intrusive locationconstrained, complex installations are undesirable, particularly in small aircrafts such as certain unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). To overcome this issue, a radically different way of reading the aircraft free-stream speed (V ∞ ) and angle of attack (α) has recently been proposed [2], taking advantage of more indirect measurement methods and of extensive signal processing techniques. The goal is to avoid bulky elements such as tubes, booms, vanes, orifices, or pneumatic links and to simply rely on capacitive strip sensors that communicate by electrical means and that are directly applicable to the aircraft surfaces.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Novel measurement method for air-data system based on strip sensors: experimental results

Callegari¹,

Zagnoni²,

Golfarelli³

et al. 2005

IEEE Sensors, 2005.

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We report the first experiments performed in a wind tunnel to validate a novel measurement equipment, meant to be used in the air-data system of small aircrafts. The apparatus does not rely on conventional probes, but takes advantage of capacitive, strip pressure sensors that enable a survey of the pressure gradients on portions of the aircraft surfaces. Sensors are built by printed circuit board (PCB) technologies as conformable film-like structures that can be directly applied on the aircraft skin. They can read gradients thanks to the many elementary units present in each strip. The measurement equipment employs pressure-gradient information to indirectly infer the aircraft air speed and angle of attack. In the experiments, measurements are taken in a wind tunnel using a NACA0015 model airfoil hosting a single sensor and results confirm the ability of the system to correctly detect the target quantities.

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Aircraft angle of attack and air speed detection by redundant strip pressure sensors

Cited by 20 publications

References 6 publications

Experiments on aircraft flight parameter detection by on-skin sensors

Experiments on aircraft flight parameter detection by on-skin sensors

Applicability of Field Programmable Analog Arrays to Capacitive Sensing in the Sub-pF Range

Novel measurement method for air-data system based on strip sensors: experimental results

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