IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0334981
(2008-12-15)
|
등록번호 |
US-8483902
(2013-07-09)
|
우선권정보 |
EP-07447071 (2007-12-21) |
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Cornet, Albert
- Raimarckers, Nicolas
- Bajusz, Denis
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren P.C.
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
2 인용 특허 :
3 |
초록
▼
The present invention relates to a method for calculating the oil consumption and autonomy associated with the lubrication system of an airplane engine during flights, preferably a turbine engine, on the basis of the measurement of the oil level in the tank of said lubrication system, allowing to ma
The present invention relates to a method for calculating the oil consumption and autonomy associated with the lubrication system of an airplane engine during flights, preferably a turbine engine, on the basis of the measurement of the oil level in the tank of said lubrication system, allowing to manage the refills and maintenance and to detect either abnormal consumption or insufficient autonomy, characterized by at least one of the following methods: comparing different engines of the airplane and possibly a reference value, the engines used for said comparison being in more or less identical condition, in order to detect abnormal oil consumption;taking into account one or more interference effects that affect said oil level in the tank, these being linked at least to the thermal expansion in the tank, to the “gulping” and to the attitude and acceleration, in order to deduce the modification to the oil level due to a decrease in the total quantity of oil available as a result of said interference effects;combining both above-mentioned methods.
대표청구항
▼
1. Method for calculating oil consumption and range associated with a lubrication system of an airplane engine during flights, the airplane including a plurality of engines, based on a measurement of an oil level in a tank of said lubrication system, allowing management of refills and maintenance an
1. Method for calculating oil consumption and range associated with a lubrication system of an airplane engine during flights, the airplane including a plurality of engines, based on a measurement of an oil level in a tank of said lubrication system, allowing management of refills and maintenance and detection of either abnormal consumption or insufficiency range, characterised by a combination of the following methods: comparing with a processor different engines of the airplane and possibly a reference value, the engines used for said comparison being in more or less identical condition, in order to detect abnormal oil consumption;taking into account with a processor one or more interference effects that affect said oil level in the tank, these being linked at least to the thermal expansion in the tank, to gulping and to attitude and acceleration, in order to deduce a modification to the oil level due to a decrease in total quantity of oil available as a result of said interference effects; and wherein, for a measurement and detection when the airplane is landed or during flights:oil levels are measured several times during each phase and during the transitories;an average gulping is estimated depending on an oil temperature and on rotation speed, including in flight during transitories; a range value is deduced from there and is specific to future flights; and characterised by the following sub-stages:a current oil level is measured in the oil tank of one of the engines;said interference effects are estimated, including gulping;a value of the quantity of oil available is calculated by subtracting from the a priori known total quantity of oil a difference in oil quantity associated with a quantity retained outside the tank as a result of these interference effects, linked in particular to gulping;if the value of the available quantity is lower than a predetermined threshold value, a low oil level alarm is emitted and a range value in hours is communicated;based on the total quantity of oil, a current and an average oil consumption of the engine are calculated over the flight phase in progress or over a rolling period during the flight phase in progress, a length of which is fixed by a required accuracy;the current consumption value is used in a comparison and range estimation unit whereas the average consumption value is recorded and processed a processing unit called a long term processor in which thresholds of normal consumption resulting from measurements and calculations from previous flights are re-evaluated in particular in view of this average consumption value, of a total flight time of the engine and of a number of maintenance sessions performed. 2. Method as in claim 1, wherein gaps in a characterisation of said interference effects are compensated for by working by delta, i.e. by a difference between two levels, compared with a specified tank level taken as reference level. 3. Method as in claim 1, wherein, for a measurement and detection on the ground: the oil level is measured at the start and at the end of a flight;the average gulping is estimated depending on an oil temperature, the engine being stopped;the range value is derived from there. 4. Method as in claim 1, wherein, for a measurement and detection on the ground: the oil level is measured at the start and at the end of each phase of a flight;the average gulping is estimated depending on an oil temperature, for each operating mode of the engine, at a constant rotation speed;the range value is derived from there and is specific to future flights, depending on their phases. 5. Method as in claim 1, wherein, during flights, if a leak is detected during a phase, an estimated range is indicated, no action being taken during transitories. 6. Method as in claim 1, wherein, if the current oil level in the tank is lower than the predetermined threshold value, an oil level reading fault alarm is emitted. 7. Method as in claim 1, wherein the interference effects associated with thermal expansion in the tank, gulping and attitude respectively are estimated based on at least one of the shape of the tank and an oil temperature, the shape of the tank and the position of a level sensor in the tank, and an oil temperature and the rotation speed of drive shafts of the engine. 8. Method as in claim 1, wherein parameters for estimating the gulping are evolvingly re-evaluated in the “long-term” processor, depending on results of experience with the engine. 9. Method as in claim 1, wherein the average consumptions are calculated in the long-term processor, taking into account previous flights, the average consumptions can be used to calculate a range of future flights with the generation, upon landing, of an indication of an estimated future refill. 10. Method as in claim 9, wherein the current and average consumptions are compared with those of the other engine and with their respective thresholds, which are re-evaluated by the long-term processor. 11. Method as in claim 10, wherein an anomaly resulting from this comparison and indicated by a threshold being exceeded is signalled by an abnormal consumption alarm, as well as by an indication of the estimated range. 12. Method as in claim 1, wherein the average consumption is used to estimate whether the range is sufficient to complete a flight in progress, with the generation, if it is not the case, of an insufficient range alarm, as well as an indication of an estimated range. 13. IT system for implementing the method for calculating the oil consumption and range associated with the lubrication system of an airplane engine during flights, the engine comprising turbine engine, as claim 1, characterised in that it comprises: a memory (1) with a main program for implementing said process, as well as data relating to the flight in progress and to next flights, and data relating to at least the other engine of the airplane;a first programmable data processor (2), called a short-term processor, operated under control of said main program for estimating the interference effects on the oil consumption, for estimating the total quantity of oil available, the current and average consumptions of the engine, for detecting consumption anomalies compared with one or several thresholds and for calculating the range for the flight in progress and for the next flights;a second programmable data processor (3), called a middle-term processor, operated under the control of said main program, for calculating the current and average consumptions of the engine, from the total quantity of oil available, for each phase of the flight;a third programmable data processor (4), called a long-term processor operated under the control of said main program and EFH, for evolvingly re-evaluating gulping-estimation parameters depending on data acquired during previous flights, for calculating the average consumption taking into account previous flights and which can be used to calculate the range of the next flights and for re-evaluating normal consumption thresholds;a means for displaying alarms and visual and/or sound indications (5). 14. An IT system as in claim 13, wherein the alarms and indications comprise at least one refill indication in a certain number of future flights, which can be displayed upon landing, an insufficient range alarm with display of an range value, an abnormal consumption alarm with display of an range value, a low oil level alarm with display of an range value and an oil level reading fault alarm. 15. IT system as in claim 13, wherein said first, second and third processors are replaced by secondary sub-programmes that fulfil their functions and are stored in the memory with the main program. 16. A computer readable storage medium storing a computer-executable program usable to implement the process for calculating the oil consumption and range associated with the lubrication system of an airplane engine during flights, as in claim 13, when said program is executed on a computer. 17. Computer program as in claim 16, stored in a memory medium readable by a computer.
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