Longitudinal Emergency Control System Using Thrust Modulation Demonstrated on an MD-11 Airplane
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AIAA 96-3062 Longitudinal Emergency Control System Using Thrust Modulation Demonstrated on an MD-11 Airplane John J. Burken Trindel A. Maine Frank W. Burcham, Jr. NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Edwards, California Jeffrey A. Kahler Honeywell, Inc. Phoenix, Arizona 32nd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference July 1–3, 1996 / Lake Buena Vista, Florida ForFor permissionpermission toto copycopy oror republish,republish, contact the American InstituteInstitute ofof AeronauticsAeronautics and and Astronautics Astronautics 370 L'EnfantL’Enfant Promenade, S.W.,S.W., Washington,Washington, D.C. D.C. 20024 20024 LONGITUDINAL EMERGENCY CONTROL SYSTEM USING THRUST MODULATION DEMONSTRATED ON AN MD-11 AIRPLANE John J. Burken,* Trindel A. Maine,* Frank W. Burcham, Jr.† NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Edwards, California Jeffery A. Kahler‡ Honeywell, Inc. Phoenix, Arizona Abstract Clon state output matrix D control input observation matrix This report describes how an MD-11 airplane landed lon using only thrust modulation, with the control surfaces EPR engine pressure ratio (turbine and inlet total locked. The propulsion-controlled aircraft system would pressures) be used if the aircraft suffered a major primary flight FADEC full-authority digital engine control control system failure and lost most or all the hydraulics. computers The longitudinal and lateral–directional controllers were designed and flight tested, but only the longitudinal FCC flight control computer control of flightpath angle is addressed in this paper. A FCP flight control panel flight-test program was conducted to evaluate the aircraft’s high-altitude flying characteristics and to h˙ sink rate, ft/sec demonstrate its capacity to perform safe landings. In ILS instrument landing system addition, over 50 low approaches and three landings without the movement of any aerodynamic control Kvc flightpath error feed-forward gain, deg surfaces were performed. The longitudinal control K pitch integrator error gain, 1/sec modes include a wing engines only mode for flightpath vi control and a three-engine operation mode with speed Kq pitch rate feedback gain, deg/deg/sec control and dynamic control of the flightpath angle K velocity error feedback gain, deg/kn using the tail engine. These modes were flown in either a secrs pilot-commanded mode or an instrument landing system Kthad pitch angle feedback gain, deg/deg/sec coupled mode. Also included are the results of an K center engine washout gain, lb analytical study of an autothrottle longitudinal controller vm designed to improve the phugoid damping. This mode MCDU multifunction control and display unit requires the pilot to use differential throttles for lateral PCA propulsion-controlled aircraft control. PIO pilot induced oscillation Nomenclature q pitch rate, deg/sec Alon longitudinal state derivative matrix t time, sec Blon control input derivative matrix uu x axis velocity perturbation, ft/sec c.g. center of gravity Vel velocity or airspeed, kn s Laplace transform *Aerospace Engineer. †Chief, Propulsion Branch. Associate Fellow AIAA. ww z axis velocity perturbation, ft/sec ‡Flight Control Engineer. Copyright 1996 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and xlon longitudinal state vector Astronautics, Inc. No copyright is asserted in the United States under α Title 17, U.S. Code. The U.S. Government has a royalty-free license to angle of attack, deg exercise all rights under the copyright claimed herein for Governmental γ flightpath angle, deg purposes. All other rights are reserved by the copyright owner. 1 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics γ cmd flightpath angle command, deg • Mode C—using all the wing and tail engines for γ γ dynamic control of and speed control. err velocity error • Mode D—using an existing autothrottle system θ pitch attitude, deg for γ control. The autothrottle system was θ˙ pitch attitude rate, deg/sec developed to provide a simpler implementation that did not require changes to the engine φ roll attitude, deg controllers. This system was not flight tested, but simulation results are presented.§ Introduction Within control modes A, B, and C, the pilot has the Aircraft flight control systems are designed with option of selecting the instrument landing system (ILS)- extensive redundancy to ensure a low probability of coupled with PCA for approach and landing. This failure. During recent years, however, several aircraft option virtually eliminates the pilot work load. Two ILS have experienced major flight control system failures, landings using the wing engines (mode A) were 1,2 leaving engine thrust as the only control effectors. In performed, and one is presented in this report. The some of these emergency situations, the engines were lateral–directional controller is described in reference 7. used to maintain control of the airplane flightpath angle, γ. In the majority of the cases surveyed, crashes Test Vehicle Description resulted, and over 1200 people have died.1 The MD-11 airplane is a large, long-range, three- The challenge was to create a sufficient degree of engine, wide-body transport. This airplane is 202 ft control through thrust modulation to control and safely long, has a wing span of 170 ft, and a maximum takeoff land an airplane with severely damaged or inoperative gross weight of 618,000 lb (fig. 1). flight control surfaces. Meeting this challenge is the objective of the Propulsion-Controlled Aircraft (PCA) Flight Control Systems Emergency Backup System. The PCA emergency backup flight control system requires that the airplane The MD-11 airplane has a mechanical flight control have at least two engines, preferably two wing engines. system with irreversible hydraulically powered In addition, the normal control surfaces can not be actuators. The hydraulic power provided by three locked in a hardover position which could exceed the independent systems is intended for fail-safe capability. moments resulting from the thrust of the engines. Essential control functions may be maintained by any one of these three systems. Pitch control is provided by The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, dual elevators on each horizontal stabilizer, and pitch Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, trim is provided by a moveable horizontal stabilizer. has performed nonlinear and linear analytical studies Inboard and outboard ailerons supplemented by wing and conducted several flight-test programs investigating spoilers provide roll control. A dual rudder mounted on the PCA concept. Results of these programs2–6 show a single vertical stabilizer provides yaw control. that gross control can be obtained by manually moving the throttles. However, making a safe runway landing is The lateral dynamics is controlled by the yaw damper. exceedingly difficult because of low phugoid and dutch The longitudinal stability augmentation system controls roll damping coupled with the high pilot work load near the pitch dynamics. The aerodynamic surfaces are the ground. To improve the performance and reduce the controlled by hydraulic actuators. The flight control pilot work load, the PCA program was developed. The computers (FCC) were built by Honeywell, Phoenix, goal was to make flying an airplane with the PCA Arizona, and operate at 20 samples/sec. system a viable task with minimal or no previous pilot The MD-11 airplane is equipped with a flight training with this system. management system which integrates autopilot, This report describes the longitudinal PCA control navigation, and autoland functions. The automatic pilot systems and flight test results of four modes: control includes a thumbwheel for commanding γ flightpath angle, cmd . • Mode A—using the wing engines only for control of flightpath angle, γ. • Mode B—using the tail engine for speed control in conjunction with mode A. §NASA has a patent pending for mode d. 2 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 2° 19 ft 9 in. 26 ft 10 in. 59 ft 2 in. 25% Mean aerodynamic chord 9 ft 7 in. 170 ft 6 in. 20 ft 25% c.g. 57 ft 9 in. 10 ft 202 ft 960203 Figure 1. The MD-11 airplane. Engines engaged with min idle, a pilot-induced oscillation (PIO) could occur because of the large time lags. For this Three Pratt & Whitney (Palm Beach, Florida), reason, another modification to the FADEC system set (PW4460) high-bypass ratio turbofan engines in the the engines to approach idle when PCA was engaged. 60,000-lb thrust class power the MD-11 aiplane. Two engines are mounted in underwing pods, and the third Pitch effects occur because of a thrust change with the engine is located at the base of the vertical stabilizer. engine located below the c.g. and slightly tilted up. This Each engine has a full-authority digital engine control situation is typical of the majority of wing engine (FADEC) system in which the software was modified aircraft. Assuming that the airplane was initially for the PCA program. The modification allowed the trimmed in level flight, a change in thrust will result in a FCC to command full-range (0.9 to 1.5) changes in change in flightpath angle caused by the vertical engine pressure ratio (EPR). These commands are component of thrust, a moment resulting from the normally limited to 5-percent increments. The wing horizontal thrust component because of c.g. offset, and a engines are 121 in. below the nominal vertical center of trim speed stability change. If an engine is mounted gravity (c.g.), and the tail engine is 240 in. above the above the c.g., as is the case with the MD-11 tail engine, vertical c.g. with its thrust axis inclined 2.5° (nozzle an increase in thrust causes a pitch down moment until pointing down). The crew normally controls the engines the trim speed overcomes the nosedown dynamics. with electronic throttles which command a power Other effects, such as ram drag and engine inlet setting based on EPR. location, are also important to consider in the dynamics.4–6 As is typical for high-bypass turbofans, thrust response is initially very slow.