,.-..

..

NATIONAL

AEROSPACE LAEORATORY NLR . . ..

ELECTRO-MECHANICAL INSTRUMENTS I N AIRCRAFT

NLR MF' 85069 L ELECTRO

MECHANICAL IN

INSTRUMENTS
AIRCRAFT by G. de Jong

Division: Flight Prepared: G. de Jong/ Approved: F.J. Abbinkl

Completed

: 861002

Ordernumber: 106.565 TYP.

: PTP RGL

PREFACE In the examination requirements as put by the Rijksluchtvaartdienst for the different pilot's licences we encounter a part Instrumentation and a part Avionics. Although both parts deal with cockpit instrumentation, a division turned out to be necessary because of the large variety of instruments in use nowadays. Due to the rapid developments in electronics, an ever-increasing number of electro-mechanical instruments is replaced by systems with electronic displays. As these electronic systems are mainly applied in the new generation of aircraft and the older generation of aircraft as yet will keep flying with electro-mechanical instruments, the pilot has to be familiar with the operation of both types of instruments. In preparation for the above mentioned parts of the examination, use can be made of two separate manuals. In the manual Electro-mechanical Instruments material has been gathered which can be used for the part Instrumentation, while the manual Avionics contains the material required for the examination part Avionics. In writing the manuals it has been tried, starting from a simple basic principle, to work out the operation of each instrument or system to an increasing degree of difficulty. This in order to be able to satisfy the requirements for the different types of licences. Skimming the manual it may be noted that part of the text has been printed in normal-size letters and other parts have been printed in reduced-size letters. The text in normal-size letters is intended for use in preparation for the exams of the Rijksluchtvaartdienst. The parts printed in reduced-size letters have as only aim to provide the interested reader with some more background information, he otherwise would have to collect from a number of different sources. Knowledge of the not contents of these parts is definitely - required for the exams.

Due to limitations of the printer reduced like printing was not possible in this report and therefore these parts have been indicated by a solid line in the margin.

-3-

CONTENTS Page PREFACE

1

INTRODUCTION GENERAL CONSTRUCTION OF MEASURING INSTRUMENTS PROPERTIES OF MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

3.1 Measuring range

3.2 3.3

Sensitivity Accuracy
3.3.1 3.3.2 3.3.3 3.3.4
*, . -

Absolute error Relative error Systematic and random errors Causes of the errors

3.4 3.5

Tolerances Reliability of measuring systems

3.5.1 3.5.2 3.5.3

Definition of reliability Reliability of system components Reliability of complete systems and ways to improve it System monitoring

3.5.4

ELECTRICAL INDICATORS
4.1 4.2

Current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field The moving-coil indicator

4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3

Moving-coil indicator as Voltmeter Moving-coil indicator as Ammeter Moving-coil indicator as Ohmmeter

4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7

A self-balancing Wheatstone bridge Servo-driven indicator Ratiometers Rotating-magnet indicator Measurement of alternating currents
4.7.1 4.7.2

Rectifiers Electrodynamic indicators

4.8

Frequency meter

Page

5 ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION OF LINEAR AND ANGULAR DISPLACEMENTS

5.1 5.2 5.3 Potentiometers E-core and Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDT) Linear Variable Inductance Transducer (LVIT)

53

6 SYNCHRO SYSTEMS (ELECTRICAL SHAFTS) 6.1 AC torque synchros 6.1.1 6.1.3 6.1.4 6.1.5 6.3 The principle of angle transfer with synchros Synchro-servo systems Control synchro Resolver synchros 6.1.2 Differential synchros

6.2 Synchrotel DC-synchro (Desyn or Selsyn)

7 SOME BASIC PHYSICAL MEASURING PRINCIPLES 7.1 Measurement of fluid pressures 7.1.1 7.1.2 Definition of pressure Pressure sensing elements 7.1.2.1 7.1.2.2 7.2 7.2.1 7.2.2 Membrames, capsules and bellows Bourdon tube

Temperature measurement The concept of temperature and temperature scales Classification of temperature sensors 7.2.2.1 Expansion-type temperature indicators 7.2.2.1.1 7.2.2.1.2 7.2.2.1.3 7.2.2.2 7.2.2.2.1 7.2.2.2.2 Liquid thermometer Bimetallic thermometer Vapour pressure thermometer Resistance thermometer Thermo-electrical thermometer

Electrical-type temperature indicators

Page
8

POWERPLANT INSTRUMENTS
8.1

90 90 90 90 91 91 94 94 94 95 98 99 102 103 103 107 107 110 110 110

111

Measurement of engine s ~ e e d
8.1.1

Mechanical tachometers
8.1.1.1 8.1.1.2

Centrifugal tachometer Eddy current tachometer DC-tachometer AC-tachometer Rotary-current tachometer

-.

8.1.2

Electrical tachometers
8.1.2.1 8.1.2.2 8.1.2.3

8.1.3 8.1.4 8.2 8.2.1 8.2.2 8.2.3 8.3 8.3.1

Induction tachometer Synchroscope

Supply measurements Gauging-rods (Drip-sticks) Float-type fuel quantity indicating systems Capacitance-type fuel gauge systems Volume flow indicators
8.3.1.1 8.3.1.2 8.3.1.3 8.3.2 8.3.2.1 8.3.2.2 8.3.3

Fuel flow measurements Venturi fuel flow indicator Variable orifice fuel flow indicator Turbine flowmeters The stator torque true mass flowmeter The rotor torque true mass flowmeter Backgrounds of fuel flow measurements Manifold pressure gauge Mixture indicator Torque indicators Engine pressure ratio (EPR) indicating system
8.4.4.1

True mass flow indicators

114

8.4

Engine power measurements

8.4.1 8.4.2 8.4.3 8.4.4

Sensorlindicator system for EPR

8.5

Engine vibration monitoring

Page

8.6 Monitoring of powerplants

8.6.1 8.6.2 8.6.3

130 130 131 131

Reciprocating engine Turbojet engine Turboprop engine

AIRFRAME CONFIGURATION MONITORING

9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4

Landing gear indication Flap/slat position indicator Control surface position indicator Ice detection system

10

AIR DATA INSTRUMENTS

10.1 10.2

The atmosphere Physical backgrounds of the behaviour of the atmosphere

10.2.1 10.2.2

Air pressure The relationship between atmospheric pressure and altitude Linear lapse in temperature (troposphere) Constant temperature (stratosphere)

10.2.3 10.2.4 10.3 10.4

Standard atmosphere (SA) Altitude measurement

10.4.1 10.4.2 10.4.3 10.4.4 10.4.5

Principle of the altimeter Triple-pointer altimeter Semi-digital altimeter Servo altimeter Altimeter settings
10.4.5.1 10.4.5.2 10.4.5.3 10.4.5.4

QFE Standard setting QNH Transition attitude Transition level

Page 10.4.6 10.4.7 10.4.8 10.4.9 10.5 10.5.1 10.5.2 10.5.3 10.5.4 Operational aspects: MOCA, MEA, OCA, OCH, DA, DH, MDA and MDH Errors due to clanges in atmospheric pressure and temperature Pre-flight operational test of the altimeter Systematic error analysis of the altimeter The concept speed Dynamic pressure and airspeed Principle of a simple airspeed indicator The errors of the simple airspeed indicator 10.5.4.1 10.5.4.2 10.5.4.3 10.5.5 10.5.6 10.5.7 10.5.8 10.5.9 Accounting for the flight altitude Accounting for the compressibility of the air Accounting for the air density Sensitive airspeed indicators Airspeed indicators with maximum -allowablespeed pointer Machmeter Mach-airspeed indicator True airspeed indicator 10.5.10.1 10.5.10.2 10.5.10.3 10.5.10.4 10.6.1 10.6.2 10.6.3 Bernouilli's equation for an incompressible fluid Speed measurement in an incompressible fluid Speed measurement in an adiabatic compressible fluid Measurement of the Machnumber 10.6 Vertical speed measurement Basic principle of the vertical speed indicator Errors of the vertical speed indicator Exploded view of a typical vertical speed indicator Airspeed measurement 165

10.5.10 Backgrounds of airspeed measurement

Page
10.6.4 10.6.5 10.6.6 10.6.7 10.7 10.8

Instanteneous vertical speed indicator Vane type variometer Electrical variometer Backgrounds of vertical speed measurement

207 210 210 210 214 215 215 220 220 221 226 226 227 227

Cabin pressure measurement Pitot-static systems

10.8.1 10.8.2 10.8.3 10.8.4 10.8.5 10.8.6 10.8.7 10.8.8

Static pressure sources Errors in the measurement of static pressure Pitot pressure sources Errors in the measurement of pitot pressure Pitot-static tubes The pitot-static system of an aircraft Errors in pitot-static systems Backgrounds of time-lag in pitot-static systems

10.9

Measurement of the outside air temperature

10.9.1 10.9.2 10.9.3 10.9.4

Temperature sensors Errors in the air temperature measurement Total air temperature sensors Backgrounds of air temperature measurement Measuring vanes Null-seeking probe Errors in the angle of attack measurement

10.10 Angle of attack measurement 10.10.1 10.10.2 10.10.3

11 FLIGHT PATH MONITORING INSTRUMENTS

11.1

Reference frames Basic properties of gyroscopes

11.2.1

11.2

Rigidity of the spin axis or gyroscopic inertia Gyroscopic precession

11.2.2.1

11.2.2

Determining the direction of precession

Page
11.2.3

The degrees of freedom of a gyro

11.2.3.1 11.2.3.2

253 256 257 257 258 262 262 266 267 270 270 272 274 278 278 279 282 283 293 296 297

Two-degree-of-freedom gyro Single-degree-of-freedom gyros

11.2.3.2.1 11.2.3.2.2

Rate gyro Rate integrating gyro

11.2.4

Constructional details
11.2.4.1 11.2.4.2 11.2.4.3

Gyro mounting Gyro drive Gyro torque motor Translational motion Rotational motion Displacement of a rigid body Precession of a spinning disk Dynamically tuned gyro Electrostatically suspended gyro Ring laser gyro

11.2.5

Backgrounds of the operation of gyroscopes

11.2.5.1 11.2.5.2 11.2.5.3 11.2.5.4

11.2.6

Modern designs in gyro technology

11.2.6.1 11.2.6.2 11.2.6.3

11.3

Attitude indication
11.3.1 11.3.2

Apparent gyro drift and its compensation Practical realization of VG's with their typical erection mechanisms
11.3.2.1

Gyro horizon (pneumatic erection system)

11.3.2.1.1

Pneumatic drive and erection system of the

11.3.2.2

gyro The horizon system (electrical erection)

11.3.2.2.1 11.3.2.2.2 11.3.2.2.3

Operation of the horizon system The electrical erection system Roll erection cut-off (RECO)

Page
11.3.2.2.4 11.3.2.2.5 11.3.2.3

Pitch erection cut-off (PECO) Gyro flag warning circuitry attitude indicator Operational aspects of the system Construction of the indicator Principle of the mechanical erection mechanism

308 308 308 308 309 312

Standby
11.3.2.3.1 11.3.2.3.2

(mechanical erection mechanism)

11.3.2.3.3

11.3.2.4

Analysis of the erection errors in vertical gyro systems

11.3.2.4.1 11.3.2.4.2

313 316 316 320 321 325 325 332 333 334 334 335 338 339 344 345 345 348 348

Take-off acceleration errors Turning error

11.4

Turn-and-bank indicators
11.4.1

Turn indicator section

11.4.1.1 11.4.1.2

Error sources Backgrounds of the turn indicator

11.4.2 11.5 11.5.1

Bank indicator section Magnetic compass systems

11.5.1.1 11.5.1.2

Heading indicating instruments Elementary magnetism Terrestrial magnetism

11.5.1.2.1 11.5.1.2.2 11.5.1.3

Magnetic variation Magnetic dip angle

Construction of a direct reading compass

11.5.1.3.1

Compass errors Acceleration errors Pitch errors Turning errors

11.5.1.3.1.1 11.5.1.3.1.2 11.5.1.3.1.3

Page
11.5.1.3.1.3.1 11.5.1.3.1.3.2 11.5.1.3.1.3.3 11.5.1.3.1.4

Bank angle error Centrifugal error Total error

348 352 352 353

The effect of aircraft magnetism on the compass reading

11.5.1.3.1.5 11.5.2

Backgrounds of the bank angle error curves

353 357 360 360 361 364 365 365 368 368 369 373 376 376

The directional gyro

11.5.2.1

Error sources of the directional gyro

11.5.2.1.1 11.5.2.1.2 11.5.2.1.3

Apparent drift due to earth rotation Transport wander Gimbal errors of a directional gyroscope

11.5.2.2

Automatic leveling of a directional gyro 11.5.2.2.1

11.5.2.2.2

A pneumatic leveling device An electric leveling device

11.5.3

Compensation of the apparent azimuth drift of the directional gyro

11.5.3.1

The flux valve

11.5.3.1.1

Error behaviour of the flux valve

11.5.4

The gyrosyn compass

11.5.4.1 11.5.4.2 11.5.4.3 11.5.4.4

Operation of the gyrosyn compass Annunciator Synchronizing knob Modes of operation

11.5.4.4.1

380 380 381

Latitude correction in the DG-mode

11.5.4.5

Replacement of the DG by an.inertia1 platform

Page
11.6

Aircraft magnetism and its effects

11.6.1

384 384 384

Deviation
11.6.1.1

Compensation

12

INERTIAL NAVIGATION
12.1 12.2

Basic principle of inertial navigation Accelerometers

12.2.1 12.2.2 12.2.3

Linear accelerometers Pendulous accelerometers Force balance accelerometers Stable platform inertial measuring unit Stapdown inertial measuring unit
12.3.2.1

12.3

Construction of the inertial measuring units

12.3.1 12.3.2

Backgrounds of coordinate transformations

12.3.2.1.1 12.3.2.1.2

Euler angles Direction cosine matrix kinematics

12.4

Navigation with an INS over a spherical earth

12.4.1 12.4.2

Geographic frame of reference Practical realization of local-level northpointing navigation reference frames
12.4.2.1 12.4.2.2 12.4.2.3

The motion of a level plane in inertial space The torquing signals for a local-level north-pointing gimballed platform The transformation process in a strapdown system based on a locallevel north-pointing navigation coordinate frame

12.4.3

Mechanization of the navigation equations

12.4.3.1 12.4.3.2

The Coriolis acceleration Correction for the Coriolis acceleration and the gravitational acceleration

12.4.3.3

Gimballed platform mechanization

Page
12.4.3.3.1 12.4.3.3.2 12.4.3.4 12.4.3.5 12.4.3.6

Horizontal mechanization Vertical mechanization (Baro-inertial altimeter)

424 425

Strapdown mechanization Wander azimuth system Backgrounds of the mechanization equations

12.4.3.6.1 12.4.3.6.2

General motion in space Motion relative to the rotating earth

12.5

Initialization of inertial navigation systems

12.5.1

Leveling
12.5.1.1 12.5.1.2

Course leveling Fine leveling Course azimuth alignment Gyro compassing

12.5.2

Azimuth alignment
12.5.2.1 12.5.2.2

12.6

Operational aspects
12.6.1 12.6.2 12.6.3 12.6.4

Standby mode Alignment mode Navigation mode Attitude mode Errors within the servo loops
12.7.1.1 12.7.1.2 12.7.1.3

12.7

Errors in the navigation with an INS

12.7.1

Schuler oscillations Influence of accelerometer bias in the loop Influence of gyro drift in the loop Azimuth gyro drift

12.7.2 12.7.3

Errors outside the servo loops

12.7.2.1

Total system error

Page
13

ERGONOMIC ASPECTS OF INSTRUMENT DISPLAYS AND PANEL LAY-OUTS

13.1 13.2

448 449 449 449 453 453 453 456 457 457 462 462 463 466

Qualitative displays Quantitative displays

13.2.1 13.2.2 13.2.3

Circular scale Straight scale Digital display

13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7

Visibility Illumination Head-up displays Modern developments Instrument grouping

13.7.1 13.7.2

Flight instruments Powerplant instruments

13.8

Central caution and warning system

14

CONSULTED LITERATURE

467

(468 pages in total)

INTRODUCTION In present day aviation, aircraft are operated under various conditions including long distances by day and night under all weather conditions. This requires that navigation instruments are on board in order to determine what the position of the aircraft is, at what speed it is moving and in what direction. As during the flight the human orientation system may fail, the attitude of the aircraft with respect to the earth has to be sensed with so-called primary flight instruments such as artificial horizon and turn-and-bank indicators. High traffic densities require the operation of the aircraft and its engines according to strict and complicated procedures under supervision of air traffic control centers. The monitoring of the engines is performed with powerplant instruments. Although the cockpit equipment may differ from aircraft to aircraft and realisation of the instruments may vary, the following instruments have to be installed (Federal Aviation Regulations Part 25) Flight and Navigation instruments

1. altimeter adjustable for changes in barometric pressure.

2. airspeed indicator.

3. vertical speed indicator.

4. gyroscopic bank-and-pitch attitude indicator. 5. gyroscopic rate-of-turn indicator (with bank indicator). 6. gyroscopic direction indicator. 7. magnetic compass.
8. outside air temperature indicator.

9. clock.
Power plant instruments

1.
2.

tachometer to measure the rotational speed of a crankshaft or a compressor as appropriate to the type of powerplant. cylinder-head temperature indicator for an air-cooled engine to indicate the temperature of the hottest cylinder. carburettor-intake air temperature. temperature.

3.

4. oil temperature indicator to show the oil inlet and/or outlet

5. for turbojet and turbopropellor engines a temperature indicator

to indicate whether the turbine or exhaust gas temperature is maintained within its limitations.

6. fuel-pressure indicator to indicate pressure at which fuel is

being supplied and a means for warning of low pressure.

7. oil-pressure indicator to indicate pressure at which oil is being

supplied to a lubricating system and a means for warning of low pressure.

8. manifold pressure gauge for a supercharged engine. 9.

fuel-quantity indicator to indicate in gallons or equivalent units the quantity of usable fuel in each tank during flight. 10. fuel-flow indicator for turbojet and turbopropellor engines. For piston engines not equipped with an automatic mixture control a fuel flowmeter or fuelfair ratio indicator.

11. thrust indicator for a turbojet engine.

12. torque indicator for a turbopropellor engine. Often the above mentioned instruments are not solitary but are part of a system. Of the flight and navigation instruments primary flight instruments as altimeter, velocity meter, vertical speed indicator and Mach meter are connected with one and the same source of information, the pitot-static system. Navigational instruments as horizontal situation indicator HSI, attitude direction indicator AD1 and radiomagnetic indicators RMI also have the same sources of information, i.e. gyro magnetic compass, radio navigation equipment and artificial horizon.

GENERAL CONSTRUCTION OF MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

The basic functional diagram of a measuring system can be set up as shown in figure 2.1. At the measuring place a measuring body absorbs energy and converts it in a quantity which has a functional relationship with the measured quantity. Important is that during the measurement proces always some energy is absorbed at the measuring place and that as a consequence the measured quantity

never will correspond exactly with the true value. In a good measuring instrument the sensor energy consumption will be very small. As a direct consequence always one or another form of amplification will be necessary. The output signal of the measuring body which is a physical variable such as a displacement, electrical voltage etc. often has to be converted in a more acceptable form for the rest of the instrument. Sometimes, the conversion is also used to amplify and correct for certain errors in the measuring process as far as they are known. The converted signal is then transferred to the indicator where it is presented in a form recognizable to the human senses. As an illustration, we consider the well known domestic barometer of figure 2.2, which measures the atmospheric pressure. As measuring body an evacuated metal capsule is used. Due to atmospheric pressure variations acting on the outside, the capsule will expand or contract. These extremely small displacements are converted into rotary motion of a pointer by means of a magnifying lever system and a very finely-linked chain. The pointer is moving over a scale which is calibrated in millibars or mm Hg (mercury). In the domestic barometer sensor and indicator are close to each other and as a consequence conversion, amplification and transfer can take place with one mechanical system; i.e. the magnifying lever system and chain. In many aircraft systems the distance between measuring place and observer will be large. As a consequence sensor and indicator will be situated at different places in the aircraft and the signal of the sensor has to be transmitted to the indicator over large distances. In that case mechanical displacements are less suitable and therefore they have to be converted into electrical signals which can be transmitted more easily over large distances. The electrical signals can be either in analogous or digital form. In this manual only analog signals will be treated. Digital signal transmission can be found in the manual Avionics. As an example we consider the conversion of our barometer of figure 2.2 from a direct reading one to a remote indicating instrument. For that purpose the magnifying lever and chain are replaced by for instance a potentiometer with the sliding arm connected with the capsule as indicated in figure 2.3. The potentiometer converts the

----- ------ ------ - ---- --- --I

MEASURING

ME4SURED

MEASURING

AMPL.

CONVERSION

TRANSFER

L --------------- ---- -----SOMEilMES COMBlNED IN ONE ELEMENT

CORR.

Fig. 2.1

Functional diagram of a measuring system

LEAF SPRING

Fig. 2 2 .

Aneroid barometer

LEAF
- - - - . . . . . - - - . . . . . -

POTENTIOMETER

Fig. 2.3 Remote indicating barometer

OUTPUT y
( I.E. NU! .E. NUMBER OF

SCALE MARKS ON DIAL)

+ I
C- LOW OPERATING LIMIT

MEASURING RANGE

HIGH OPERATING LIMIT

I I
P

INPUTX (I.E. ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE I N rnbar)

Fig. 3.1

Static calibration curve of a measuring device (e.g. a domestic barometer)

mechanical displacements of the capsule in voltage variations at the sliding arm. A potentiometer is not the only solution and other transducers will be treated in section 5. The voltage variations can be read at remote locations with the aid of a voltmeter. This instrument and other electrical indicators will be treated in section 4. However, before dealing with the details of measuring instruments, first some general characteristics will be treated in the next sections.

PROPERTIES OF MEASURING INSTRUMENTS The main characteristics of a measuring device are:

- measuring range,

sensitivity, accuracy,

- reliability.
In the following sections we will consider each of these characteristics separately.

3.1

Measuring range When a specific instrument is used to measure a certain quantity, it is important to know what the range of values of the input paraspan. meter is which it can measure: the measuring range or - As shown in figure 3.1 it extends from the low operating limit to the high operating limit.

3.2

Sensitivity A second important characteristic of a measuring instrument is its sensitivity. It is the ratio of a difference in the output and the corresponding difference of the input of the instrument. It can be easily understood from figure 3.1 that the sensitivity at a certain point is the slope of the tangent to the calibration curve at that point. If we take for instance for the curve in figure 3.1 the cali-

bration curve of the domestic barometer of section 2 , along the output axis we can put the scale marks and along the input axis the atmospheric pressure in millibars. The sensitivity is then expressed in scale marks/millibar. In general the sentivity of a measuring instrument is not constant for the complete measuring range. In such cases the best straight-line approximation to the calibration curve is often determined. The slope of this line is the average sensitivity over the measuring range. If the sensitivity is constant over the complete measuring range, the system is called linear. The word sensitivity is sometimes used for a different quantity: the smallest change in the measurement which can be detected by the instrument. The correct term for this is resolution, which should be used for this purpose to prevent confusion.

3.3

Accuracy The concept accuracy gives an indication of the errors of an instrument. It would be more correct to speak about inaccuracy. Errors can be stated in many different ways. Some of the appearing methods are presented next.

3.3.1

Absolute error The absolute error f is defined as the difference between the measured value y and the true value x,

The absolute error can be determined in value and sign by calibrating the instruments. The calibration equipment has to be one order of magnitude more accurate than the instrument to be calibrated.

3.3.2

Relative error At every reading of the instrument a certain error is made, which need not be the same over the whole measuring range of the

instwment. Still it is desired to state the accuracy of an instrument by one value. For that purpose the largest absolute error of the instrument is taken. It can be presented in different ways, for instance as the percentage of the indicated value. A drawback of this way of presentation is that the impression may be given that at the beginning of the scale very small absolute errors occur or in other words that the measurements are very accurate. Reading errors, friction errors etc. need not necessarily be small in the neighbourhood of the zero point and therefore, a better method is to state the largest absolute error in proportion to the end value of the scale, i.e.

relative error in % = max. abs. error x 100 range For instruments of the 1%class this means that the indicated value may be in error maximally 1%of the full range.

3.3.3

Systematic and random errors Knowing the relative error of an instrument we can get an impression about the maximum error which can occur during the use of the instrument. However, about the actual character of the errors we have not obtained any real inforgation, as may follow from a further analysis of the errors. If a constant input signal is repeatedly measured, it turns out that the readings of the instrument fluctuate. Also the average off all these readings need not necessarily correspond with the actual value of the input signal. In other words: also in the average of all observations an error may occur, the so-called systematic error. Typical examples of systematic errors under constant secondary conditions are:

zero-point error which is equal for all readings, scale error which linearly increases with the reading.

The average of the readings at constant input signal, from which the systematic error can be calculated, follows from

where n
C

5 is the arithmetical average of

the readings,

i=1

Yi

is the sum of the individual readings, n is the number of readings

Around this average obviously a distribution in measuring results occurs. Hence, the absolute error turns out to consist of two parts which have an absolutely different character: a systematic part bias error and a random part called random or called systematic or -non- repeatability error. Hence,

absolute error

systematic error

+ random

error

A different way of expression is that for - reading the one

absolute error indicates the inaccuracy of the measurement at that moment. Due to random errors an uncertainty occurs in the value of this absolute error. The larger the spreading in readings of a series of observations, the larger will be the uncertainty in the established value of the absolute error. A direct measure of the spreading in observations is the standard deviation which can be calculated from
0,

where
0 =

standard deviation, (yi

n
Z

- y)2

is the sum of the squares of the random errors,

i=l n = total number of observations.

Let us suppose that for a constant atmospheric pressure of

1000 millibar we execute with the barometer of section 2 a series of

observations. Due to the errors in the barometer, the observations will fluctuate and in the histogram of figure 3.2 we indicate how often a measured value falls in a certain interval of 5 millibars. From figure 3.2 it follows that under equal conditions there will be a 100% chance that the reading of this instrument will be between 980 and 1045 millibar. If we now assume that the total area of the histogram is 1, the chance that the reading will be between
1000 and 1005 millibar is determined by the hatched part of figure

3.2 in respect to the total area of the histogram. As the width of each column is equal, the height of each column is a direct measure of the area and hence of the chance that the reading will fall in the concerning interval. For a very large number of observations, the intervals can be chosen gradually smaller and the histogram will change in a continuous function z = f(y) known as the probability density function (see figure 3.3). The probability that a reading will fall in the interval between y1 and y again is determined by the shaded surface below the curve and 2 is expressed as

In principle the probability density function can take different shapes for different instruments, but for a single observer, reading an instrument of high quality upon which external influences are hardly acting, the distribution of errors really shows a characteristic form. There is even spoken of a normal distribution or distribution of Gauss:

In graphical form a symmetrical curve around the average reading

results, which is completely characterized by the standard

0

deviation

(see figure 3 4 . .)

A small standard deviation will results

in a high probability that the reading is close to the average. If we plot in figure 3.4 around the average

one times the standard

deviation

0,

68,4% of the total area under the Gaussian curve will

be occupied. From (3.5) we may conclude that for a normal distribution of the errors in 68,4% of the cases the observed results do not deviate more than 1 o from the average we find that:
6 8 , 4 % of all observations fall within 95,4% of all

7.

If not only 1 o is plotted

in figure 3.4 but also two times and three times the standard deviation

y + observations fall within y f

+

o 20 30

99,7% of all observations fall within

3.3.4

Causes of the errors In the preceding section we have found that the absolute error of a single measurement was built up of a systematic error and a random error as shown in figure 3 . 5 . In general it is assumed that errors much larger than 3 o are caused by gross mistakes or blunders. This is indicated by the hatched region in figure 3.5. These mistakes and blunders have to be prevented as much as possible. One of the possibilities is to check the reading with other available information. In section 3 . 5 . 2 dealing with reliability of instruments this possibility will be investigated further. Systematic errors are built up of methodical errors and system errors. Methodical errors are caused by the fact that with the applied measuring method not directly the desired quantity is measured but that it is derived from a measured quantity which has a certain relationship with the derived quantity. As long as this relationship is known and fixed no errors will occur. But as soon as the relation is influenced by external causes large errors may result. As an example we mention the use of a barometer as an altimeter. Under standard conditions the atmospheric pressure decreases exponentially with altitude. Hence, measuring the atmosheric pressure with a barometer and using the above mentioned relationship between pressure and altitude will result in an altitude determination. Due to weatherfronts and changes in temperature of the real atmosphere, deviations from the standard profile may occur and as a result methodical errors will result in the altitude determination with a barometer as altimeter.

NUMBER OF OBSERVATIONS I N INTERVAL

4

3 2 1

980 990 1000 1010 1020 READING OF BAROMETER I N mbar

1030

1040

1050

Fig. 3.2

Histogram of barometer readings

Fig. 3.3

Probability density function

I
0

(CC--

'\

* ' . @
_--ee

/0

'

.-.\ ----LARGE (T

-u

-Y

Fig. 3.4

Normal distribution. a) small o, b) large o

ABSOLUTE ERROR

PROBABI LlTY

CORRECT VALUE

MEAN VALUE

ONE OF THE MEASURED VALUES

-READINGS

Fig. 3.5

Recapitulation of the different errors

DISPLACEMENT OF MEMBRAME DISPLACEMENT OF IMETALLIC SPRING

Fig. 3 6 .

Temperature compensation by a bimetallic spring

System errors occur to a certain degree in all instruments. They are caused by imperfections in construction and manufacture of the instrument (friction, play), imperfections in the used materials (hysteresis, elastic aftereffects and creep) as well as insufficient equilibration of moving parts. The use of high quality materials and proper construction techniques can greatly reduce these errors. Further external causes such as accelerations, vibrations, temperature- and pressure changes may influence the operation and proper indication of the instruments. The best way to reduce the errors caused by these effects is to isolate the instruments from these influences or to compensate for the effects. As an example of such an automatic compensation we consider the temperature compensation of a barometer. As already explained in section 2, the atmospheric pressure is measured from a displacement of the membrame. The elastic properties of the material of which the membrane is constructed is strongly influenced by the temperature leading to large errors in the pressure indication. The temperature influence on the indication can be compensated for by replacing the normal spring in figure 2.2 by a bimetallic one (Fig. 3.6). The bimetallic spring is a strip of two different metals glued together. As the different metals have different expansion coefficients, a temperature variation will cause different changes in length for both metals. As a result the strip will bend. By a proper choice of the dimensions and materials of the bimetallic spring it can be arranged that the displacement of the extremity of this spring is equal but opposite to the displacement of the membrame by a rise in temperature. If such an automatic compensation is too expensive or technically too complicated correction tables and graphs can be used. If correction depends on a number of parameters extensive measures have to be taken in order to be able to compensate automatically. As an example we mention the airdate computer. Part of the system errors cannot be compensated for because they are unpredictable. These errors are called random errors. They may be caused by constructional imperfections as shafts which are not exactly straight and round as well as friction in bearings which changes from point to point.

3.4

Tolerances As we have seen in the preceding sections, all measuring instruments are afflicted with errors. As a result the true value of a measured quantity will depart from the value indicated by the instrument. The allowable departure is called tolerance. For each instrument used in an aircraft, statutory regulations lay down how large this tolerance may be at a certain indicated value. This regulations are issued by the Dutch Civil Aviation Agency and are largely derived from the Technical Standard Order (TSO) of the American Federal Aviation Administration. Calibrating the instruments, the true value of the measured quantity is compared with the indicated value. If the difference is within the tolerance dictated by the regulations, the instrument can be used in aircraft operations. If it is outside the tolerance, it can be tried to readjust or repair the instrument. If this has no effect, the instrument has to be rejected. The tolerance can be given in a number of different ways. If we have a voltmeter with a measuring range of 150 V and a tolerance of

3 Volt over the whole range, the meter will be acceptable if at

90 V exact, the reading of the instrument lies between 87

93 V. At

10 V exact the reading has to be between 7 and 13 V. At low voltages the readings of this instrument will be very inaccurate. In figure

3.7 the tolerance of the voltmeter is presented in a graphical form.

Each deviation coming accros in a test has to fall between these tolerance lines. The tolerances can also be tied up to the measuring range in which we are operating. For an altimeter we require that the tolerance will be smaller at the lower part of the scale and therefore the tolerance at 1000 m altitude is the tolerance at 2000 m altitude the tolerance at 3000 m altitude

+ is + is +

10 m 20 m 30 m.

In figure 3.8 these values are presented in graphical form. The advantage of a graph is that the critical regions come forward clearly. Instead of showing the tolerance by its numerical value, it can also be given as a percentage of the full scale. In this relation the concept "instrument class" is often used. A class 2 instrument has a tolerance

-------)

TOLERANCE I N VOLT

Fig. 3.7

Tolerance of a voltmeter in graphical form

READING IN

/
/

Fig. 3.8

TOLERANCE IN r n

Tolerance of an altimeter in graphical form

FAILURE RATE

BURN-IN PERIOD

I
I
I

NORMAL LIFE PERIOD

4
I I I
I

WEAR-OUT PERIOD

J ,

INFANT FAILURES

I I

I
WEAR OUT FAILURES

I I

RANDOM FAILURES

I I
I

I I

I I
I I

I I

3 1

I I
T~

I
I
- - ) TOTAL AGE - -

Ti

OF COMPONENT

Fig. 3 9 .

Distribution of the failure rate of a component during its life time

-7

Fig. 3.10

Reliability of a component with a MTBF of m hours

of 2% of the full scale range. Finally, it is possible that no specific tolerance is indicated. In that case it is assumed that the instrument is accurate in one half of a graduation. For an instrument with a scale devided in tens, the indication of 30 corresponds with a true value between 25 and 35.

3.5 3.5.1

Reliability of measuring systems Definition of reliability With the rise of commercial aviation a need of statistical material about failure rates of aircraft installations arose. In the beginning this information was only used for an economically acceptable purchase of spare parts. Later on it was also used to draw conclusions about the expected probability that a given route could be flown safely. As aircraft systems consist of many components and each component has its influence on the proper operation of a complete system, the probability that such a component performs its function proper for the period of time the aircraft is airborne plays an important role. Besides the direct effect on the operation of the aircraft, an unreliably system also requires a lot of maintenance. As a definition of the reliability of a component we now can give: The reliability of a component is its conditional probability of performing its function within specified performance limits at a given age for the period of time intended and under the operating stress conditions encountered. At a first glance it looks as kf reliability is only the concern of a fleetowner, but as reliability has also a direct impact on flight safety, the user of the equipment also has to have some knowledge of this subject. Often reliability is more important than performance. Satisfactory performance without breakdowns while in use and readiness to perform at the derived time are the criteria of an equipment's reliability. If for instance a turbo engine has been

developped for a specific amount of thrust and it turns out during the flight that it does not satisfy exactly the specifications, the engine may still be usuable and possibly also be very reliable. On the other hand another type of engine can perhaps deliver the full amount of power with ease, but may suddenly stops its operation. Reliability engineering forms the basis for a lot of safety studies the sake of instrument landings, cockpit lay-out's, interconnections between sensors and indicators, etc.

3.5.2

Reliability of system components The reliability of an installation is determined by the failure rate of its components of which it is build up. The failure behaviour of such a component can be determined from case histories or life tests. In the latter case a large collection of components is studied and the failure pattern as a function of time recorded. The failure pattern which is often met in practice is the one shown in figure 3.9, where at the beginning a relative large number of components fail, followed by a period with relative few failures and finally after a long time again a period with a relative large number of component failures. The infant failures are caused by weak components. They are a result of a bad manufacture and insufficient quality inspection. After production they can only be removed during a burn-in-period where the system is operated under extreme conditions. Generally this burn-in period lasts from a few minutes to a few hour. It is followed by a period with relative low failures, the so-called normal-life period. The failures occurring in this period are random. At the end of the period wear-out starts. At an older age the operation of the component detoriates, finally leading to a failure. In an operational system wear-out failures can be avoided by replacing in time those components of which is known that they are liable to wear and tear. It is noted that if maintenance regulations are not followed strictly, otherwise reliable systems can become highly unreliable. The random errors occurring in the normal life period cannot be avoided even not with the best maintenance. The time at which they occur cannot be predicted either. Only a certain systematics can be

discovered in the collective behaviour of a large number of the same components used in an installation. So will the frequency of the random failures during the normal life time Ts - T. be nearly constant. 1 In figure 3.9 this frequency is indicated by A . Assumed is that the operational conditions are constant during this period. In aviation often changing operational conditions occur. The stress level of a propulsion system will be considerably higher during take-off than it will be at cruising. However, in the take-off the failure rate of the engine again will be constant, be it at a much higher value than at a cruising flight. With the aid of probability theory, the reliability R or chance that a component will not fail during its time of operation t can be determined as

when X is the failure rate and t the uninterrupted time of operation. The operational period starts at t = 0. The reliability of a systemcomponent is the same for equal uninterruped periods of operation, independent of the age of the component. As an illustration we suppose that after a burn-in period the failure rate of a component is O.OOOl/hour. The reliability for an uninterrupted time of operation of 10 hours is in that case

This means a chance of survival of 99.9% over 1 hours of use. 0 If the component has a normal life time of say 1000 hours, the probability that it will not fail when used uninterruptedly during this whole normal life time, will be

which means a chance of survival of 90% over 1000 hours of use. Survives the component, however, the first 990 hours, the chance
0 that no errors occur during the last 1 hours will still be the same

as for the first 10 hours, namely 99.9%.

Often the reciprocal value of the failure rate A is used. It has the dimension of time and is called mean time to failure (MTTF). It can be expressed as

Substitution of (3.7) in (3.6) changes the reliability function, also called probability of survival function into

R (t)

-t/m e

(3.8)

with m = mean time to failure (MTTF) and t = uninterrupted time of operation of the component. In figure 3.10 a graphical presentation of this function is given. As with the aid of (3.8), for a given value of MTTF, the reliability of a component can be calculated for every arbitrary period of operation, the MTTF is a very suitable parameter to express the reliability. It does - give an indication about the total time a not component can be used. In general the MTTF will be much larger than the average life time. A component with a MTTF of 10.000 hours means only that with a certainty of 99.99% the component will survive each operational period of 10 hours within its normal life time. At the end of the normal life time, the system component not necessarily has to have failed, yet it has to be replaced by a new component with the same qualities, if at least the same reliability is required during the further use of the system. In this way a reliable system use can be achieved. As may be noticed from figure 3.10 we can in general state that for operational periods small with respect to the given MTTF, a troublefree operation of the component will be probable.

3.5.3

Reliability of complete systems and ways to improve it. Sofar, only the reliability and probability of survival of single system components has been looked at. The system user, however, is more interested in the reliability of the complete system. If the

system is built up of a series connection of a large number of components, the resulting reliability of the complete system will always be less, often considerably less than the reliability of the worst system component. Therefore, measures have to be taken to improve the reliability of the complete system. One way of improvement is to prevent the different system components from overloading. Electric and electronic components are very sensitive to extreme values of temperature and electric loads, while for hydraulic equipment the pressure in the tubing and for mechanical components resonance effects are important. In measuring equipment the extreme values of the quantity to be measured has to be watched. Further measures to be taken in order to improve the reliability of a system are based on the parallel operation of certain lessreliable system components, groups of components and even whole systems. Systems based on this parallel connected design are said to have parallel redundancy. An important aspect of these redundant systems is that regular inspections have to be carried out, by preference at short intervals, in order to replace the failed components and to restore the original redundancy. All kinds of techniques are possible even the use of test signals to check all essential system components just before a flight (golno-go). In those situations where parallel operation is not possible, a stand-by configuration is chosen. This means that one of the components is taken up in the system, while the other is just switched on as soon as the first fails. Sometimes whole systems are carried out in this way. We mention in this respect the ground equipment of an instrument landing system where the time needed to switch from one system to the other is of essential importance. Not all cases are as critical, but always alternative information has to be provided if an essential part fails. The seriousness and the time needed to detect a failure and to introduce alternative information are deciding for the measures to be taken.

3.5.4 System monitoring If the failure in a certain system causes no immediate danger for the execution of a flight, a system can be monitored by the flight crew. In conventional aircraft this can be accomplished by taking cross checks on other instruments or to use the same type of information from a less accurate, but extremely reliable instrument. In more advanced aircraft often a duplicate of the main system is introduced. An instrument comparator can then take over the monitor function of the crew and warn for important discrepancies between the parallel systems. Besides a visual (and often also aural) master warning, the character of the failure is indicated on separate panels. Instruments with an electric supply often offer the crew a red warning flag if the supply voltage drops. With the introduction of logical circuits the number of conditions leading to the presentation of the warning flag has been considerably extended, so that also can be warned for other types of failures. Often not only a flag is offered, but also the pointer of the indicator may disappear or set in a 9 o'clock position by a permanent magnet or a bias voltage. In a digital presentation a bar across the displayed value indicates that the presentation is no longer reliable. For flight systems like automatic pilots monitoring alone is not sufficient as in case of a failure time presses. Therefore, automatic cut-off is necessary. As soon as the monitor detects differences between the outputs of essential sensors, the automatic pilot is automatically cut-off. As in general substitutional information is available, the pilot can fly the aircraft by hand and the system is said to be fail passive. If however the autopilot is carried out in such a way that an error has no essential influence on the flight execution the system is said to be fail operational. It will be clear that such a high requirement can only be met by a triple system concept, where two decide in which of the three systems an error has been occurred (majority voting). The failing system is automatically switched off. The two other systems are able to terminate the flight in a normal way as long as no further failures occur.

Although the parallel connection of systems forms the basis of increasing the reliability modern developments as computer cross talk also contribute to a higher reliability.

ELECTRICAL INDICATORS For the presentation of measured data in modern aircraft, the mechanical instruments have been replaced more and more by electrical indicators or by instruments with electrical remote transmission systems. The reason for this is that the sensing units for the different quantities to be measured are often situated a considerable distance from the indicators which are usually required to be located near one of the aircrew positions. Only the spring-elastic pressure measuring systems as altimeter, airspeed indicator and vertical speed indicator have remained because of their simple construction and reliability. But also here, electrical remote transmission has already been introduced. A lot of electrical indicators are of the moving coil and ratiometer type. The principle of operation of these instruments is based on the fact that on a current-carrying conductor placed in a magnetic field a force is exerted.

4.1

Current - carrying conductor in a magnetic field When a current-carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, interaction of the field produced by the current in the wire and the main field in which the conductor is located, exerts a force upon the conductor. If the current in the wire is directed into the paper as shown in figure 4.1, the field produced by the current will have above the conductor the same direction as the main field and below the conductor a reverse direction. As a consequence a concentration of lines of force will occur above the conductor and a thinning of lines of force below the conductor. The net effect will be that the conductor is subjected to a force in a downward direction.

If the conductor is free to move in the main field as is the case in moving-coil indicators it will be clear that the motion will be in the same direction as the force. This force is in direct proportion to the flux density of the main field, the current in the conductor and the length of the conductor. The force is also dependent upon the angle which the conductor makes with the main magnetic field, being maximum when it is at right angles to the field.

4.2

The moving-coil indicator To utilize the effect described in section 4.1 as method of measurement, the conductor is formed to a single coil and pivoted at a point P as shown in figure 4.2. The coil is placed in a magnetic field of a permanent magnet. If a current is fed through the coil in the indicated direction, forces F will be exerted on each side of the coil as explained in section 4.1. As a result a torque 2Fr will cause the coil to rotate in a clockwise direction. This is the basis of any moving-coil indicator. The pole pieces and the soft iron core have been shaped cylindrically to obtain a uniform radial magnetic field of high intensity in the narrow air gap. The current is supplied to the moving coil via two flat-coil hairsprings the main function of which is to produce an opposing torque so that currents of varying magnitudes produce proportionate deflections of the coil. Essential is that the coil takes up its deflected position without oscillation or overshoot, i.e. it must be damped. In this type of instrument damping is effected by winding the coil on an alluminium former. As the former moves in the gap it cuts the magnetic flux, thus setting up eddy currents within itself to produce a force opposing that, causing movement of the coil. Since the force is proportional to the velocity of the moving coil, the latter will be retarded so as to take up its deflected position without overshoot.

Fig. 4.1

Force exerted on a current-carrying wire in a homogeneous magnetic f i e l d

PERMANENT MAGNET HAIR SPRING

/II,II

.MOVING COIL

HAIR S P R l N q

c:tttR'cAL
PIVOT

LSUPPO OF
CYLINDRICAL CORE

Fig. 4.2

Principle of a moving-coil indicator

I "
Fig. 4 . 3 Voltmeter with f i v e measuring ranges

Fig. 4 . 4

Ampbremeter with four measuring ranges

4.2.1

Moving-coil indicator as Voltmeter For an accurate voltage measurement, it is necessary that the measuring instrument does not load the source to be measured. So if we want to apply the moving-coil indicator as a voltmeter, the coil of the measuring system has to consist of a large number of windings of very thin wire, resulting in a high resistance and low current through the coil. As I = V/R and the resistance R of the coil is constant, the small current I through the coil of the meter will be proportional to the voltage V to be measured. The measuring range of the voltmeter can be changed by using resistors in series with the measuring system as shown in figure 4 . 3 .

4.2.2

Moving-coil indicator as Ammeter When measuring currents in a circuit, the voltage drop across the meter has to be as low as possible. As V
=

IR this can be obtained

by making R small. Therefore, using the moving-coil indicator as a current meter, the coil has to consist of a few windings of thick wire, resulting in a low resistance. The measuring range of the ammeter can be extended by connecting parallel to the meter so-called shunt resistors as shown in figure 4 . 4 . Volt- and Ammeters have the same construction and only differ in their value of internal resistance.

4.2.3

Moving-coil indicator as Ohmmeter The unknown value R to measure the current I

X

of a resistor can be obtained in a simple

way by connecting the resistor to a battery with known voltage V and

X

flowing in the circuit with an Ammeter as

shown in figure 4 . 5 . The value of the unknown resistor is found as Rx = V/Ix. This relation can also be used to calibrate the scale of the ammeter in ohms. However, changes in the voltage V of the battery will cause errors in the readings. A solution of this problem can be found in the use of self-balancing Wheatstone bridges and ratiometers.

4.3

A self-balancing Wheatstone bridge Automatic resistance measurements independent of the battery voltage can be performed with the aid of a self-balancing Wheatstone bridge. A conventional Wheatstone bridge consists of a configuration of four resistors in a configuration as shown in figure 4 . 6 . For the situation that the branch AB is currentless, the relation between the resistors in the branches has to be

3 variable resistor the value of which has to be determined and R

a relation which is independent of the supply voltage V. Let R

be a
1

fixed reference resistor. For a Wheatstone bridge with zero current in branch AB we then have

bij the ratio R ~ / R ~ . we If 1 can make a circuit in which the ratio R /R can be adjusted at every 4 2 instant in order to keep relation ( 4 . 1 ) valid, R can be measured 3 independent of the supply voltage by the ratio R / R In fig. 4.7 4 2'
3

or in other words R

is dependent on R

such a circuit is presented. A difference voltage between A and B is sensed by a differential amplifier which drives a motor. The moror is resetting the potentiometer R R
4 2

until the difference voltage

between A and B equals zero. At the same time the indicator moves to a different position indicating the value of R
3'

4.4

Servo-driven indicator The servo principle used in section 4 . 3 to adjust automatically the Wheatstone bridge can also be used with profit in other indicators as shown in figure 4 . 8 .

A M METER

BATTERY

-v -

Rx
rn

UNKNOWN RESISTOR

w
. Fig. 4 5

Resistance measurement with an Ammeter

BRANCH AB CURRENTLESS IF R1 R4=R2 R3 THEN U N K N O W N R3 I S

Fig. 4.6

Basic principle of a Wheatstone bridge

. Fig. 4 7

Self-balancing Wheatstone bridge

INDICATOR VOLTAGE SOURCE DIFF. AMPL.

DC ERROR

t-I
I

I
POSITION FEEDBACK

I
Fig. 4.8 Servo-driven indicator

FORMER

INDICATOR PMNrER

IRON CORE PIECE (FIXED)

Fig. 4 9 .

Crossed coil in an inhomogeneous magnetic field

TEMPERATURE SENSING ELEMENT

Fig. 4.10

Basic ratiometer circuit

Fig. 4.11

Construction of a rotating magnet indicator, a) vector diagram of the magnetic fields of the coils, b) construction:l rotating magnet, 2 shaft, 3 pointer, 4 fixed coils

The signal to be measured is fed in the form of a voltage to one input terminal of the differential amplifier and compared with a voltage at the other terminal supplied by the potentiometer R R A 2 4' difference in voltage between both terminals causes the motor to reset the potentiometer R R until both voltages are equal. 2 4 The use of a motor to drive the pointer makes that the energy consumption in the measuring process can be kept very small. This in contrast with the moving-coil indicator where always an amount of energy (be it small) has to be absorbed in order to move the pointer.

4.5

Ratiometers Another type of indicator which can measure resistance independent of the battery voltage is the ratiometer. This indicator is often used as temperature meter by measuring the resistance change of a resistor R
X

caused by a temperature change.

Unlike the conventional type moving-coil indicator, the ratiometer has two coils moving together in a permanent-magnet field of non-uniform strength. The inhomogeneous magnet field is obtained by shaping the pole pieces and iron core piece as shown in figure 4 . 9 . The two coils A and B are cross winded on a former. Figure 4.10 shows the circuit in basic form. Two parallel resistance arms are formed; one containing coil A and a fixed current limiting resistance R the other containing coil B in series with a resistance R unknown resistance R
X

1 '

and

. Both arms are supplied with direct current

and the

from a battery, but the coils are so wound that currents are flowing through them in opposite directions as shown in figure 4 . 9 . Just as in the moving-coil indicator, rotation of the measuring element is produced by forces which are proportional to the product of the current and the magnetic field strength, and the direction of rotation depends on the direction of current relative to the magnetic field. Therefore, it follows that in a ratiometer the force produced by one coil will always tend to rotate the measuring element in the opposite direction to the force produced by the second coil, and furthermore, as the magnetic field is of non-uniform strength, the coil carrying the greater current will always move towards the area of the weaker

field and vice versa. The angle of rotation a of the measuring element is a function of the ratio between currents I and I in both
1

branches: a = F (I /I ) . As the currents are determined by I = V/R1 1 2 1 and I2 = V/(R + R ) , we find that the indication a of the ratiometer 2 x is only a function of the unknown Rx and independent of the supply voltage V. In contrast with the moving-coil indicator the ratiometer does not require hairsprings for exerting a controlling torque. This is provided solely by the appropriate coil winding and non-uniform field arrangements. In practical applications of the ratiometer, however, a spring may be found in the instrument. This is done in order to let the pointer take up an off-scale position when the power supply is disconnected. Since the spring exerts a very much lower torque than a conventional moving-coil indicator control spring, its effect on the ratiometer controlling system and indication accuracy is very slight.

4.6

Rotating-magnet indicator Instead of letting the coils rotate in the magnetic field of a fixed permanent magnet as in the ratiometer, we can let a small permanent magnet rotate inside two fixed coils as shown in figure 4.11 The currents in the two coils will generate the magnetic fields H
2

1 and H which can be composed to the resultant magnetic field H. The

small permanent magnet will line up with this field and indicate its direction. If one of the currents in the coils changes in magnitude, the corresponding component of H will change in strength and as a result the total field will change in magnitude and direction. The small magnet and pointer connected to it will follow the direction of H. The angle of rotation is a function of the ratio of the currents in the coils. The range in angle of the magnet is below 10. 8' be applied. If larger ranges are required three or four coils have to

ALTERNATING
\

CURRENT RECTIFIED BY DIODE

F i g . 4.12

Use o f a r e c t i f i e r i n a l t e r n a t i n g c u r r e n t measurements

WEAK FLUX APPLIED VOLTAGE LARGERTHAN INDUCED VOLTAGE APPLIED VOLTAGE SMALLER THAN INDUCED VOLTAGE

F i g . 4.13

B a s i c p r i n c i p l e of an e l e c t r o dynamic i n d i c a t o r

Fig. 4.14

Resonance properties

series connection of a coil and capactor

AT
POWER OFF

GREEN BAND

FREQUENCYMETER
TO 5 V AC

LIGHTING
SYSTEM FROM

{ {
n7

SELECTOR SWITCH

Fig. 4.15

Practical realization of a frequencymeter

4.7

Measurement of alternating currents The indicators treated in the foregoing sections cannot be used simply for measuring alternating currents. If the current through a coil changes direction, the sense of the torque will also change. The pointer of the indicator tries to swing with the frequency of the alternating current. Due to the inertia of the system this is prevented and the measuring system will adjust at the averaged value of the driving torque. As for the alternating currents normally used this averaged value is zero, the indication of the instrument will also be zero.

4.7.1

Rectifiers With the aid of rectifier devices as shown in figure 4.12 the afore mentioned instruments can he made suitable for measuring alternating currents and voltages.

4.7.2

Electrodynamic indicators Another device, which has especially been built for the purpose of measuring alternating currents is the electrodynamic indicator. It consists of a hook-shaped core in a ring of soft iron material. At the root of the hook a fixed field coil is fed by an alternating current of 400 Hz (see figure 4.13). The coil causes a magnetic field to flow in the ring and core. At the root of the hook the magnetic field is strongest and decreases to the end. A rotatable coil attached to which is a pointer, rotates around the hook-shaped core. The current fed through the moving coil supplies a voltage across the coil in phase with the voltage across the field coil. At the same time, however, a voltage is induced in the moving coil by the magnetic field of the field coil. This induced voltage is 180 out of phase.

Is the moving coil in a position where the impressed voltage is larger than the induced voltage a current will be generated in the coil by the difference in voltage which causes the coil to move to the root of the hook, where the magnetic field strength is higher and hence also the induced voltage will become higher. The coil will come to a stop at a point where the impressed voltage equals the induced voltage.

4.8

Frequency meter A simple method to measure the frequency of an alternating current in the one based on the resonance properties of a series connection of a coil L and capacitor C. If such a circuit is fed by a constant voltage source the current in the circuit will vary with frequency as shown in figure 4 . 1 4 . At the flanks of the curve we have that within certain limits the current almost linearly changes with frequency. This makes a simple conversion from frequency to current possible. The current in turn can be measured simply by an AC ammeter. By a proper choice of the values of L and C, the desired frequency measuring domain can be set. In figure 4.15 the construction of such an instrument is shown. The scale of the ammeter has been calibrated in Hz.

ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION OF LINEAR AND ANGULAR DISPLACEMENTS A lot of measurements in an aircraft are based on mechanical linear and angular displacements. As these displacements have to be transmitted over large distances to remote indicating instruments they are often converted into electrical signals which can easily be transmitted. Dependent on the type of displacement the following transducers can be used:

linear displacements

linear potentiometer linear variable differential transducer linear variable inductance transducer

angular displacements

-+

circular potentiometer E-cores synchro systems

-t

-+

5.1

Potentiometers With linear or circular potentiometers linear or angular displacements can be converted in changes in resistance of the potentiometer by moving a sliding contact along the resistance track. (Fig. 5.1). If the potentiometer is connected with a battery of voltage V, the output voltage V1 of the potentiometer will be proportional to the displacement of the sliding arm. With the aid of one of the indicators of section 4 this voltage can be measured and a direct indication of the displacement be obtained. A drawback of the use of a potentiometer as transducer for displacements is that the measuring object has to deliver a certain force in order to conquer the friction between sliding contact and resistance track. This may influence the accuracy with which the displacements are measured. Therefore, solutions have been sought which do not have this drawback. They are presented in the following sections.

5.2

E-core and Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDT) In figures 5.2 and 5.3 the basic set-upp of respectively the E-core and LVDT is shown. In principle the operation of both transducers can be compared with that of a transformer. The primary windings will induce a voltage in the secondary windings. The amplitude of the induced voltages can be influenced by placing between the primary and secondary windings a soft-iron core. This core concentrates the magnetic field lines and consequently enhances the local magnetic field. As the displacement of the core will influence one secondary coil more than the other, the induced voltage will also be higher in that coil than in the other. Within certain limits there will be a linear relationship between induced voltage and displacement of the core. The two secondary coils of E-core as well as LVDT have the same number of turns but are oppositely wounded.

As a result the induced voltages will be 180' out of phase. This means that the output signal of E-core and LVDT not only gives information about the magnitude of the displacement but also about the direction (see figure 5.2). LVDT's can be obtained with a stroke ranging from
? 0.005

to

3 inches and a sensitivity of 0.5 to 30 mV per 0.001 inch displace-

ment. For E-core the sensitivity is in the order of 10 to 20 mV per degree. This is not impressive and for a better sensitivity in linear displacement we have to go to Linear Variable Inductance Transducers (LVIT) and for a higher sensitivity in angular displacements to synchro's.

5.3

Linear Variable Inductance Transducer (LVIT) The principle of the variable inductance transducer resembles the LVDT. Only the LVIT has two coils, identical in dimensions and wound in the same direction. Again a soft-iron core is used for sensing the displacement. Both coils have been taken up in a bridge

.) circuit (Fig. 5 4 . If the core is exactly in the mid position, the

inductances of both coils are equal and the bridge will be in equilibrium. Displacement of the core will cause a difference in self inductance of the coils. The bridge will become in unbalance and an output signal results. ~mplitideand phase are a measure of the magnitude and direction of the displacement. A typical LVIT has a sensitivity of 10 to 40 voltfinch. The electric signals, which are a measure of the mechanical displacements sensed by these devices can be presented on electrodynamic indicators or voltmeters equipped with a rectifier bridge.

SYNCHRO SYSTEMS (ELECTRICAL SHAFTS) With the aid of the transmitters of section 5 only angles of limited extend can be transferred. If we want to transfer angle information up to 360' or more, electrical shafts or synchro systems

SINGLE. TURN

-E H ! '

gwLg

Aw E !M

Fig. 5.1

Potentiometer as pick-off element

OUTPUT

OUTPUT

DISPLACEMENT

Fig. 5 2 .

E-core as pick-off element

~Cfi, eea12
eo -

Core above null

I

I I

180' phase shift

Cozbelow null

Series-opposing secondaries

Fig. 5.3

Linear variable differential transducer (LVDT)

SUPPLY

~3
TRANSFORMER

LVIT

'1

SOFT IRON CORE (PLACED INSIDE THE

DISPLACEMENT

F i g . 5.4

P r i n c i p l e of a Linear V a r i a b l e Inductance Transducer (LVIT)

have to be used. The accuracy in angle transfer with these systems

.' is 0 1 .
torques.

It is also possible to transfer with the system small

Especially under severe environmental condition such as pressure, temperature, humidity and vibration, synchros have proved their reliability. There are two versions, namely AC-synchros and DC-synchros.

6.1

AC torque synchros The simplest synchro system used for angle transfer consists of 2 synchros, a synchro transmitter and a synchro receiver. With respect to the construction, both generator and receiver are equal. The synchro consists of a rotor and a stator. The rotor is an electromagnetic coil wound around a "double T-shaped" core. The rotor is able to rotate around an axis (Fig. 6.1). On the stator three coils are placed at an angle of 120" in relation to each other. The rotor coil is fed through two slip rings with AC. The different symbols used to represent a synchro are shown in figure 6.2. The synchro transmitter is often denoted by TX (torque transmitter) and the synchro receiver by TR (torque receiver).

6.1.1

The principle of angle transfer with synchros For the angle transfer the corresponding coils on the stator of transmitter and receiver are interconnected as shown in figure 6.3. The rotor of the transmitter generates an alternating magnetic field denoted by A. This alternating magnetic field will induce voltages in the stator coils. To determine what the amplitude and phase of these voltages will be, the magnetic field A is decomposed in a component perpendicular to the coil and a component in the direction of the coil. In coil S a voltage will be induced with an amplitude propor1 ' tional to the vector B. The vector C induces no voltage as it is

perpendicular to the coil. To determine the amplitude of the voltage in coil S we decompose the magnetic field vector A in the components 2 D and E. The voltage is proportional to D. The amplitude of the alternating voltage in each of the windings is dependent on the

angular position of the rotor. In this way the amplitude of the alternating voltages for each of the windings can be obtained. At an angle of 0, the amplitude of the voltage across coil S
2 1

is zero,

across coil S the amplitude of the voltage is in antiphase with the input voltage of the rotor. For that reason it is drawn negative in figure 6.4. In coil S the voltage has a positive sign. For other 3 angular positions of the rotor the different voltages across the stator windings of the transmitter will vary as shown in figure 6.4. Due to the voltages induced in the coils of the transmitter, currents start to flow in the circuit of figure 6.3. The direction of the currents will be such that the resulting magnetic field generated by these currents is oppositely directed to the original field of the rotor (Lenz's law). As a consequence of the fact that the currents flowing in the receiver are opposite to the ones flowing in the transmitter the fields in the stator coils of the receiver will be opposite to the ones in the transmitter. The total stator field of the receiver which is composed of the individual fields of the stator coils will then also be opposite to the stator field of the transmitter and in the same direction as the rotor field of the transmitter. If we put as a next step a rotor in the receiver and feed it by the same AC-source as the rotor of the transmitter, the impressed voltage in the rotor coil of the receiver will have the same phase as the impressed voltage of the rotor coil of the transmitter (Fig. 6.5). At the same time, however, the stator magnetic field will induce a voltage in the rotor coil which will be 180' out of phase. If the direction of the rotor and the stator field coincide both voltages will have the same magnitude but opposite sign, with the result that no current will flow in the rotor coil and a stable situation will be the case. A difference in direction between rotor and stator field will cause the induced voltage to be smaller as the impressed voltage. As a result a current will start to flow in the rotor coil and the magnetic field of the stator will exert a force on the rotor coil causing it to rotate until rotor coil and stator magnetic field again line up. In this way, every change in angular position of the transmitter rotor will be followed by the receiver

Fig. 6.1

Cross-section of a synchro. 1 Stator (two layer winding), 2 double T-shaped rotor, 3 air gap, I, 1 1 , I11 wire strands

s3

s1

Fig. 6 2 .

Symbols used for representing a synchro

--+ CURRENT
ROTOR FIELD STATOR FIELD

Fig. 6.3

Angle transfer with a pair of synchros, a) interconnection of the stators, b) decomposition of the rotor fields for the different stator coils

t
ROTOR POSITION

Fig. 6.4

Stator voltages as a function of rotor position

Fig. 6.5

Complete torque synchro system

. Fig. 6 6

Symbolic diagram of angle transfer with synchros.TX=torque transmitter, TR = torque receiver

Fig. 6.7

Reversing the direction of rotation by interchanging two stator connections

SYMBOLIC DIAGRAM

Fig. 6.8

Differential synchro and its symbol

ROTOR AXIS STATOR FIELD

STATOR FIELD

Fig. 6 9 .

The use of a differential synchro for subtraction of angles

Fig. 6.10

Summation of angles with a differential synchro

rotor. With the configuration of figure 6.5 the symbolic diagram of which is presented in figure 6.6, the angular information is transmitted with preservation of both magnitude and direction. If two of the stator connecting wires are interchanged (s a s 3 and s + s ) as 1 3 1 shown in figure 6.7, the angular information is still transmitted with preserved magnitude but in the opposite direction.

6.1.2

Differential synchros In some cases it is necessary to transmit the signals of two angular positions in such a manner that the synchro receiver indicates the difference or the sum of the two angles. This is achieved by introducing a third synchro into the torque system and using it as a differential transmitter. In figure 6.8 the construction and circuit symbol is presented. The differential synchro has an identically wound stator and rotor. The differential synchro is connected between a synchro transmitter and synchro receiver as shown in figure 6.9. If the rotor of the transmitter is rotated over an angle of a" with the vertical, the stator field of this synchro will be in the direction
a

180" and the stator field of the differential synchro again will

be in the direction of ao with the vertical. If now the differential synchro is rotated over an angle 6 with the vertical, a situation results where the stator field makes an angle (a - 6)O with the axis of the rotor. The rotor coils receive induction voltages corresponding with this difference angle (a in the direction {(a via the slip rings R

6)'

and a rotor field will be induced

6)

180)". This induced rotor field is brought

R R to the stator coils of the synchro receiver. 1 2 3 Analogous to the normal synchro transmitter receiver configuration,
the stator field in the receiver will change direction and be determined by (a - 6)'. The rotor coil of the receiver is fed from the same ACsource as the transmitter and will line up with the stator field and the receiver will indicate an angle (a

6)'.

If the stator connections are interchanged as shown in figure 6.10, summation of the angles can be obtained. So far the differential synchro has been used as transmitter. It is also possible to use the differential synchro as a receiver. In that case the rotor as well as the stator are connected to the stator windings of two synchro transmitters as shown in figure 6.11.

The input signals are the two transmitter angles. The output of the differential synchro will be the difference between the two synchro transmitter angles.

6.1.3. Synchro-servo systems The synchro systems treated so far are used for the transfer of angles. The torque which can be transferred by these systems is, however, very limited. Therefore, synchro systems can only be used for driving the pointers of indicating instruments but not for driving systems requiring large torques. In those cases synchro-servo systems (Fig. 6.12) have to be used. An electromotor supplies in these systems the large torques. The angular position of the shaft of the electromotor Osh has to be controlled and for that purpose it is compared with the desired angle 0 The error signal 0 ref' ref - ' s is amplified h and used for driving the motor. The difference in mechanical angles

- Osh is transformed into an electrical signal by a so-called 'e rf control synchro. In figure 6.13 the block diagram of the system is
shown.

6.1.4

Control synchro The construction of the control synchro resembles the one of a normal synchro. Only the coils of the stator consist of more windings in order to keep the stator currents small. Further the rotor is cylindric and not double T-shaped. This prevents the rotor from being attracted by the magnetic field of the stator. The result is that there is no position of preference for the rotor. Around the cylinder a rotor coil is wound (Fig. 6.14). If the windings of the coil are parallel to the stator field no voltage will be induced in the coil. Hence, the electrical zero of the control synchro is when the rotor of the control synchro is at 90" with respect to the rotor of the synchro transmitter. If the rotor of the transmitter is rotated through a certain angle, the resultant flux in the control synchro stator will be displaced from its datum point by the same angle and relative to the control synchro rotor position at that instant. An error voltage

Fig. 6.%1 Differential synchro as receiver

REFERENCE POSITION
@REF

AMPLIFIER A MOTOR

SHAFT weSH

FEEDBACK

Fig. 6.12

Principle of a synchro-servo system

SYNCHRO TRANSMITTER

SYNCHRO RECEIVER

SHAFT LARGE ~ T O R Q

I
Fig. 6.13 Block diagram of a synchro-servo system

ELECTRICAL ZERO

4---CT

'
C-W AC-W INPUT SHAFT VOLTAGE

ELECTRICAL

A.C. SUPPLY TO REFERENCE PHASE

VOLTAGE TO CONTROL PHASE

VOLTAGE

VOLTAGE

---+

CURRENT ROTOR FIELD STATOR FIELD CIRCUIT SYMBOL SZ RZ

-1
COIL

STATOR FIELD

'

\CYLINDRICAL

cow

Fig. 6.14

C o n t r o l synchro system. a) c i r c u i t diagram b) c o n s t r u c t i o n of the r o t o r of the CT

is therefore induced in the rotor, the phase and magnitude of the voltage depending on the direction of the transmitter rotor rotation, and on the degree of misalignment between it and the control synchro rotor. The error voltage is then amplified and fed to the control phase of the motor, the other phase (reference phase) being continuously supplied with alternating current. Since the control phase voltage of a two-phase motor can either lead or lag the reference phase voltage, the phase of the error voltage will determine the direction in which the motor will rotate, and its magnitude will determine the speed of rotation. As the motor rotates, it turns the rotor of the control synchro in the appropriate direction, thereby reducing its displacement relative to the control synchro rotor. Rotation will continue until both rotors are in alignment (bearing in mind that the electrical zero points are at 90" from each other) at which position no further error voltage is induced.

6.1.5

Resolver synchros With the aid of resolver synchros, cartesian coordinates can be converted into polar coordinates. They may also be used in the reverse manner for converting from polar to cartesian coordinates. The cartesian coordinates are offered in the form of alternating voltages, while the polar coordinates are in the form of a mechanical shaft position and a voltage. Resolver synchro applications are to be found in analog flight director and integrated instrument systems. A typical arrangement of a resolver synchro for conversion from polar to cartesian coordinates is shown in figure 6.15. It is noted that stator and rotor of the resolver synchro each have two windings arranged perpendicular to each other, thus providing an eight-terminal synchro. An alternating voltage with amplitude R is applied to the rotor winding R 1 - R2, the second rotor winding R3 - R4 being unused in this application is short circuited for improving the accuracy. In the position shown, the alternating flux produced by the current through rotor windings R

S1

- R 2 induces maximum voltage in the winding

S2 and no voltage in winding S3

S4 as this winding is perpen-

dicular to the flux.

If the rotor is turned over an angle 8 , the amplitude of the voltage induced in the winding S - S will drop to R cos O because
1.

the flux is now making an angle O with the winding. The voltage in

S - S will rise from zero to R sin 0 . If 0 reaches the value of 90, 3 4 the voltage in winding S - S will have dropped to zero and the
1
2

amplitude of the voltage in S - S will have reached its maximum. 3 4 The phase of the voltage in S - S will be in phase with the voltage applied to R

1 phase from 90' to 270, finally being again in phase from 270' to 360".

1 2 R2 during the first 90' of displacement, and in anti-

In winding S - S the phase of the voltage is in-phase from 0 to 3 4 180' and in anti-phase from 180 to 360'. Hence, any angular displacement can therefore be identified by the amplitude and phase of the induced stator voltages. The outputs of both stators R cos O and R sin O therefore define in cartesian coordinates the input voltage R and rotor rotation 0 .

6.2

Synchrotel

A synchrotel is generally used as a low-torque control transformer or transmitter. It employs a conventional 3-phase stator but as may be seen from figure 6.16 the rotor consists of an aluminum ring, making an angle of 45O with the rotation axis and a fixed single phase
It

rotor" winding, placed perpendicularly to the rotation axis and which Dependent on the position of the rotor, the stator magnetic

is not influenced by the stator field. field will produce electrical currents in the rotor aluminum ring. These currents generate a magnetic field which makes an angle of 4 ' 5 with the axis of rotation. Hence, the rotor field will have a component in the direction of the rotation axis and this component will induce a voltage in the "rotor" coil with an amplitude which depends on the angular position of the rotor. Is the stator field parallel to the surface of the ring, the induced voltage in the rotor coil will be zero.

ROTOR

STATOR

INPUT SHAFT INPUT SHAFT

s34$R3
S1 R1 R4 R2 CIRCUIT SYMBOL OF RESOLVER SYNCHRO R R COS 0 VALUE ff 0 R SIN O I

iA~-$rc;I

--

--

F i g . 6.15

Resolver synchro

Fig. 6.16

Basic principle of the synchrotel

TRANSMITTER

REEMR

Fig. 6.17

Circuit diagram of the basic Desynn System

6.3

DC-synchro (Desyn or Selsyn) The direct current synchro, also known as Desyn or Selsyn is in fact the forerunner of the alternating current synchro. The electrical element of the transmitter consists of a resistor wound on a circular former (called the toroidal resistor) and tapped at three points 120' apart (see figure 6.17). Two diametrically-opposed wiper contact arms, one positive and the other negative are, isolated from each other, mounted on a rotatable shaft. The voltage distribution on the three contact points depends on the position of the shaft and is transmitted to a rotating magnet indicator with three coils (Section 4.6). The permanent magnet of the indicator lines up with the composed magnet field of the three coils, which will be in the direction of the contact arm of the transmitter.

SOME BASIC PHYSICAL MEASURING PRINCIPLES As a number of flight- and navigation instruments as well as power plant instruments make use of temperature and pressure measurements it seems appropriate to treat first the underlaying basic principles of these measurements before going into the operation of each instrument in detail.

7.1

Measurement of fluid pressures

7.1.1

Definition of pressure Let us consider a cylinder containing a fluid, for instance a liquid as shown in figure 7.1. If we try to push down the piston which is tight-fitted placed on the liquid's surface, we shall find that the piston will only be displaced by a very small amount, since the compressibility of liquids is very small. The pressure p produced in the liquid by pushing on the piston with a force F is equal to F/A,

where A is the area of the piston. The pressure is transmitted to every point of the liquid and acts on all surfaces in contact with it. In SI-units (SystSme International) p is expressed in pascal (Pa). With F in newton (N) and A in m2 we find 1 Pa = 1N/m2. In the AngloSaxon countries F is expressed in pounds (lb=libra) and A in square inches and as a consequence p is expressed in lb. per squ. inch. The American abbreviation of lb. per square inch is the "pound-squareinch" = psi. Conversion from one unit to the other can be performed with the relations:
1 psi
=

7.03 N/m2

1 N/m2 = 0.142 psi Pressure may be measured directly either by balancing it against the pressure produced by a column of liquid of known density or it may be permitted to act over a known area and then be measured in terms of the force produced. The former method is the one utilized in simple U-tube manometers. The difference in height h between both columns is a measure of the pressure difference p 1 - P2' If we take for p2 the absolute zero of pressure being the pressure in absolute vacuum the closed manometer in the left-hand side of figure 7.2 measures the absolute pressure of a fluid. If we take for p
2

the atmospheric pressure, the

open manometer in the right-hand side of figure 7 . 2 measures the gauge pressure, which is equal to the absolute pressure of the fluid minus the atmospheric pressure. Gauge pressure is either positive or negative, depending on its level above or below the atmospheric pressure reference. For pressure measurements in aircraft, it is obviously impractical to equip the cockpit with U-tube manometers and, therefore, elastic pressure sensing elements are used in which forces can be produced by applied pressures and made to actuate mechanical and/or electrical indicating elements. The sensing elements commonly used are Bourdon tubes, diaphragms, capsules and bellows.

rvnb=

- - -A

A R E A O F T H E PISTON

p = PRESSURE

- - Fig. 7.1 Pressure produced by the liquid on the walls of a cylinder

: p : (E P2 ATMOSPHERIC)

PRESSURE p l PRESSURE DIFFERENCE

ABSOLUTE PRESSURE MEASUREMENT OF ABSOLUTE PRESSURE

h dMEASUREMENT l
OF PRESSURE DIFFERENCE

VACUUM p 3 = 0
Fig. 7 2 . Measurement of absolute pressure and pressure differences

A ) MEMBRAME

B) CAPSULE

SPRING

BELLOWS

PRE C) BELLOWS

Fig. 7.3

Different pressure sensing elements

7.1.2

Pressure sensing elements

7.1.2.1

Membrames, capsules and bellows The elementary form of an elastic pressure sensing element is a thin planar disk, clamped at its edges. At the intake of pressure, the plate will bend, with the greatest deflection at the center (Fig. 7.3a). The deflection s follows Hooke's law

where
s
=

deflection of the membrame in m, elasticity module in N/m2, form factor in m N/m2 and for stainless

p1

p2 = pressure difference across the membrame in N/m2,

=

E
C

For bronze the elasticity module E = 0.91 steel E = 2.14 N/m2.

For a normal membrame the maximum deflection is small

(%

2 mm)

and all kind of means are used to enlarge this deflection without disturbing the linear relationship between deflection and pressure. The simplest means is to corrugate the disk. The number and depth of the corrugations control the response and sensitivity characteristics; the greater the number and depth, the more nearly linear is its deflection and the greater its sensitivity.

An additional increase in deflection can be obtained by uniting

two membrames into a capsule (Fig. 7.3b). Capsule sensors are used in altimeters. By arranging two or more capsules it is possible to increase even further the deformation.

A bellows type of element can be considered as an extension of

the corrugated diaphragm principle, and in operation it bears some resemblance to a helical compression spring. It may be used for high, low or differential pressure measurement, and in some applications a spring may be employed to increase what is termed the "spring-rate" and to assist the bellows to return to its natural length when pressure is removed (Fig. 7.3~).

7.1.2.2

Bourdon tube Bourdon manometers are curved tubes with an elliptical crosssection. The ratio between the major and minor axis depends on the sensitivity required, a larger ratio providing greater sensitivity. The material from which the tube is made may be either phosphor-bronze, beryllium-bronze or beryllium-copper. One end of the tube, the "freeend", is sealed while the other end is left open and fixed into a boss so that it may be connected to a source of pressure and form a closed system. When pressure is applied to the interior of the tube, there is a tendency for the tube to change from an elliptic cross-section to a circular one, and also to straighten out as it becomes more circular. The displacement of the free end is proportional to the applied pressure. The displacement of the free end is only small; therefore, in order to transmit this in terms of pressure, a quadrant and magnifying system is employed as the coupling element between tube and pointer (Fig. 7.4). Bourdon tubes are mainly used for fuel pressure, oil pressure and hydraulic pressure indication, but also for gas pressure indication in pneumatic- and oxygen installations.

7.2

Temperature measurement

7.2.1

The concept of temperature and temperature scales The motion of molecules in a substance represents an amount of energy which is called - The more vigorous the vibration and the heat.

c 3
CROSS SECTION OF THE 1 (PHOSPHOR - BRONZE, BERYLLIUM - BRONZE OR BERYLIUM - COPPER)

APPLICATIONS : FUEL PRESSURE (FOR TURBINES UP TO 70 atm) OIL PRESSURE PNEUMATIC PRESSURE (BRAKES) OXYGEN SUPPLY HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS atrn atm atrn atrn atrn-

1 atm = 101.325 lo3 ~ / r n ~ 1 ~ / r = 0.142 Psi. n ~ 1 LB PER SQU. INCH = 7.03 ~ / r n ~

Fig. 7.4
Bourdon tube pressure sensor

BIMETALLIC SPRING FOR COMPENSATION OF CHANGES IN LENGTH OF THE CAPILLARY DUE TO TEMPERATURE

\I..

CAPILLP

MEMBRAME

Fig. 7 5 .

Liquid thermometer

/\
METAL 2 METAL 1

/
/

- /

/ / 1-

2
Fig. 7 6 . Bimetallic thermometer

motion of the molecules, the hotter the substance is. A measure of the "hotness" or "coldness" of a substance or the quality of the heat is the temperature. In the strictest sense of the term, temperature cannot be measured. Only the temperatures of substances can be compared with each other and the differences observed. Hence, the practical measurement of temperature is really the comparison of temperature differences. In order to make such a comparison, the selection of a standard temperature difference, a fundamental interval and an instrument to compare other temperature difference~with this, are necessary. The fundamental interval is the temperature interval or range between two fixed points: the ice point at which equilibrium exists between ice and vapour-saturated air at a pressure of 760 mm Hg and the steam point, at which equilibrium exists between liquid water and its vapour; the water boiling also under a pressure of 760 mm Hg. Next, the fundamental interval is devided into a number of equal parts or degrees, the devision being in accordance with two scale notations: Celsius (centigrade) and Fahrenheit. On the Celsius scale, the fundamental interval is devided into ' 100 degrees, the ice point being taken as 0 C and the steam point as 100" C. On the Fahrenheit scale, the fundamental interval is devided into 180 degrees, the ice point and the steam point in this case being taken as 3 ' F and 212' F respectively. 2 If all the heat were removed from a body its temperature would be as low as possible. This temperature is -273.15-C and is known as absolute zero or 0 on the Kelvin scale. As conversion table we have

T = t
t
t~
=

273.15

(K)

519 (tF 915 t

32)

(1) '2

32

(OF)

7.2.2

Classification of temperature sensors Temperature measurements are based on changes in properties of substances with temperature like expansion of solids and liquids, rise in pressure of gasses, changes in electrical resistance and contact potential.

Utilization of the various methods provides us with a very convenient means of classification of temperature sensing instruments: a b c expansion type (liquid or solid) vapour-pressure type electrical type (resistance or thermo-electric)

7.2.2.1

Expansion-type temperature indicators

7.2.2.1.1

Liquid thermometer The measurement of temperature based on a volume change is a

well-known principle used in home mercury- or alcohol thermometers. It consists of a liquid filled reservoir which is connected to an evacuated capillary tube. A rise in temperature will cause the liquid to expand and the height of the liquid in the capillary tube is a measure of the temperature. In this form the vulnerable mercury- or alcohol thermometer is not used in aircraft. In an aircraft the reservoir with mercury or alcohol is connected via a membrame with a capillary tube filled with a measuring liquid, which in turn is connected with a Bourdon tube as shown in figure 7.5. A temperature rise will expand the volume of the reservoir. The enlarged volume can be absorbed by the Bourdon tube which changes from an elliptic to a circular cross section. As a result the tube stretches and drives the pointer of the instrument. The volume V at temperature T can be written as T t VT where V T
= =

Vo (1

+ 6 AT)

v0 =

volume at temperature T t ' I, I, the reference temperature T

0 '

AT = T - T is the temperature difference, 0 t 6 = the cubic expansion coefficient of the liquid. For mercury 6
=

0.00018/0 C, while for alcohol 6

O.OO1lO/O C.
C

With a mercury filling the temperature range is from - 38'

to 665" C and with an alcohol filling the range is from 290' C.

112' C to

These indicators have the following drawbacks:

the temperature measuring range is limited the length of the capillary tube is limited to 1 m as for longer 0 lengths, the volume change of the liquid in the reservoir will be lost by widening of the capillary

- the capillary tube only gives a correct transfer from reservoir

to Bourdon tube at the calibration temperature. At other temperatures accuracy will be lost due to volume changes of the capillary tube - the tube may not be bend sharply or be wedged. These disadvantages make these indicators less practical and their use is limited to light aircraft.

7.2.2.1.2

Bimetallic thermometer The operation of bimetallic thermometers is based on the dif-

ference in linear expansion coefficient of two metals. Two metal strips are joined together at their interface to form a single strip (see figure 7.6). One of the metals is invar, a form of steel with 36% nickel content and a neglegible coefficient of linear expansion, while the other metal may be brass or steel, both of which have high linear expansion coefficients. Thus when the strip is subjected to an increase of temperature, the brass or steel will expand, and conversely will contract when the strip is subjected to a decrease of temperature. The invar strip, on the other hand, having a neglegible expansion coefficient, will always try to maintain the same length and being firmly joined to the other metal will cause the whole strip to bend. The bending is given by

where
a

constant depending on the combination of materials a

=

0.17 for the combination copperfinvar,

1 s AT

= = =

length of the strip, thickness of the strip, temperature change.

The bimetallic thermometer is used for cabin temperature measurement.

7.2.2.1.3

Vapour pressure thermometer The sensor of this instrument, shown in figure 7.7, is partly

filled with liquid and partly with vapour, the pressure of which changes with temperature. As the pressure of saturated vapour of constant volume is only a function of temperature, each temperature value corresponds with a certain vapour pressure value, which generally is measured with a Bourdon tube. As filling often freon is used, which gives the indicator a temperature range of 40

200'

C . Below 40'

C the vapour pressure

is too low to be measured by the Bourdon tube indicator. The relation between temperature and vapour pressure is a non-linear one. As the Bourdon tube actually measures the pressure difference between the vapour pressure in the tube and the outside air pressure, the temperature indication will be dependent on outside air pressure changes, i.e. flying altitude. The scale of the temperaturemeter is calibrated for a specific air pressure, usually the standard air pressure at sea level 1013,25 mbar. The disadvantages of these indicators are the same as those of the liquid-filled thermometers of section 7 . 2 . 2 . 1 . 1 .

7.2.2.2

Electrical-type temperature indicators With the growing distances between sensors and indicators in modern aircraft, the drawbacks of capillary tubes used in the aforementioned systems made it necessary to look for other ways of temperature measurements. The solution resulted in electrical temperature measurements.

7.2.2.2.1

Resistance thermometer The resistance of a conductor is dependent on temperature. For

pure metals, resistance increases with an increase in temperature and this is the basis of temperature measurement in resistance thermometry. The two metals most commonly used in aviation are nickel and platinum, both of which are manufactured to a high degree of purity and reproducibility of resistance characteristics.

BOURDON TUBE

LlQU OF W HAS TO BE MEASURED

C_&PILL_APY LENGHT MAXIMALL

Fig. 7 7 .

Vapour pressure thermometer

1 IRON 2 NICKEL
3 COPPER

4 PLATINUM

10 0

ZOO

300

t-

400

500

600 T 700

Fig. 7 8 .

Ratio R /R for different materials as a function of the t 0 temperature

. Fig. 7 9

Circuit diagram of a resistance thermometer with a ratiometer as indicator

Tm
2-FW SOO(ET

Nm

BULB

CONTACI~NGSTRIPS

-nmi

RESlSTANCE NMENl
OR

Fig. 7.10

Constructional details of the temperature-sensing element

The resistance of a metal at a given temperature t is given by the quadratic equation

R~ = R~ (1
Nickel

+ at +

Bt2)

The values of the constants are

a = 0.438

0 0

= =

0.006 0.000000583

Platinum a = 0.0039583

In figure 7.8 the ratio R /R as a function of temperature is

t
0

given for both materials. The measurement of the changes in resistance is by means of a Wheatstone bridge. As indicator a ratiometer is used, which operates nearly independent of fluctuations in the supply voltage. The measuring resistance is one of the resistors of the Wheatstone bridge (Fig. 7.9) and the ratiometer has been taken up in the diagonal. In figure 7.10 the construction of the sensor used in the circuit of figure 7.9 is presented. The resistance element is wound on an isolated former and the ends of the element are connected to a two-pin socket via contact strips. The bulb, which protects and seals the element, may either be a brass or stainlesssteel tube, closed at one end and soldered to a union nut at the other side. The union nut is used for securing the complete element in the pipeline or component of the system whose temperature is required. Nickel can be used as temperature sensor in the range 200' C, platinum in the range

50" to

200" to 750' C.

Besides pure metals, also semi-conducting materials can be used. These so-called thermistors have much higher temperature coefficients as pure metals, but they are less stable in time.

7.2.2.2.2

Thermo-electrical thermometer Thermo-electrical temperature measuring devices depend for

their operation on electric energy which is produced by the direct conversion of heat energy at the measuring source. This form of energy conversion is known as the Seebeck effect. The effect can be explained by the occurance of free electrons in metals. The averaged energy of a free electron is different in each metal. If the energy in the upper metal wire of figure 7.11 is higher than the energy in

the lower wire, more electrons start to diffund through the contact between the wires from above to below. As a result a shortage of electrons in the upper wire and a surplus of electrons in the lower wire will be the result. This leads to a potential difference across the contacts which works against the diffusion of electrons from the upper wire to the lower. At a certain value of this so-called contact potential a dynamic equilibrium occurs, where the diffusion in both directions is equal. The value of this contact potential depends on the combination of materials and the temperature. If the junctions A and B in figure 7.11 are kept at a different temperature, the contact potentials will differ and a net thermo-emf will be produced, causing current to flow round the circuit. The relation between thermo-emf and temperature follows from
AV = a AT = a (TA

- TB)
a = 0.042

(7.5)

where a is a constant depending on the materials used: Nickel Iron Copper

Nickelchromium

V/OC

Chromium - Alumel

a = 0.040
a = 0.054 a = 0.051

- Constantan
Constantan

In order to utilize the thermo-electric principle for temperature measurement, a moving coil millivoltmeter, calibrated in degrees Celsius, is connected in series with the circuit (figure 7.11b). We have to keep in mind, that the measuring principle is based on the measurement of the temperature difference between a hot junction and a cold junction. For that reason systems are known where the cold junction is placed in a tank of melting ice, hence 0 C. In aviation, ' however, the temperature indicator is compensated for the temperature of the cold junction. For that reason, the cold junction can always be found in the instrument. In figure 7.12 the moving coil indicator with a bimetallic cold junction compensator is presented. The bimetal is coiled in the shape of a flat spiral spring. One end of the spring is anchored to a bracket which forms part of the moving-element support, while the other free end is connected by an anchor tag to the outer end of one of the controlling hairsprings, thus forming the fixed point of the hairspring. When the indicator is open circuited, i.e. disconnected from the thermocouple system, it operates as a direct reading bimetallic type of thermometer. With the thermocouple system connected, the moving coil adds the temperature difference between hot and cold junction.

A
HOT JUNCTION

B
COLD JUNCTION

COLD JUNCTION

MILLIVOLT METER
Fig. 7.11 Thermo couple principle

SUPPORT BRACKET

HAIRSPRING ANCHOR TAG

ADJUSTMENT

1I
SPRING WASHER INSULATING BUSH INSULATING WASHER JEWEL

POINTER YDER

COlL ANCHOR TAG

HAIRSPRING

CONTACTTAG

JEWEL LOCKING NUT

Application of a bimetal type of cold junct

compensator

Fig. 8 . 1

Centrifugal tachometer. 1 weights, 2 curved f i x i n g s p r i n g s , 3 f i x e d f l a n g e , 4 moveable f l a n g e , 5 main s h a f t , 6 r e s t r a i n i n g spring, 7 s e c t o r gear, 8 cup wheel, 9 h a i r s p r i n g , 10 p o i n t e r , 11 d r i v e s h a f t

SOFT IRON SCREEN /HAIR SPRING

CROSS ARMATURE (PERMANENT MAGNET)

EDDYCURRENT CUP ( A L OR CU)

.

Fig. 8.2

Eddy current tachometer

POWERPLANT INSTRUMENTS For a safe and economic operation of aircraft, the proper operation of the engines has to be monitored and a check to be maintained on the fuel system, so that fuel can be drawn from the various tanks in a correct sequence, and also so that estimates of the safe duration of flight may be made at any time. The instruments for these functions are basically those associated with any engine and they are required to provide continuous accurate indications of various physical quantities, principally temperature, pressure, rotation speed, and fuel contents and consumption.

8.1

Measurement of engine speed The life of an engine and its optimal performance is largely determined by its speed. With reciprocating engines the speed measured is that of the crankshaft, while with turboprop and turbojet engines the rotational speed of the compressor shaft is measured, such measurement serving as a useful indication of the thrust being produced. The indicating instruments are normally referred to as tachometers.

In general these speeds are measured in an electrical way, although in several types of general aviation aircraft mechanically operated tachometers are used.

8.1.1

Mechanical tachometers Mechanical tachometers are connected with the engine by flexible shafts. As the maximum length of these shafts is approximately 2 meter, indicators of this type can only be used when installed in the vicinity of the engine.

8.1.1.1

Centrifugal tachometer In figure 8.1 the principle is sketched of one of the first tachometers used in aircraft. The instrument consists of a pair of weights connected with springs or levers to a pair of flanges of which the upper one is firmly attached to the vertical shaft and the

lower one can freely move along the shaft. A spring drives both flanges apart. If the vertical shaft is rotated, the weights will be driven apart by the centrifugal force and as a result, the sliding flange will be pulled up. By means of a lever the movement of the sliding flange is coupled to a sector gear driving a pointer. At any rotational speed of the shaft, an equilibrium between centrifugal force, spring force and gravity force on the weights will occur, resulting in a specific position of the pointer on the RPM scale The scale of the instrument is calibrated in revolutions per minute (RPM). The instruments are robust and have a measuring range of 300 to 5000 RPM. The error in indication is about 1 to 2%.

8.1.1.2

Eddy current tachometer In this instrument a permanent magnet is driven by the flexible shaft. The magnet can rotate freely in a copper or aluminium cup (Fig. 8.2). The rotating magnet will induce eddy currents in the cup. The magnetic field of the rotating magnet exerts a force on these currents and the cup wants to co-rotate. The higher the angular speed of the magnet, the higher the force will be to rotate the cup. The rotation of the cup is opposed by the force of a spring and in the equilibrium situation the deflection of the pointer corresponds with a certain number of revolutions of the engine. These instruments are sensitive to changes in temperature as the conductivity of the cup and the distance between cup and magnet vary with temperature.

8.1.2 Electrical tachometers Due to the limited length of the flexible shaft mechanical tachometers are very limited in use. Modern aircraft use electrical tachometers. An electrical generator is directly coupled to the engine and the electric signal of it is transmitted by electrical wires to the indicator in the cockpit.

SENSOR = DC GENERATOR

INDICATOR = MOVING COIL VOLTMETER

1 I GENERATED VOLTAGE IS DIRECT PROPORTIONAL TO THE NUMBER O F REVOLUTIONS

Fig. 8.3

DC

- tachometer

RPM x 100

MOVING-COIL INDICATOR

ENGINE .-.-.-.

-___..____... J
AC-GENERATOR

Fig. 8 4 .

AC

- tachometer

TRANSMITTER EDDY CURRENT DISK

RECEIVER

POINTER

EDDY CURRENT DlSK

Fig. 8.5

Rotary c u r r e n t tachometer

Sectioned view of a typical synchron motor type tachometer indicator. 1. Cantilever shaft 2. Terminal block assembly 3. Rear ball bearing 4. Magnetic cup assembly 5. Drag element assembly 6. Small pointer spindle and gear 7. Outer spindle bearing 8. Bearing locking tag 9. Intermediate gear 10. Bearing plate 11. Hairspring anchor tag 12. Inner spindle bearing 13. Front ball bearing 14. Rotor 15. Stator of composite construction with laminated permanent magnet and squirrelcage rotor

Fig. 8 6 .

S e c t i o n a l view of a synchronous motor t y p e tachometer i n d i c a t o r

8.1.2.1

DC-tachometer The sensor consists of a small DC-generator directly coupled to the engine. The DC-voltage produced by the generator is proportional to the number of revolutions of the engine and is directly measured with a moving-coil indicator (see figure 8.3). This system has as drawback that it is liable to wear and tear and causes a lot of radio interference. A solution to this problem has been found in the use of an AC-generator.

8.1.2.2

AC-tachometer As sensor an AC-generator is used, which has the advantage of not having brushes and slip rings. The alternating current is rectified directly and the resulting DC is transported to the moving-coil indicator, calibrated in RPM (see figure 8.4). A problem which is difficult to overcome with both AC- and DCtachometers, is the calibration. Temperature variations and corrosion of the connectors influence the accuracy of the measurements. The voltage drop in the wiring and the relation voltage-RPM require a separate calibration for each installation. A solution has been found in coupling the AC-generator on the engine electrically with an eddy current indicator. The principle of this divice is sketched in the next section.

8.1.2.3

Rotary-current tachometer In figure 8.5 the diagram of a rotary-current tachometer is given. The permanent magnet of the AC-generator is directly driven by the engine. It generates voltages in the three-phase stator windings with a frequency depending on the number of revolutions of the engine. The generated rotary current is supplied to the stator windings of an AC- motor in the indicator and generates there a rotary field analogous to the rotary field in the generator. At the rotor axis of the motor again a permanent magnet is mounted. It tends to follow the rotating magnetic field of the stator, but due to its inertia it cannot run up under its own power. For that purpose an eddy-current disk is mounted which assists in running up.

The magnet starts rotating asynchronously and passes next into synchronous rotation. The number of rotations of the motor shaft of the indicator now corresponds exactly with the number of revolutions of the engine. Conversion of motor shaft rotations to a RPM indication takes place with the eddy-current principle already treated in section 8.1.1.2. In figure 8.6 a sectional view of this type of indicator is shown. The rotor is of a slight different construction as in the basic diagram of figure 8 . 5 . It consists of two parts separated by an aluminum disk. The first part consists of soft-iron laminations with a series of longitudinal copper bars passing through it, forming a squirrelcage. The other part is a laminated two-pole permanent magnet. In this way the selfstarting and high torque properties of a squirrel-cage motor are combined with the self synchronous properties associated with a permanent magnet type of motor. As the operating speed of these indicators is limited to 5000 RPM, for jet engines gearing systems are used to reduce speeds. To operate turbojet engines on the same basis of comparison, the measurement of engine speed in terms of a percentage has been adopted. The main scales are calibrated from 0 to 100% in 10% increments with 100% corresponding to the optimum turbine speed. In order to achieve this, the engine manufacturer chooses a ratio between the actual turbine speed and the generator drive, so that the optimum speed produces
4200 rev/min at the generator drive.

A second pointer or digital

counter displays speed in 1% increments (Fig. 8 . 7 ) .

8.1.3

Induction tachometer At the high rotation speeds of turbo-engines an indicating system without moving parts will have preference. Such a system is the induction tachometer. The probe comprises of a permanent magnet, a pole piece and a number of coils around a ferromagnetic core (Fig.
8 . 8 ) . Separate windings provide outputs to the indicator and other

equipment requiring engine speed data. The probe is flange-mounted on the engine at a station in the high-pressure compressor section of the engine so that it extends into this section. In some turbofan engines, a probe may also be mounted at the fan section for measuring fan speed. When in position, the pole pieces are close to the teeth

(a) Synchronous motor type; ( b ) d.c. torques motor indicator; (c) servoed counterlpointer indicator.

F i g . 8.7

b) D i a l p r e s e n t a t i o n s of p e r c e n t a g e t a c h o m e t e r s

c)

Fig. 8.8

Tachoprobe

AXIS O F POLARIZATION

AR

WHEEL

t?
r--I fk
I
s s

AMPL.

INDICATOR

---------v
U

I
I

+
P

I
I

L---I-----------

-----------------:
5

3
% RPM x 10

Fig. 8.9

S e r v o - d r i v e n tachometer i n d i c a t o r

of a gear wheel (phonic wheel) which is driven at the same speed as the compressor shaft or fan shaft as appropriate. The permanent magnet produces a magnetic field around the sensing coils and as the gear wheel teeth pass the pole pieces, the intensity of flux through each pole varies inversely with the width of the air gap between poles and gear wheel teeth. The flux density changes induce an emf in the sensing coils. The number of emf fluctuations in the coils per second is a measure of the RPM of the turbo engine. In an electronic device the frequency of the emf is converted in a DCsignal the amplitude of which is linearly proportional to the frequency and passed to a servo-driven indicator (Fig. 8.9).

8.1.4

Synchroscope In aircraft powered by more that one engine, the effects of structural vibration and noise can be reduced by maintaining the engine speeds in synchronism. The simplest method of obtaining synchronism between engines would be to manually adjust the throttle and speed control systems of the engines until the relevant tachometer indicators read the same. This, however, is not very practical for the simple reason that individual instruments can have different indication errors and the engines still run at different speeds in spite of identical readings of the indicators. To facilitate manual adjustment of speed an additional instrument, known as synchroscope was introduced. It provides a qualitative indication of the differences in speed between two or more engines. The technique which is followed is to set a selected master engine on the required speed. The instrument then gives a clear indication whether a slave engine is running faster or slower than the master (Fig. 8.10). The operation is based on the principle of the induction motor, which for this application, consists of a three-phase star-wound laminated stator and a three-phase star-wound laminated rotor mounted in jewelled bearings within the stator. As shown in figure 8.11 the stator phases are connected to the tachometer generator of the slave engine while the rotor phases are connected to the master engine tachometer generator via slip rings and wire brushes.

The three-phase alternating currents produced by the tachometer generators set up a magnetic field in the rotor and stator of the synchroscope, each field rotating at a frequency proportional to its corresponding generator frequency, and both rotating in the same direction. In the situation that the master engine and slave engine are in synchronism, stator field and rotor field will reach their maximum at the same instant; the direction of magnetization, symbolized by the N-S poles of a magnet, of both stator and rotor will be in line and the attraction between opposite poles will keep the rotor "locked" in some stationary position, thus indicating synchronism between engine speeds. If the slave engine would run (slightly) faster than the master engine, the synchroscope stator field would lead the rotor field. At a certain epoch this would result in a situation as shown in figure 8.11.b. The stator, in being magnetized somewhat faster than the rotor, produces a torque which will drive the rotor to align itself with the leading stator field, the propellor-shaped pointer indicating that the slave engine is running - and that a decrease of speed is fast required to synchronize it. Is on the other hand the slave engine running slightly slower than the master, the stator field will be lagging behind the rotor field, as shown at a certain epoch in figure 8.11.c. The rotor in being magnetized faster than the stator, tries to rotate the stator and bring the stator field into alignment. However, the stator is a fixed unit and a reactive torque will be set up, causing the rotor to rotate in a direction opposite to that of its field, so that it is forced to continually realign itself with the lagging stator field. The continuous rotation of the rotor drives the pointer round to indicate that the slave engine is running - and that an increase slow in speed is required to bring it into synchronism with the master engine. 8.2 Supply measurements For a safe execution of a flight, it is important to know the amount of fuel, lubrication oil, and various other liquids present in the aircraft. The amount of liquid can be expressed in units of volume (m3, dm3 = liter, gallon) or in units of mass (kg, lb).

Fig. 8.10

Dial presentation of a synchroscope for use in a twin-engined aircraft

STATOR FLU)

SLAVE

M R E C M N of m T M ( ROTATKHI DUE TO R E K W T W E

REWTM a STATOR R L D

RESULTAM OF STATOR FEU) RESULTAM of ROTOR FEU) RESULTAM OF ROTOR RELD

b)

Fig. 8.11

Operation of a synchroscope. a) V master = V slave, b) V master < V slave, c) V master > V slave

Fig. 8.12

Drip-stick

FLOAT

INDICATOR

Fig. 8.13

Float-type fuel quantity indicator

The following conversion is applicable

1 Eng. Imperial gallon 1 USA Winchester gallon
=
=

4.545963 liter, 3.785442 liter, 0.45359 kg.

1 lb

The mentioned liquids are stored in tanks, which may have quite different shapes, dimensions and positions in the aircraft. Therefore, supply measurements can only be performed with instruments which have been calibrated for a specific tank. The operation of these instruments is based on the measurement of the liquid level in the tank. With a calibrated instrument the level can be converted to the volume of the liquid in the tank. This implies that not only the instrument is tied to a specific tank, but that the measurements also have to be performed under the same conditions as the calibration of the instrument has taken place. If the flight differs from a uniform horizontal flight, the liquid will take a position so that the measured level no longer forms a measure for the real volume. This problem can be solved by using more measuring points in the tank and to average the results. In addition, partitions in the tank are used to restrict the mobility of the liquid. The liquid level can be measured by

gauging-rods, float-type level sensing instruments,

- capacitive-type level sensing instruments.

8.2.1

Gauging-rods (Drip-sticks) The simplest way of measuring the liquid level in a tank is with the aid of a gauging-rod. This is a calibrated rod which is put in the tank from the upper side. In view of damages caused by walking on the wings, this way of measurement is less suitable. Only in light aircraft these rods can be found. Modern large aircraft use so-called drip-sticks. Originally these drip-sticks consisted of a hollow tube with a few small holes at the top. The stick stings in the tank from below and by lowering the stick until the fuel drips through the holes, the level of the liquid can be measured. A modern version is shown in

figure 8.12. It consists of a housing in which a gauging rod can freely move. On top of the rod a magnet is fitted. Around the housing an anular float is placed in which again a magnet is fitted. As soon as the gauging rod is unbolted, the rod comes down till the point where both magnets in the rod and the float line up. The rod is calibrated for the tank in which it is fitted. For inflight measurement this method cannot be used and we have to resort to the following systems.

8.2.2

Float-type fuel quantity indicating systems The principle of a float-type fuel quantity indicator is shown in figure 8.13. The float, which may be a sealed lightweight metal cylinder or specially treated cork, is attached to an arm pivoted to permit angular movement to be transmitted to a wiper arm of a potentiometer or a DC-synchro. Changes in fuel level let the float arm move through certain angles and position the wiper arm or brushes to vary the resistance and flow of DC-current to the indicator. As a result of the variations in current flow, a moving coil or rotor within the indicator is deflected to position the pointer over the scale calibrated in gallons.

8.2.3

Capacitance-type fuel gauge systems The instruments treated so far measure the volume of the liquid supply. For fuel supplies the mass is, however, more important as the total power delivered by an engine or the work it performs during flight does not depend on the volume of fuel but on the energy it contains, i.e. the number of molecules that can be combined with oxygen in the engine. Since each fuel molecule has some weight and one pound of fuel has the same number of molecules, regardless of temperature (and therefore of volume), the total number of molecules and with it the total available amount of energy is best indicated by measuring the total fuel weight. In order to do so, the volume and density of the fuel must be known and the product of the two to be determined. The measuring device must therefore be sensitive to both changes in volume and density so as to eliminate the undesirable

Fig. 8.14

Tank unit consisting of two concentric tubes

Fig. 8.15

Attitude compensation

TEST

P i g . 8.16

C i r c u i t of a b a s i c c a p a c i t a n c e fuel-gauge s y s t e n

Fig. 8.17

Temperature e f f e c t s on f u e l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . E i s r e l a t i v e p e r m i t t i v i t y of t h e f u e l r

effects due to temperature. With a capacitance type fuel gauge system, measurement of fuel quantity by weight can be performed. The operation of the system is based on the fact that the capacitance changes if the dielectric between the plates of a capacitor changes. The tank units consist of two concentric tubes, forming the plates of a capacitor (see figure 8.14). They take up the whole height of the tank and the space between the tubes is in direct connection with the tank, so that the fuel level between the plates of the capacitor is the same as in the tank. As the dielectric constant of the fuel is approximately two times larger than air, the capacity of the tank unit for a full tank will be approximately two times as large as for an empty tank. Hence, the capacity of the tank unit is a measure for the fuel quantity in the tank. In a practical capacitance-type fuel quantity indicating system a number of tank units are disposed within the fuel tanks as shown in figure 8.15. The reason for this is to ensure that indications remain the same regardless of the attitude of an aircraft and its tanks. If the tank is tilted, tank unit A will be immersed deeper in the fuel and gains some capacitance tending to make the indicator overread. Tank unit B has moved out of the fuel by the same distance and loses an equal amount of capacitance. Thus, the total capacitance remains the same as for the level tank attitude and the indication remains unchanged. In the measuring circuit of figure 8.16, the capacitance of the tank unit C is compared with a reference capacitance C in an ACT R bridge. The branch with the reference capacity C is fed by a variable
R

voltage source formed by the potentiometer P of which the position of the wiper is controlled by the servo motor M. The branch with the tank unit capacity C
T

is fed by a fixed voltage source. If the bridge

gets out of balance due to a change in the tank unit capacity C T' the amplifier gets an input voltage and actuates the motor which will adjust the potentiometer P until the bridge again will be in balance. At the same time, the pointer will be adjusted to the position belonging to the new fuel quantity. As the capacitance of the tank unit is proportional to the product of volume and permittivity
E

of the fuel and the latter turns

out to have the same temperature dependence as the density of the fuel,

the changes in capacity of the tank unit can be converted directly to fuel masses without making an error due to temperature changes (see figure 8.17). The scale of the indicator is calibrated in units of mass for a specific ratio between permittivity
E

and density of the fuel, the so-

called fuel index. If the tanks are filled with another type of fuel, the system should be calibrated once more. This drawback can be removed by using as reference capacitor C not a dry one but a wet one. r The capacitor C is placed at the bottom of the fuel tank in which r case it is filled with fuel. The capacitance of the reference capacitor is then influenced by the value of the permittivity of the fuel and no appreciate errors in indication occur when different types of fuel are used. Operating the test switch results in lowering the voltage on the tank units. As a result the bridge will become unbalanced and the servometer starts to drive the potentiometer P to the empty position, in order to get the bridge in balance again. If the switch is released, the indicator has to point the same value as before.

8.3

Fuel flow measurements Fuel flow indication is used to set up and monitor engine performance while a fuel consumed indication is used for comparison with the fuel quantity gauging system. The indicators used in aviation can be devided into two main groups, i.e. volume flow indicators and mass flow indicators. As fuel flow measurements are invariably required in mass units since the caloric value of the fuel is proportional to mass and not to volume, the volume flow has to be multiplied with the density of the fuel. As the latter quantity is strongly temperature dependent, the temperature of the fuel has to be measured in order to compensate for this effect.

8.3.1 Volume flow indicators

As the volume flow through a tube is directly proportional to the velocity of the fuel, many indicators actually measure the velocity of the fuel flow. For that purpose orifices, propeller and vanes placed perpendicular or oblique to the flow direction are used.

F i g . 8.18

V e n t u r i f u e l flow i n d i c a t o r

RESTRAINING SPRING

'H ' x '

FLOW

FLOW

F i g . 8.19

Variable o r i f i c e t r a n s m i t t e r

Fig. 8.20

C o n s t r u c t i o n of a t u r b i n e t r a n s m i t t e r

8.3.1.1

Venturi fuel flow indicators In figure 8.18 a venturi flow indicator is presented in which in the throat is compared with the pressure p in the 1 2 undisturbed tube. From the pressure difference Ap = p - p which can 1 2 be measured by a membrame pressure difference meter, the mass flow pro unit time Q can be obtained as the pressure p

Q = K J

2p bpl

(8.1)

where p is the density of the fuel and K is a constant determined by the dimensions and properties of the venturi. The indication on the scale of the instrument in literslhour or in kglhour, the latter being only valid for a specific density of the fuel, has an accuracy of about 2%. 8.3.1.2 Variable orifice fuel flow indicator This device consists of a measuring vane rotating within a shaped chamber as shown in figure 8.19. The fuel entering the chamber exerts a pressure on the vane surface, the angular displacement being controlled by a spiral spring with a constant spring rate. The other edge of the vane and the chamber will form an orifice, the area of which is proportional to X and which increases with angle
0 . The angular position of the vane is determined by the amount of fuel

which passes pro unit of time the orifice. By mounting a position transducer such as a synchro or a potentiometer on the shaft of the vane, the angular position of the vane is converted into an electrical signal, which in turn is transmitted to the indicator in the cockpit. Temperature sensitive resistors mounted to sense fuel temperature are connected to the electrical transducer in such a way as to compensate for changes in fuel density with temperature. This compensation will not be too accurate. To prevent fuel starvation to the engine a by-pass valve is provided which will open if the vane should become jammed in the closed position. The valve is set to open at a pressure approximately twice that of the normal pressure drop across the vane.

8.3.1.3

Turbine flowmeters In figure 8.20 the construction of a turbine flowmeter is shown. It consists of a turbular pipe section within which is concentrically

mounted a three blade rotor of magnetic stainless steel. The rotor rotates with an angular velocity proportional to the volume flow of the fuel through the turbine. Around the periphery of the pipe section and in the same plane as the rotor four electrical pick off coils with their associated soft iron pole pins and a permanent magnet are mounted. As the rotor revolves the reluctance of the magnetic circuit is changed and a sinusoidal waveform is induced, the frequency of which is equal to the speed of rotation of the rotor multiplied by the number of blades of the rotor. Due to viscosity effects, the calibration curve is non linear and the spread from transmitter to transmitter may be up to 2% from the mean. Moreover, the curve is strongly temperature dependent. The large flow and temperature ranges experienced in modern aircraft, make the turbine flowmeter not so suitable for normal service. One major advance over all other types is its repeatability.

8.3.2

True mass flow indicators The most accurate type of flowmeter in widespread use for applications where mass measurement is required, are angular momentum true mass flowmeters. They have an accuracy of better than 0.5% over the cruise flow range and with the associated computing it is possible to obtain flow rate and fuel consumed indications having an accuracy of better than 1%. The operation of this type of indicator is based on Newton's Second Law of Motion, applied in the measurement of the force required to alter the velocity of the fluid stream in a known manner. It is usual in this type of instrument for the fluid to be accelerated in a direction normal to the inlet flow to a constant velocity v by exY ternal means which make no reference to the prevailing value of the inlet velocity v s

(See figure 8.21).

The force F acting on the fluid stream is given by Y

where m is the mass of the fuel and v is the (constant) component of Y fluid velocity within the meter normal to the direction of entry.

STREAM ENTERING THE METER

STREAM DEFLECTED WITHIN THE METER

Fy =FORCE ACTING ON F~LULD STREAM

Fig. 8.21

Velocity

vector diagram of the true mass flow meter

MOTOR

IIvlrcLL

Fig.

8.22

Stator torque true mass flow meter

---

ELECTRONICS

@
RESET

Fig. 8.23

The rotor torque true mass flow meter

There are two main types of angular momentum true mass flowmeters, utilizing either the stator torque or the rotor torque principle.

8.3.2.1

The stator torque true mass flowmeter In the stator torque flowmeter of figure 8.22 the fuel is first passed through a rotating vane moving at a constant speed which imparts a constant angular rotation or swirl to the fuel. The fuel is then passed through a turbine designed to remove all angular momentum from the fluid. In doing this a torque is exerted on the turbine which is proportional to the mass flow rate of the fluid passing through the turbine. This torque is calculated by measuring the deflection of a spring which is restraining the turbine. A synchro transfers the deflection to an indicator.

8.3.2.2

The rotor torque true mass flowmeter The fuel entering the transmitter of figure 8.23 is passed through straightening vanes fitted into an annular space, which have the effect of removing swirl and random disturbances. The axially flowing fuel is then passed through the measuring assembly, which is driven at a speed of approximately 100 RPM by an electromotor. The measurement assembly consists of the constant speed shaft on which an impeller is free to rotate in low friction bearings. Angular torque is imparted to the empeller by the shaft by means of a torsion spring whose linear torquefrotation characteristic is known. The vanes of the impellor impart a fixed swirl rate to the fuel. The torque required, is proportional only to mass flow, which is proportional to angular twist of the spring. This angular twist is measured in the following way. Two magnets rotate fixed to the measurement assembly: one is on the periphery of the drum, the other on the periphery of the impellor. When the spring is undeflected the magnets are in line. Two pick-off coils are sited on the case, one above each magnet. When the measurement assembly rotates, pulses are induced in the coils. The time interval between the pulses is proportional to spring deflection, and hence to mass flow rate.

In the electronics unit the time interval between the pulses is measured and converted to a signal suitable for driving the fuel flow indicator. An indication of the fuel used is obtained by time integrating the instantaneous fuel flow signal. As this instrument gives an indication of fuel flow as well as fuel used, the measuring system is also called integrated flowmeter system.

3.3.3

Backgrounds of fuel flow measurements In a moving fluid, the relation between pressure and velocity is given by Bernoulli's equation

where pt
p p
= =

total or stagnation pressure ( / ' , ~m) static pressure ( / ' , ~m)

= fluid density (kg/m3), = flow velocity (m/s).

If we let the fluid flow through a pipe with a restriction as shown in figure 8.18, the velocity v
1

and pressure p

at the section

of the pipe with cross section A and pressure p

2 aid of Bernoulli's equation (8.2) we find as relation between the quantities:

will differ from the velocity v 1 2 at the restriction with cross section A2. With the

Further the law of conservation of mass states that the mass flow per unit of time through the cross sections A equal,
1

and A

has to be

From (8.3) and (8.4) it follows that

with and

Ap

p2 A2

K =

A1

The measurement of the pressure drop Ap across a venturi is a simple method of flow measurement but for use as aircraft flowmeter there is a drawback. For an accurate measurement at low flow rates, the diameter of the venturi has to be small in order to arrive at a measurable pressure drop. However, at high flow rates this pressure drop will become excessive. Reference to equation (8.5) shows that the pressure drop is proportional to the mass flow rate squared. Hence, if we want to measure a flow range of 20 to 1 we require a pressure range of 400 to 1, which would be unacceptable in an aircraft fuel system. If venturi flowmeters have to be used, it will be necessary to restrict the flow range to 5 or 10 to 1. In that case accuracies are in the order of 1%. The limitations of a fixed venturi are overcome with a flowmeter having a variable orifice. Another drawback of the fuel flow measurement based on Bernouilli's law is that it actually measures a volume flow of fuel. The mass flow is obtained by multiplying with the density p of the fuel, which is strongly temperature dependent. A direct measurement of - flow of fuel can be obtained by applying Newton's second law mass of motion. Referring to figure 8.23 we notice that an impellor rotating with angular velocity w will give the passing fuel the same angular velocity w. The torque T, the impellor has to exert on the fuel in order to give it the angluar velocity is according to Newton's second law of motion given by:

In (8.6) I is the moment of inertia of the fuel which can be substituted by MR', find for (8.6): where R is the radius of gyration and M the mass of the fuel. Assuming that the impeller is rotating at constant speed we

where

dM - = massflow dt

rate of the fuel. For the annulus of fuel in the,

1

impeller, with inner radius R gyration is given by:

and outer radius R

2'

the radius of

and will be constant. Hence, (8.7) can be written as:

where K is a constant of proportionally. The impellor, driven by the drum via a flexable spring will be deflected over an angle O with respect to the drum. If K
2

is the spring constant, we have

The spring deflection O causes a phase delay between the signals at the pick-off coils of drum and impellor, which can be converted to a time delay t between both signals via

Substitution of (8.11) in (8.10) gives

Thus the time delay t between the signals from the pick-off coils of drum and impellor is a direct measure of the mass flow rate

dM

dt'

independent of the rotational speed w .

8.4

Engine power measurements Depending on the type of engine used for the propulsion of the aircraft, different indications are used for the power being transmitted by the engines. For piston engines and turboprop engines the power is expressed in units of brake or shaft horsepower (BHP or SHP) at the propeller shaft, for a turbojet the power is expressed in pounds of thrust at the jetpipe. The power ratings of each of the various types of engines are determined during test-bed calibration runs conducted by the manufacturer for various operating conditions such as take-off, climb and normal cruising. They are established with a view to conserving the lives of engines and contributing to longer periods between overhauls. To ensure that in the different phases of flight these ratings are not exceeded, it is necessary to equip the engines with power indicators. In the following sections, the instruments associated with power indication for the various types of engines will be treated.

8.4.1

Manifold pressure gauge With the aid of a manifold pressure gauge the absolute pressure in the intake manifold of a reciprocating engine is measured. This manifold pressure (MAP) is an indication of the torque generated by the engine. Namely, the pressure in the manifold is a measure of the density of the fuelfair mixture. As this density is deciding for the mass of the gasmixture which is sucked into the cylinder during the intake stroke, it will also represent the amount of heat which is being released during the combustion process. This released heat expands the gasmixture and this expanding mixture exerts a force on the cylinder, which via the cranck-shaft generates a torque. The practical realisation of the instrument is shown in figure
8.24.

The measuring element consists of two bellows, one open to the

manifold, the other evacuated and sealed. The reason for the installation of two bellows is to prefent the fuel/ air mixture to come into contact with the transfer mechanism of the instrument and to escape by leaks in the instrument case to the cockpit. The mixture is flamable as well as corrosive.

8.4.2

Mixture indicator The task of this instrument is to indicate the ratio between the amounts of air and fuel fed to the cylinders of the reciprocating engine. As for a certain orifice a fixed relationship exists between pressure and mass, the measurement of a pressure ratio corresponds with the mass ratio between fuel and air. The mixture ratio has its influence on the torque of the engine, but more on such cases like an economic fuel consumption and engine temperature. The construction of the instrument is shown in figure 8 . 2 5 . The left capsule measures the pressure difference p right aneroid capsule is sensitive to p

air of both mechanisms are transmitted to the indicator by rods and

- ar while the fuel ' i ' Deflection of the capsules

levers, the deviding function of the airpressure unit being accomplished by an intermediate sliding block. From the figure we learn that actually is measured:

the scale of the infuel ' i ' ar strument has been moved a value +1 with respect to the actual measured As we are only interested in p value.

8.4.3

Torque indicators Another way of obtaining the power being transmitted by an engine, is the torque measurement. Per revolution of the shaft, the engine performs an amount of labour of ZIT x torque at the shaft. This implies that the power = amount of labour per second corresponds with 271 x torque x n, where n is the number of revolutions per second of the shaft . The most direct method of measuring the torque at a shaft is by the principle sketched in figure 8 . 2 6 , where the twist of a known length of the power turbine shaft is measured. Within the transducer unit ( 4 ) two toothed wheels (phonic wheels) are rotating, and each

Fig. 8.24

Manifold pressure gauge

'fuel

'air

Fig. 8.25

Mixture i n d i c a t o r

VIEW ON ARROW

1 TORQUE INDICATOR 2 TORQUEMElER ELECTRONIC UNIT

3 FREE POWER TURBINE SHAFT (MONITORED LENGTH) 4 TRANSDUCER

8 WHEELS OLlT OF ALIGNMENT

9 WHEELS I N ALIGNMENT
10 PICK-UP STATOR

1 1 PERMANEN MAGNET
12 TEMPERATURE SENSOR

5 RESISTORS (CORRECTION FACTOR1

6 AIRCRAtl28vd.c. SUPPLY 7 COIL

Fig. 8.26

Torque meter operation

scanned by a pick-up stator coil (7) The phase wheel is part of the power turbine shaft, the reference wheel is attached to the reference tube welded to the power turbine shaft. The constantly changing relationship between wheel teeth and stator teeth produces fluctuations in the magnetic field, which generates an AC signal in the coil (7) Each wheel has a related output signal which is fed independently to the comparator (2)

. Since both wheels are integral with the shaft

, the
frequency of both signals will be

and their teeth aligned ( 9 )

the same, and their phases simultaneous. However, as the length of shaft, between the attachment points of the wheels, twists under load, the wheels become out of alignment ( 8 ) , and thus the two signals become out of phase. Since the degree of twist in the shaft is related to the torque being transmitted, the out of phase signals, when processed by the electronic unit, provide a signal from the electronic unit to the indicator in the cockpit, which represents engine output torque. As for a given torque, the degree to which the shaft twists, is partly dependent on its temperature, the signal is modified by the electronic unit in relation to the signal transmitted by the temperature sensor (12) located in the transducer stator. In this way an accurate reading of torque can be maintained. This way of measuring torques can be found in helicopters. In turboprop- and piston-engine aircraft torque indications are generally based on measuring the 'forces exerted at the outline of the stationary ring gear of the reduction gear assembly used to reduce the propeller speed. The principle is shown diagrammatically in figure 8.27. The planet gears transmit the engine power to the propeller by way of their number of revolutions and the force exerted by the planet gears on the teeth of the ring gear. This force multiplied by the radius of the ring gear, gives the engine torque. The force can be measured by the pistonlcylinder combinations installed along the outline of the ring gear. The cylinders are filled with oil supplied by a pump and the pressure needed to keep the ring gear in position is measured by a pressure sensor such as a Bourdon tube. The deflection of the Bourdon tube is a direct measure of the torque, the engine delivers to the propellor axis.

An indication in the cockpit can be obtained by converting the displacement at the extremity of the Bourdon tube in an angular rotation by means of a sector gear and pinion. Next, the angular information is transmitted to an electrical indicator by means of a Desyn or AC synchro system (Chapter 6).

8.4.4

Engine pressure ratio (EPR) indicating system Engine pressure ratio is a measure of the effectiveness of the jet engine. Specifically, it is the ratio of the total pressure in the tailpipe Pt7 to the total pressure in the inlet Pt2. EPR = Pt7 / Pt2
(8.14)

The subscripts 2 and 7 are related to the position in the engine where they are measured. In figure 8.28 the standard notation for the measuring points in jet engines is given. The EPR system measures how much the air is speeded up while passing through the engine. EPR is not a direct measure of thrust, but is a measurement of whether the engine is putting out as much thrust as it should for the existing pressure altitude, speed and temperature. This can be shown in the following way. The power generated by a turbojet is given by the expression: P where P v
= power in Nm/s
=

=Thxv

Th = thrust in N (1N
=

0.22 lbs)

speed in m/s

The thrust of a turbojet can be seen as the difference between the force supplied by the outflowing gasses at the outlet and the force needed for the intake of air at the front-end of the engine. Dividing the thrust by the area of the outlet, the propulsion pressure of the engine is obtained as

propulsion pressure

Pt7

- Pt2 . C

(8.16)

SAO A Y TT NR

W E T GEARS

TOROUE PRESSURE INDlUTOR

DR C O IN WHICH RING IETN GEAR lENDS TO ROTATE. DIREClW4 OF CRANKSHAFT ROTATION DIREOF PROPEUER Y(*FTROTAW

Fig.

8.27

P r i n c i p l e o f torque pressure i n d i c a t o r

1. Undisturbed air 2. Compressor inlet 3. Compressor outlet (highest air pressure) 4 Combustion chamber . 5. Turbine inlet (hottest spot of engine) 6. Turbine outlet 7. Jet pipe (highest air velocity)

Fig.

8.28

Standard n o t a t i o n f o r measuring p o i n t s i n t u r b o - j e t

engines

Fig. 8.29

EPR measuring system

Pt 5.4

P t 5.4

TURBINE INLET

TRANSD.

ELECTRONICS UNIT

Pt 2

"t 2
1

INDICATOR

PITOT PRES.

TRANSD.

Fig. 8.30

Modern EPR measuring system

where

C =

area of inlet = constant for civil aircraft with the area of outlet

exception of the CONCORDE having a variable outlet opening. These pressures can only come from the energies contained in respectively the inflowing and outflowing airmasses of the engine.
In the section of the pitot static system it is shown that the pressure

confined in flowing air is given by the total airpressure pressure

static

+ stagnation pressure.

For the operation of the engine the

propulsion pressure itself is of less importance than its ratio to the inlet pressure which has to be conquered for the intake of air. This ratio, or in other words, the efficiency with which the engine produces thrust has to be acceptable. This efficiency can be expressed as:

engine efficiency

Pt7 - Pt2 C Pt2 C

-- 1 - Pt7 Pt2 C

-,

where Pt7/Pt2

EPR.

8.4.4.1

Sensor/indicator system for EPR In figure 8.29 the principle is shown of the EPR measuring system. The indicator usually contains a simple torque producing synchro receiver which is driven by a synchro transmitter in the EPR transmitter. A push-pull knob is geared to markers on the face of the indicator to permit the crew to preset desired values of EPR for take-off, climb, or cruise. Then, during each phase of flight, the pointer need only be matched to the marker. To facilitate setting the marker, some indicators incorporate digital counters geared to the markers and the knob. The EPR transmitter has to produce an indication of Pt7/Pt2. To simplify the mechanisation bellows or capsules are used which measure the ratio of the differential pressure Pt7 pressure Pt2. Because Pt7 - Pt2 Pt2
=

Pt2 to the absolute

Pt7 Pt2

these mechanisms give the same answer. The -1 is taken care of in setting the pointer on the dial at 1 when Pt7 = Pt2.

The inlet pressure Pt2 is measured by a probe similar to a pitot pressure tube (see section 10.8.3).

It is mounted in such a way

that it faces into the airstream in the engine's intake or on the pylon in the vicinity of the air-intake. The probe is protected against icing by a supply of warm air from the engine's anti-ice system. The exhaust pressure sensing probes are interconnected by pipelines which terminate at a manifold thus averaging the pressures to Pt7.

In variable-area tailpipe engines, the total pressure of the

exhaust gas is sometimes measured just after the final turbine or at the turbine inlet (Pt5 or Pt4) rather than in the tailpipe. Further, aircraft pitot pressure is used in lieu of the total pressure at the engine inlet. This method also finds acceptance in modern aircraft with conventional fixed-area tailpipe engines. In figure 8.30 the measuring set-up is given. The transducers translate the pressures in electrical signals, which after division in the electronics unit are transmitted to the indicator.

8.5

Engine vibration monitoring The operation of engines is always accompanied by vibrations Even with turbine engines, which have no reciprocating parts, they cannot be entirely eliminated. They can only be kept down to the lowest possible level. As a result of certain mechanical troubles in the engines, vibrations may occur in excess of acceptable levels and therefore have to be monitored. The monitoring system consists essentially of a vibration pick-up unit mounted on the engine at right angles to its axis, an amplifier monitoring unit and a moving-coil microammeter calibrated to show vibration amplitude in thousandths of an inch (mils). A blockdiagram of the system is shown in figure 8.31. The pick-up unit is a linear-velocity detector that converts the mechanical energy of vibration into an electrical signal. It does this by a special constructed spring-supported magnet, the middle leg

- -- - - -TURBINE PICK-UP
1 1 5V 400HZ SINGLE- PHASE SUPPLY

INDICATOR

Fig. 8.31

Engine v i b r a t i o n monitoring system

R:
Fig. 8.32

SPRING

Principle o f the vibration sensor

SUPERCHARGER

F i g . 8 . 3 3 I n s t r u m e n t package o f a r e c i p r o c a t i n g p i s t o n engine

of which stings in a coil (Fig. 8.32).

As the engine vibrates, the

pick-up unit and coil move with it; the magnet, however, tends to remain fixed in space because of inertia. The motion of the coil causes its windings to cut the field of the magnet thus inducing a voltage in the coil and providing a signal to the amplifier unit. The signal, after amplification and integration by an electrical filter network, is fed to the indicator via a rectifying section. An amber indicator light also forms part of the system together with a test switch. The light is supplied with direct current from the amplifier rectifying section and starts burning as soon as the maximum amplitude of vibration exceeds a preset value. The test switch permits functional checking of the system's electrical circuit.

8.6

Monitoring of powerplants For monitoring a safe and economic operation of aircraft engines, a combination of the powerplant instruments treated in the foregoing sections, has to be installed in the cockpit. The composition depends on the type of engine used, but in general we can state that the instrument package has to profide information about

the incoming substances like air and fuel,

- the power delivered by the engine, i.e. torque, RPM, EPR, - the condition under which the combustion process takes place, i.e.
temperature, lubrication. In the following we will treat the instrument packages used for the different types of engines.

8.6.1

Reciprocating engine In figure 8.33 the instrument package for a supercharged reciprocating engine is shown. The fuel supply is monitored by a fuel pressure indicator and fuel flow indicator.

The risque of icing in the carburator is measured by the carburator air temperature indicator. Information about the torque generated by the engine is obtained from a torquemeter and /or a manifold pressure indicator. RF'M information is obtained from a tachometer on the shaft of the engine. The combustion process is monitored by the cylinder head temperature measured by thermocouples at the hottest cylinder. The lubrication of the engine is checked by the oil-temperature and oil-pressure indicator.

8.6.2

Turbojet engine The instrument package of a (three) engined turbojet aircraft is shown in figure 8 . 3 4 . The air inlet conditions are determined by an outside air temperature indicator and static air pressure indicator (altitude). These instruments are not connected to the powerplant instruments. The fuel supply is measured by a fuel flow indicator. The generated power is indicated by an EPR meter, while the combustion process is checked by RPM, turbine gas temperature (TGT) and oilpressure and oil-temperature of the lubrication system. It is noted that an engine has to reach the desired EPR value, without exceeding the limits of RPM, TGT and fuel consumption. If these limits look to be exceeded, the engine is worn out or damaged and has to be replaced.

8.6.3

Turboprop engine The turboprop engine uses the same instruments as the turbojet engine, with the exception of the instruments used for measuring the power. For an ordinary turbojet this was the EPR indicator, for a turboprop we have again to do with an engine torque which again is measured with a torquemeter installed on the reduction gear. In figure 8 . 3 5 a composition of instruments for a typical two engined aircraft is given.

AIRFRAME CONFIGURATION MONITORING In the different phases of flight there has to be the possibility to monitor the position of the different structures which are used either to enhance the aerodynamical properties of the aircraft (flaps, slats, retractable landing gear) or to spoil these properties (spoilers, speed brakes). In addition, large aircraft have to be equipped with a control surface position indicator primarily used for on-ground flight control checks. As the aerodynamical properties are spoiled by ice on wings and fuselage, it is important to monitor also the growth of ice by an ice detection system.

9.1

Landing gear indication For the indication of the position of the landing gear often use is made of three lights on the instrument panel. Usually, the situation where the landing gear handle is up and the gear is up and locked is indicated by no light. Is the landing gear handle down and the gear down and locked it will be indicated by green lights. The situations in which the gear is not up and locked, gear not down and locked or gear not in agreement with the handle will be indicated by a red light. In figure 9.1 the basic principle of the landing gear position indicator is shown.

9.2

Flap/slat position indicator The position indication of flaps and slats will be illustrated with the example of the flap/slat indicator of a DC-10, shown in figure 9.2. The flaps can take three positions:

slats in, a configuration used during normal flight, slats in mid position, a configuration used during take-off, slats full out, a configuration used in the landing.

The three distinct positions can by indicated with the aid of lights on the flap/slat indicator. Selecting "slats in" will result in no lights. Selection of slats in "mid position" or "full out" will result in respectively a blue light "take off" or a blue light "land" (Fig. 9.2a). As long as the position of the control handle disagrees with the position of the slats, an amber "disagree" will light on the indicator. The flap position indication takes place with the aid of a tape indicator. The flaps are mechanically positioned with the aid of the flap handle. The selected position of the flap handle is passed to the markers aside the vertical scale by a synchro-servo system. The actual position of the flaps in turn is indicated by novable tapes one for the left wing and one for the right wing. The tapes are actuated by a synchro- servo system. In addition a separate system compares the positions of the flaps of the left and right wing and in case of disagreement, a flag "flap disagreement" will be raised (Fig. 9.2b).

9.3

Control surface position indicator For the position indication of elevator, rudder and ailerons often a combined indicating instrument is used. In figure 9.3 we give as an example the control surface indicator of a Boeing 747. With the aid of a number of synchro systems the position information of the control surfaces is transmitted to the associated arrow shaped markers which move along the scales of the indicator.

9.4

Ice detection system The ice detection system is provided to warn pilots of ice conditions. The system comprises an ice detection probe, mounted on the lower forward side of the nose section and ice detect lights in the cockpit.

SWITCH ON GEAR HANDLE

UP

DOWN

MAIN

UPIDOOR LATCHED SENSOR

UNLOCKED LOCKED

DOWNlLKD SENSOR

u
NOSE LANDING GEAR

\
I

----

RIGHT MEAN LANDING GEAR

Fig. 9 . 1

Landing gear i n d i c a t i o n ( s c h e m a t i c )

SLAT CONTROL HANDLE

SLAT HANDLE SWITCHES LAND ELECTRONIC TAKE-OFF RETRACT OR T I 0 PROXIMITY UNIT DISAGREE

'

I I

I I

I
W

RETRACT

AMBER

u I

RETRACT

--- -

R SLAT

R SLAT

Fig. 9.2

Flap/Slat indicator: a) Slat position indication

9NIM 1331 NSOd P ON U3llOdS

NSOd A 3 1 3 0 8 1 f l 0

DC B U S

.<
ENG l HE A N T I - I C I N G I C E DETECTOR

D l APHRAGM

THERMOSTAT A l R FLOW P

Fig. 9 4 .

Ice detection system

INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

On the leading edge, the probe has one large hole and seven small holes which are exposed to the airflow along the aircraft. The large hole is in connection with the upper side of a diaphragm, the small holes with the lower side (see figure 9.4). Under normal conditions there is no pressure difference across the diaphragm. During ice conditions, the small holes will ice over first, resulting in a pressure drop at the lower side of the diaphragm, which therefore bends and operates a switch. When the switch closes, the ice detector relay energizes and the probe heater is switched on. Further, a slow release relay energizes ,and the ice-detect lights come on. The ice detector relay de-energizes when the probe is de-iced by the heater. When the probe remains ice-free for 1 minute or more, the SR contact opens and the light goes out. When the aircraft is airborn, the SR contact also energizes the engine anti-icing relay which in turn switches the engine anti-icing systems.

10

AIR DATA INSTRUMENTS Aviation is only possible thanks to the occurrence of the atmosphere around the earth. The forces acting on the structure, the performance of the engines and the allied motions of the aircraft are strongly dependent on the properties of the atmosphere. Therefore, it will be appropriate to first explain the behaviour of the atmosphere before treating the airdata instruments used for indicating the altitude, airspeed and vertical speed of the aircraft.

10.1

The atmosphere The earth's atmosphere is the surrounding envelope of air, which is a mixture of the following gasses: Nitrogen Oxygen Argon C02 other gasses 78.09% 20.95% 0.93% 0.026% 0.03% (Ne, He, etc.)

This gaseous envelope is conventionally devided into several concentric layers extending from the earth's surface, each with its own distinctive features. The lowest layer is termed troposphere. It is the layer in which the weather takes place and in which conventional aircraft are mostly flown. Its height varies from 7 km at the poles via 11 km at moderate altitudes to 16 km at the equator. This height boundary is called tropopause. Above the tropopause, a layer called stratosphere extends to the stratopause at an average height of 20 km. From the stratopause upwards, the remaining atmosphere is devided into the mesosphere, ionosphere and exosphere. Throughout all these layers the atmosphere gradually changes from its properties at sea level to those at the fringes of the exosphere where it merges with the completely airless outerspace. The atmosphere is held in contact with the earth's surface by the gravity force, which produces a pressure gradient within the atmosphere.

STANDARD ATMOSPHERE

TEMPERATURE (OC)

Fig. 10.1

The averaged temperature profile at 48 degrees latitude

Fig. 10.2

Forces exerted on a cube of air

F i g . 10.3

The ICAO s t a n d a r d atmosphere

Gravitational forces decrease with increasing distance from the center of mass of the earth, resulting in a steadily decrease of atmospheric pressure with height. The steadily fall in atmospheric pressure with altitude has a dominating effect on the density of the air, which changes in direct proportion to changes in pressure. Another important factor affecting the atmosphere is its temperature characteristic. The air in contact with the surface of the earth is heated by conduction and radiation. As a result its density decreases and the air starts rising. In rising, the pressure drop allows the air to expand and the expansion in turn causes a fall in temperature. Therefore, the troposphere is characterized by a steadily fall in temperature with increasing altitude. At low altitudes the temperature profile may be disturbed by the weather and the seasons have also a large influence as shown in figure 10.1. However, in the average we find that the temperature in the troposphere falls at a constant rate of 0.65" C per 100 m from 15O C at mean sea level to -56.5' C at an altitude of 11 l. a In the stratosphere the temperature remains constant at -56.5' C.

10.2

Physical backgrounds of the behaviour of the atmosphere To elucidate the physical backgrounds of the behaviour of the atmosphere we will derive in this section a number of theoretical relationships between pressure, density, temperature and altitude.

10.2.1 Air pressure Under the influence of the gravity field of the earth, a pressure will be built up in the atmosphere. To find out how this pressure will change with position a small cube of air will be considered into some more detail (Fig. 10.2). If the density of the air in the cube is p kg/m3, the mass of the cube will be
p

dxdydz kg. The force exerted by the gravity field

with strength g m/s2 will be in that case pg dxdydz N (newton). The surfaces of the cube are subject to forces which the surrounding

airmasses exert on them. For an elementary area this force is directed along the normal of the surface and is expressed as the (scalar) pressure p in ~ / m ' . If the air in the atmosphere is in equilibrium the vectorsum of all forces acting on the cube has to be zero. According to figure 10.2 this results into the equations:
(p

+
+

d pZ) dxdy
d pX )

(p ( p or

+ Pg dxdydz dydz - p dydz = 0

=

p dxdy = 0 (10.1)

+d

p ) dxdz - p dxdz Y

From the equations (10.2) it follows that in the x,y plane perpendicular to the gravity field the pressure is constant. The pressure is only a function of z or height above the earth.

10.2.2

The relationship between atmospheric pressure and altitude In section 10.2.1 we found that the pressure had to satisfy the equation

For a dry gas at normal pressure and temperature, the relationship between pressure p, temperature T and density P is given by Boyle's law
P

=RT

(10.4)

where R is the gasconstant, having a value depending on the molecular weight of the gas. For dry air R = 287.05307 m2/s2E. Substitution of (10.4) in (10.3) results in dp
=

- RT dh

(10.5)

If p0 is the atmospheric pressure at mean sea level and h the geometric

altitude above mean sea level, we find after intergration of (10.5)

In aviation the geopotential altitude above sea level H is often used, which is defined by g where g
0

(10.7) is the strength of the gravity field at mean sea level. With
=

dH

g dh

the introduction of (10.7) equation (10.6) becomes

H

l n E = Po

8,/ L R T
0

dH

(10.8)

10.2.3 Linear lapse in temperature (troposphere) From figure 10.1 we learn that in the average the lapse in temperature with altitude in the troposphere is linear, i.e.

where T

is the temperature at mean sea level (288.15 K) and A is the

=

temperature lapse rate. For a dry adiabatic atmosphere A into

-0.0065 K/m.

Substitution of (10.9) in (10.8) and performing the integration results

The accompanying density profile is found with the aid of (10.4) as

The altitude H can be expressed in terms of atmospheric pressure according to (10.10) as

10.2.4

Constant temperature (stratosphere) In the stratosphere the temperature does not change with altitude. At the tropopause at H
(-56.5'C).

km, the temperature Tll = 216.65 K Integration of (10.8) form H to H results in this case
11
= 11

11

into

The density distribution is found as

The altitude H as a function of atmospheric pressure is found from

(10.13)

as

10.3

The standard atmosphere (SA) The behaviour of the lower part of the atmosphere is strongly dependent on the seasons and the weather. Especially the dynamic behaviour of the weather causes the properties of the atmosphere determined by pressure, temperature and humidity to change by large amounts

For barometric height measurement, for comparison of aircraft performance and also for calibration of aircraft instruments, precisely defined relations between altitude, pressure and temperature have been introduced. They have been obtained from observed yearly averaged values of the quantities mentioned.

The adopted values are as follows:

the atmospheric pressure at mean sea level p0 is equal to 1013.25 mbar, or in SI-units p
0

= 1013,25

hecto pascal,
0

the temperature at mean sea level T

is equal to 288.15 K or 15"C,

the air temperature decreases with a lapse rate of -6.5 K/km (troposphere), till an altitude of 11 km, between 11

20 ! altitude the temperature remains constant at a

216.65 K or -56.5"C,

between 20 - 32 ! the temperature increases with a lapse rate of a

1 K/km,

the air density at mean sea level

is equal to 1.225 kg/m3.

It is from the above sea-level values that all other corresponding values have been calculated with the aid of the formulas of section
10.2.3 and presented as the standard atmosphere as shown in figure 10.3. The calculated values were originally defined as ICAN (Inter-

national Commission for Aerial Navigation) conditions, but in 1952 a more detailed specification was finally established by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and so the ICAO Standard Atmosphere (ISA) is the one now accepted. As far as altimeters, airspeed indicators and vertical-speed indicators are concerned, the inclusion of the fixed relationships between the relevant variables in the laws of calibration permits the use of simple mechanisms operating solely on pressure changes.

10.4

Altitude measurement

10.4.1 Principle of the altimeter

In the foregoing section we have seen that there exists a (nonlinear) relationship between the airpressure and the altitude in the atmosphere. Therefore, it may be obvious that in the first aeroplanes the altitude was determined with the aid of an aneroid barometer with

A detailed description of its operation has already been given in

section 2.

a scale calibrated against altitude. In figure 10.4 the basic principle is shown. The pressure sensing element is the evacuated metal capsule which drives the pointer by a rack and pinion. The non-linearity in indication is compensated for by a tuning spring. The spring bears against the capsule and applies a controlled retarding force to the capsule expansion. The retarding force is governed by a set of ranging screws which are pre-adjusted to contact the spring at appropriate points as it is pushed aside by the expanding capsule. As the airpressure on the capsule decreases the spring rate increases and its effective length is shortened. As a result linearity is obtained directly at the capsule. Present day altimeters are more sophisticated but the aneroid barometer principle still applies. The calibration is performed according to the ICAO standard atmosphere of figure 10.3, corresponding with relation (10.12) for the troposphere and (10.15) for the stratosphere.

10.4.2 Triple-pointer altimeter One of the first sensitive altimeters was the triple-pointer altimeter shown in figure 10.5. The large pointer makes one revolution per 100 feet, the small pointers indicate the thousands and tens of thousands of feet respectively. The pressure-sensing element is made up of three aneroid capsules stacked together to increase the sensitivity of the instrument. Deflections of the capsules are transmitted to a sector gear via a link and rocking shaft assembly. The sector gear meshes with a magnifying gear mechanism which drives a handstaff carrying a long pointer, the function of which is to indicate hundreds of feet. A pinion is also mounted on the handstaff and this drives a second gear mechanism carrying second and third pointers which indicate thousands and tens of thousands of feet respectively. To derive a linear altitude scale from the non-linear pressure1 altitude relationship, it is necessary to incorporate some form of conversion within the altimeter mechanism (see figure 10.6).

F i g . 10.4

P r i n c i p l e of t h e a l t i m e t e r

TlON =17302 f t

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

: ANEROID CAPSULE : BARO SCALE ADJUSTMENT KNOB : CAM GEAR : STATIC PRESSURE CONNECTOR : BARO SCALE : TEMPERATURE COMPENSATING U : BALANCE WEIGHT

- BRACKET

Fig. 10.5

T r i p l e p o i n t e r altimeter

By a suitable choice of material and depth of the waves of the capsule a specific deflection curve (2) is obtained. With a variable magnification lever and gear system a deflection characteristic of curve (3) can be obtained. The resultant of both curves produces the linear scale as indicated at ( ) 4. To remove the error in the indication due to the fact that a gear can always turn a small amount before it will drive the one in mesh with it, a coiled hairspring is applied. This loss of motion or backlash as it is termed, is unavoidable since the dimensioning of the gear teeth must allow for a set amount of "play" to avoid jamming of the gears. The spring, due to tensioning, always has a tendency to unwind so that the inherent play between gear teeth is taken up and they are maintained in contact. To compensate for changes in ambient temperature, the pressure sensing element of the altimeter in figure
10.5 is equipped with a bimetal "U"-shaped bracket, the open ends of

which are connected with the top of the capsule by push rods. Changes in temperature cause the elastic properties of the capsule to change resulting in a varying degree of deflection of the capsule in response to the airpressure acting on it. Should at a certain moment the ambient temperature decrease, the elasticity of the capsule would increase, resulting in a tendency of the capsule to return to its original size. Hence the capsule will expand and cause the altimeter to over-read. The effect of a decrease in temperature on the I , U11 -shaped bracket is to cause the limbs to bend inwards, and by virtue of the angular position of the pins, a downward force is exerted on the capsule, to oppose the error-producing expansion. The converse of the foregoing sequence will apply when an increase of ambient temperature occurs. In front of the main mechanism is mounted a barometric pressuresetting mechanism. The purpose of it will be described in section

10.4.5. It consists of a counter geared to the shaft of a setting knob. The shaft also carries a pinion which meshes with a gear around
the periphery of the main mechanism casting. When the knob is rotated to set the required barometric pressure, the main mechanism is also rotated, and the pointers are set to the corresponding altitude change.

The position of the capsules under the influence of the atmospheric pressure prevailing at the time, remains undisturbed.

A spring loaded balance weight is linked to the rocking shaft

to maintain the balance of this main mechanism regardless of its altitude.

10.4.3

Semi-digital altimeter The presentation of altitude information has undergone many changes in recent years, principally as a result of altimeter misreadings. A modern design is the drum-type altimeter of figure 10.7. The altimeter has a linear scale and the calibration according to the standard atmosphere is realized by means of a special transmission mechanism. The static friction or stiction in the gear is minimized by using an electrical vibrator. The use of light-weight drums and jewelled bearing transfer pinions ensures that a low torque is required to drive the digital counters and the drum. A pressure setting knob actuates a cam to move the printer and provides the proper pressure reference. A rotary solenoid drives a failure flag to warn the pilot if power is lost to the vibrator.

10.4.4

Servo altimeter Until the coming of jets with their high operating altitudes, conventional direct reading altimeters were operating satisfactory. The accuracy of the indication is nearly solely determined by the friction between the capsule and the pointer mechanism. The capsule has to generate the force to conquer the friction and to drive the pointers. The error in altitude caused by the friction corresponds to a pressure difference, for which the altimeter is insensitive. In a servo altimeter the airpressure is processed in a different manner. In figure 1 0 . 8 the principle of the servo altimeter is shown. The core of an LVIT is coupled to the pressure sensor. A change in air pressure will cause a change in position of the core leading to a change in coupling between windings w across winding w
2

and w

2'

The changed voltage

is compared with the voltage from a potentiometer P

in a differential amplifier. A difference between both voltages results

POINTER ROTATION (RNOLUTIONSI

50

40

30

$0

10

200 4 0 600 800 1M)O 0' I

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE ON CAPSULES IMILLIBARSI

EXAMPLE 20 000 ft 1 PRESSURE = 466 rnbar 2 CAPSULE DEFLECTION = 0.087 in 3 POINTER ROTATION = 20 revs 4 INDICATED HEIGHT = 20 000 f t

Fig. 10.6

Conversion of pressure/height relationship to a linear scale

F i g . 10.7 D r u m - t y p e

altimeter:

a) f r o n t p a n e l , b) o p e r a t i o n a l s c h e m a t i c

Fig. 10.8

Servo altimeter

ALTITUDE

(m)

-,AIR
P = MEASURED PRESSURE PO = PRESSURE SET AT SUBSCALE h = INDICATED ALTITUDE
F i g . 10.9 Indication o f a calibrated altimeter

PRESSURE

in a driving signal for motor M. As a result the axis on which are mounted the pointer and the runner of the potentiometer will rotate until the difference voltage has become zero again. Application of the servosystem has resulted in the fact that the capsule is now used only as a pressure sensor and no longer as a force producing system. The sensitivity of the servo altimeter can be raised in this way by a factor two. The accuracy at sea level is approximately 30 feet.

10.4.5

Altimeter settings As we already know, the basis for the calibration of altimeters is the standard atmosphere. Substitution of the relevant parameters of the standard atmosphere in relation (10.12) results in the metric altitude equation.

&

Relation (10.16) is the basis on which altimeters are calibrated. From relation (10.16) we learn that the altitude h, indicated by the altimeter, is with respect to a reference level denoted by its pressure Po and under standard atmospheric conditions (see figure 10.9). As in the different phases of flight, the pilot wants to know his altitude with respect to different reference levels, the altimeter has been equipped with a possibility to adjust p ment case (see figure 10.5).
0

. For that purpose,

the frame containing the capsule and gearing can revolve in the instruIf the knob on the front of the instrument is turned, the whole mechanism in the case rotates and the pointer indication will change. In a so-called subscale we read the pressure setting based on the desired reference level. If the altimeter is set at the standard atmosphere corresponding with a p of 1013,25 mbar at
0

zero reference level, the subscale indicates 1013,25 mbar. The different altimeter settings have been coded by internationally agreed Q-codes. Mostly used altimeter settings are QNH and 1013.25 mbar, incidentally QFE is used. The meaning of the different altimeter settings will be treated next.

10.4.5.1

QFE In connection with QFE, the subscale of the altimeter is set at

the actual airpressure prevailing at the airfield. As a consequence, the altimeter will indicate the height of the aircraft above the airfield which is important for maintaining terrain clearance during take-off and landing. The altimeter reads zero when it touches down, regardless of the surveyed elevation of the airport (Fig. 10.10a). The QFE changes from airfield to airfield and can therefore only be used for local flights. Moreover, the range of the subscale is limited (950-1050 mbar) which implies that for airfields at high elevations, where the airpressure may be below 950 mbar, the QFE value can not be set. For these reasons it is used seldom.

10.4.5.2

Standard setting At this setting the subscale of the altimeter reads 1013,25 mbar.

This means that the altitude of the aircraft is indicated in feet above the pressure reference level of 1013,25 mbar. The standard setting is used for enroute traffic at high altitudes (above 3000 ft). In that case it is not so important what the true altitude is, but more important is that aircraft flying at the same altitude read the same value at their altimeters. The indication in hundreds of feet is known as Flight Level (FL)

(See figure 10. lob). With one common standard setting for all aircraft, a save vertical

separation between aircraft flying at different flight levels can be guaranteed. The standard setting is not suited for low-level flights as the indication may differ from the actual altitude due to a possible difference of the 1013.25 mbar level and mean sea level and due to a difference in temperature of the actual and standard atmosphere. Kence, at a landing the indicated altitude will not be the elevation of the airfield but the pressure altitude of the airfield. This pressure altitude is known as the QNE of the airfield.

AIR PRESSURE

950
rnbar

AIRFIELD

-----

F i g . 10.10a

QFE s e t t i n g of a l t i m e t e r

17000 F T
AIR

--

.- _ _ SEA L E V E L

REFERENCE

LEVEL

1013.25 m b a r

Fig. 10.10b

S t a n d a r d s e t t i n g of a l t i m e t e r

AIR PRESSURE

ALTITUDE 2000 FT 1010 mbar AIRFIELD

MEAN SEA LEVEL 1018 mbar

Fig. 1 0 . 1 0 ~ QNH setting of altimeter

\
65

ELEVATION 240 FEET

FLIGHT LEVELS 60 DECENDING AIRCRAFT

STANDARD-QNH

3000 FT FOR A L L AIRFIELDS IN THE NETHERLANDS

\ \

TRANSITION ALTITUDE

TRANSITION LEVEL

CLIMBING AIRCRAFT QNH -STANDARD 1013.25mbar

TRANSITION LAYER

AIR FIELD

ELEVATION = ALTITUDE INDICATED AT Q N H SETTING

MEAN SEA LEVEL

Fig. 1 0 . 1 1

Transition-level, Transition altitude

10.4.5.3

QNH QNH is the subscale setting that will make the altimeter read

the surveyed airfield elevation above mean sealevel when the aircraft is on the runway (Fig. 10.10~). The QNH can be determined in practice by measuring the actual airpressure at the airfield (QFE) and reducing this value to mean sealevel under standard atmospheric conditions. At sealevel 1 mbar z 30 feet. If we have an airfield at an elevation of 240 feet and the measured airpressure at the field is 1010 240 mbar (QFE), the QNK value will be approximately 1010 + - = 1018 mbar. 30

10.4.5.4

Transition altitude

transition level

At take-off and landing the aircraftusesQNH as altimeter setting while at cruising levels the standard setting of 1013.25 mbar is used (see figure 10.11). Therefore, during climb the altimeter setting has to be changed from QNH to 1013.25 mbar. At the same time of the change from QNH to 1013.25 mbar the pilot starts using the indication flight level instead of altitude. If this change in altimeter setting would be performed by the pilot at an arbitrarily chosen altitude, separation problems would occur. Therefore, a well-defined layer has been created in which the pilot can change from QNH to the standard setting of 1613.25 mbar and reversed. The transition altitude is a fixed altitude at which a climbing aircraft switches to standard setting. It is established in such a way that all obstacles in the surroundings of the airfield are well below this TA. For all Dutch airfields the TA has been fixed at 3000 ft for IFR (= instrument flight rules) flights. The transition level is the flight level at which a descending aircraft changes from standard setting back to QNH. The TL has no fixed altitude but is dependent on the air pressure. Air traffic control normally calculates this level in such a way that it is at least 1000 ft above TA.

-165In conclusion we have: altimeter setting definition actual airpressure at the airfield QFE reduced to mean sea-level under SA conditions 1013,25 mbar airpressure in SA at mean sea-level (1013,25 mbar) flight level altitude indication height above the field

QFE

QNH

10.4.6

Operational aspects: MOCA, MEA, OCA, OCH, DA, DH, MDA and MDH The pilot has to take care of letting the aircraft to follow a desired flight path, clear of obstacles and clear of other traffic. He can perform this task by visual reference or by instruments. When flying by visual reference, the pilot selects the flight path visually, while assessing obstacle clearance and possible traffic separation. In principle such a visual flight has no established tracks, no minimum crossing altitudes etc. In instrument navigation predetermined tracks and/or radar vectors are available for flight path selection. Obstacle clearance is assured by minimum crossing altitudes, while in most airspace traffic control (ATC) takes care of traffic separation. MOCA For a segment of a prescribed airroute, firmly fixed by checkpoints, a minimum obstacle clearance altitude (MOCA) is introduced as the altitude measured in feet above mean sea level (MSL) at which an aircraft will clear obstacles within a specified area by a satisfactory margin. The MOCA is calculated as the highest obstacle or terrain elevation +lo%

1000 ft rounded off to the next higher increment of 100 ft.

For over-water flights a MOCA of 2000 ft is applied (see figure 10.12).

MOCA

r
I I

1
1000FT + 10% OF THE HIGHEST OBSTACLE OR TERRAIN ELEVATION RADIO NAV AID
I

MOCA

I
I

I
I

I
I

MOCA 1000FT

2000 FT MSL SEA

Fig. 10.12

CHECKPOINT
Obstacle c l e a r a n c e on an enroute segment

CHECKPOINT

Fig. 10.13

Definition of Obstacle Clearance Altitude/Height and Decision altitude/Height for precision approaches

The corridors in relation to minimum obstacle clearance are kept as narrow as is compatible with the available navigational means of true keeping track. The MOCA is a - altitude above mean sea level. It does not take into account the means with which aircraft altitude is measured. If a pressure altimeter is used for that purpose, its reading must be corrected for position error, temperature and pressure datum before it can be used in connection with the MOCA.
MEA -

Because the MOCA does not take into account the reception of navigation signals, local aviation authorities can establish a minimum en route altitude MEA. It is the true altitude between radio fixes on airways that ensures acceptable navigation signals and meets the obstruction clearance requirements between the radio fixes.
OCA, OCH

In the development of instrument approach procedures obstacle clearance again plays an important role. For every instrument approach a descent limit is established, below which the pilot is responsible for the visual assessment of navigation. If this is not feasible, he has to set in a go-around. This is called the see to land concept. The descent limit is established in such a way that both obstacle clearance and adequate manoeuvring space for the operation below the descent limit is ensured. For the obstacle clearance the concept of obstacle clearance altitude
OCA and obstacle clearance height OCH has been introduced. In calcul-

ating OCA or OCH, distinction has to be made between a precision approach, where use is made of an instrument landing system (ILS) or a precision approach radar (PAR) and a non-precision approach where use is made of a very high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR) or a non directional beacon (NDB). In a precision approach OCA or OCH is calculated from the height of the highest approach obstacle or equivalent missed approach obstacle plus an aircraft category related allowance for vertical displacement during the initiation of the missed approach procedure. In assessing these obstacles the operational variables of the aircraft category, use of autopilot, and missed approach climb gradient are considered. The allowance takes into account

type of altimeter used and the height loss due to the aircraft characteristics (see figure 10.13). In a non-precision approach a fixed margin for all aircraft, called minimum obstacle clearance MOC is added to the height of the highest approach obstacle whichever is larger (see figure 10.14). DA, DH, MDA and MDH In Annex 6, ICAO suggest to add on top of the OCAIOCH the additional effect of a number of operational factors such as crew qualification, aircraft performance, groundlairborne equipment characteristics, meteorological consitions, aerodrome characteristics etc. In case of a precision approach this lead to the concept decision altitude DA or decision height DH, which is the lowest altitude or alternatively the lowest height above the elevation of the relevant runway threshold at which a missed approach must be initiated (see figure 10.15a). On an ILS cat. I or PAR approach, the decision altitude will be identified by the pressure altimeter when set to QNH. On an ILS cat. I1 approach the decision height will be identified by the DH light on the radio altimeter when the bug has been set at the appropriate height. In a non-precision approach we have the concept of minimum descent altitude MDA or minimum descent height MDH, which is the lowest altitude or alternatively the lowest height above aerodrome elevation or the elevation of the relevant runway threshold, if the threshold elevation is more than 7 ft below the aerodrome elevation, below which the aircraft is not allowed to descent when the runway is not in sight (see figure 10.15b). The MDA will be identified by the pressure altimeter when set to QNH. Descent below the MDA is not authorized unless the runway or its environement is in sight and the aircraft is in a position for normal landing. or the largest penitration of an obstacle through the missed approach surface,

10.4.7 Errors due to changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature The basis for the calibration of an altimeter is the standard atmosphere. When the atmosphere conforms to standard values, an altimeter will read the real altitude also termed pressure altitude.

ALTITUDE
A

OllSTACLE CLEARANCE ALTITUDE (OCA)

The height d thr h i g h s t a p p m s h obrtocle OR the lorpost penetmtien 01 &tacle through the m i w d a w r n s h wrfos., whichever i s p n a k r . NOTE: Idmtifiotl~ of cordinn m mo mocbnd rll)r (yp. of

Fig. 10.14

Obstacle Clearance Altitude/Height and Minimum Descent Altitude/Height for non-precision approaches

rYnWBY

in right continue dercenf

A ) I L S APPROACH

Reaching M D A Check visual reference : runway in sight continue descent

else start go-around

Go around pomined before MAP't,

CLEARANCE

6) N O N -PRECISION APPROACH
Fig. 10.15
The use of t h e concepts

DA/DH and MDA/MDH in t h e approach

In a non-standard atmosphere, an altimeter is in error and reads what is termed indicated altitude. For instance, in standard conditions and at a sea-level airfield, an altimeter set at QFE will respond to a pressure 1013,25 mbar and indicate a pressure altitude of zero feet. If the pressure at the airfield increases to 1015,25 mbar the altimeter will indicate that the airfield is approximately 60 feet below mean sea-level; an error of -60 feet. In a similar manner, errors will be introduced in the readings of such an altimeter in flight whenever the atmospheric pressure at any particular altitude departs from the assumed standard value. If for example the aircraft is flying at a fixed indicated altitude of 3000 m from a high-pressure region into a low-pressure region, the pressure altitude will change from 3000 m to 2530 m as can be seen in figure 10.16 If at a certain altitude the actual airpressure is lower than the standard atmospheric pressure corresponding with that altitude, the real altitude (pressure altitude) will be lower than the indicated altitude and the aircraft may come too close to dangerous obstacles in the terrain. The standard atmosphere also assumes certain temperature values at all altitudes and consequently non-standard values can also cause errors in altimeter readings. A change in temperatur causes a difference in air density and a change in pressure of the air. If the temperature rises, the air expands and the distance between the pressure levels increases. A drop in temperature causes a decrease in distance between the pressure levels. In figure 10.17 these properties have been worked up. Is at a certain altitude the actual temperature lower than the standard temperature corresponding with that altitude, the pressure altitude will be lower than the indicated altitude.

10.4.8 Pre-flight operational test of the altimeter To make sure that the altimeter is serviceable for a safe execution of the flight, the pilot can carry out the following check:

at airfields situated at low altitudes The subscale of the altimeter is set at QFE, the value of which is received from the tower. The altimeter has to indicate now zero ft plus or minus the tolerance. At low altitudes this tolerance is
f 30 ft. In reverse, the pilot can also make the altimeter to read

zero. Then, at the subscale he can read the QFE and compare its value with the one given by the tower. As at sealevel (up to 500 ft)

1 mbar 30 ft., the deviation in QFE may be + 1 mbar. at airfields situated at high altitudes As already mentioned, the QFE has a limited range. Therefore, at high elevated airfields the altimeter is checked by QNH. Setting the altimeter at the QNH value distributed by the tower or ATIS it should indicate the altitude of the airfield, again with allowance for the tolerance. This time the tolerance is dependent on the field elevation. The tolerance data has to be present in the aircraft.

10.4.9

Systematic error analysis of the altimeter In section 10.4.7 we have examined the influence of changes in atmospheric pressure p altimeter. From relation (10.12)
0

and temperature T

on the indication of the

we learn, however, that the accuracy of the altimeter reading is not only influenced by the deviations from their standard values of p and To, but also by deviations in the temperature gradient A and errors in the pressure measurement of p. From a Taylor series expansion of (10.12) of which due to the small deviations only the linear terms have to be taken into account the combined altitude error is found as
0

---___
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MSL-MEAN rnb
1013 rnb
HIGH PRESSURE REGION STANDARD ATMOSPHERE LOW PRESSURE REGION SEA LEVEL

F i g . 10.16

I n f l u e n c e o f t h e a i r p r e s s u r e on t h e a l t i m e t e r i n d i c a t i o n

ALTITUDE (rnl

I --4000

---- - - -- - -

3ooo

I --- ----------- - - - - / - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >701 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ' - - rnb

- - - - - - - 616 rnb - - - - - - - ALTITUDE+ - INDICATED FLYING - - * TRUE F L Y ALTITUDE ~ ~ ~

..... - - ----___---_----

899 rnb = - : 7 - = = = : , -- - --- -- - - - ---- -- -=----- -1000 - - : - - = : - - ; - STANDARD TEMP St.TEMP COLUM OF COLD AIR St. TEMP -33' C

Cf

----_________----

F i g . 10.17

I n f l u e n c e of t h e a i r t e m p e r a t u r e on t h e a l t i m e t e r i n d i c a t i o n

A H (rn) A
200 m
L

,. -

100'

pa = 1000 n rnbar rn m
v

I
u

r)

0.

pa = 1013.25 rnbar

-100 -

,. " - pa = 1020 rnbar

m
2 .

L
n

H(krn) 10)
n

- - - pa = 1035 rnbar Fig. 10.18

"

, . "

r,

, -.

Error components of the barometric altitude measurement

In (10.17 ) Ap is the absolute error in the pressure measurement, is the deviation from standard temperature T
0 '

Ap
0

ATo is the deviation

from standard p gradient A.

and AA is the deviation from the standard temperature

In figure 10.18 the separated error contributions due to deviations in respectively p

0 '

A and T have been calculated.

0

The error contribution of the pressure measurement strongly depends on how accurate the static pressure can be determined in a flying aircraft. Position and shape of the pitot tube and the velocity of the aircraft have a strong influence. For a Ap of 2.6 mbar the error contribution in altitude is for instance: altitude H (m) : error AH (m)
0 5000 37 10.000 67 15.000 142 20.000 310 : 22

Moreover, for accurate measurements the correction of the altimeter reading, obtained by laboratory calibration, has to be taken into account.

10.5

Airspeed measurement

10.5.1 The concept speed

In aviation the concept speed plays an important role. In the first place we have the airspeed. It is the velocity of the aircraft relative to the surrounding air and it is useful as a measure of the aerodynamic forces exerted by the air on the aircraft. For a save execution of a flight these forces have to be kept within certain limits. If the mentioned forces become too small, the aircraft will stall, while forces exceeding certain values may damage the structure. Therefore, the airspeed indicator plays an important role in the safety of the flight. For navigation, the groundspeed is of importance. It determines when and from what direction the destination will be reached. The groundspeed can be determined from the vector sum of wind and airspeed. In the following sections we will deal only with the measurement of airspeed. For that purpose, the impact pressure of the air at a pitot tube is measured by a capsule pressure indicator, calibrated in mls.

10.5.2

Dynamic pressure and airspeed If an object is in rest in non-moving air, the surrounding air will exert an all-sided pressure on this object. The amount of pressure If the body depends on the altitude and is called static pressure p s is moving in the surrounding air or the air is moving with respect to the body at low speed, air will be driven up at the blowed side of the body and will exert an additional pressure on it. This pressure is called dynamic pressure q. As shown in figure 10.19, the airflow splits up around the body and at the stagnation point S, where the airflow hits the body surface perpendicularly the relative air velocity will be zero. This means that at this particular point the kinetic energy will be converted totally in dynamic pressure energy. Hence, we have in this case q=$pvZ The total pressure p pressure p
(10.18) t

at the stagnation point is the sum of the static

(10.19)

and the dynamic pressure q s Pt = Ps f q From (10.18)

it follows that the airspeed v is determined by

This airspeed v is known as the true airspeed V TAS ' The dynamic pressure q in (10.20)
S

can be obtained by measuring

two pressures: the static pressure p and the total pressure p

. In t the airspeed indicator automatically the difference Ap between these

two pressures is determined and an indication of v is obtained. Both pressures p and p can be obtained with the aid of a pitot-static t s tube, its simplest form shown in figure 10.20. It consists of two concentric tubes. One of the tubes, the pitot tube, is open at its forward end to receive the total air pressure resulting from the aircraft's forward movement, while the other, the static tube, is closed at its forward end but has a series of small holes drilled circumferentially at a calculated distance from the forward end through which the undisturbed air at the prevailing atmospheric pressure is admitted. Pressures are transmitted to the airspeed indicator through pipelines connected to each tube.

r
AIRFLOW

' STAGNATION J POINT

F i g . 10.19

Dynamic p r e s s u r e i n t h e s t a g n a t i o n p o i n t of an o b j e c t a t r e s t i n moving a i r

STAGNATION POINT

pt = p + %pv 2 ,

STATIC PRESSURE

F i g . 10.20

A simple p i t o t - s t a t i c

tube

Fig. 10.21

P r i n c i p l e of t h e airspeed i n d i c a t o r

YELLOW CAREFUL MANOEUVRING DICTATED

GREEN NORMAL OPERATING RANGE

WHITE FLAPS ALLOWED

F i g . 10.22

Dial of an airspeed i n d i c a t o r with f i x e d c r i t i c a l speed marks

10.5.3

Principle of a simple airspeed indicator In the pressure-tight instrument case of the airspeed indicator of figure 10.21 the capsule is loaded at the outside with the static pressure ps and at the inside with the total pressure pt = ps + q. The pressure difference p - p will deform the capsule. This deformat S tion is a measure of the dynamic pressure q and is passed to the pointer by a rack and pinion. If we want to calibrate with the aid of (10.20) the scale of the indicator in airspeed, two difficulties occur:

as the relation (10.20) for v is non-linear in the measured hp = - ps, the scale of the instrument will become non-linear which Pt makes it difficult to read, particularly at the low end of the speed range. Furthermore, the scale length for a wide speed range would be too large to accomodate conveniently in the standard dial sizes.

the numerical value of altitude.

is unknown as p depends on temperature and

The first problem can be solved in a mechanical way with the fitting of a progressive spring system as shown in figure 10.21. To solve the second problem, internationally the agreement has been made to use for
p

the value it posesses in the standard atmosphere at

sea-level, i.e.

= 1.225 kg/m3. In other words, the airspeed indiPo cator is calibrated for a standard atmosphere at sea-level.

The airspeed indicator reads in this case indicated airspeed (IAS) according to v
0

IAS

Po
p
=

The indicated airspeed is only equal to the true airspeed (TAS) if the density p at the flying altitude is equal to be a discrepance between the IAS and the TAS. From (10.20) and (10.21) the relation between TAS and IAS is found to be
0

1.225 kg/m3.

In most of the situations this will not be the case, and there will

For the operation of the aircraft this IAS is often more important than the TAS. The IAS is related to 1 pv2 as are the aerodynamic forces exerted on the aircraft. The maximum load an aircraft can bear is directly related to IAS and not to TAS. The same holds for the minimum airspeed in relation to stalling the aircraft. In general aviation the critical speeds are indicated by colours on the the scale of the indicator (figure 10.22).

VSO = stall speed in landing configuration (full flaps)

= stall speed for clean configuration (no flaps) = maximum speed with flaps

- VS1 - VFE

= maximum v~o = maximum

' N E
assumed.

manoeuvring speed allowable speed

For all these velocities maximum weight of the aircraft has been

10.5.4 The errors of the simple airspeed indicator The readings of the simple airspeed indicator of section 10.5.3 may be influenced by a number of error sources. These error sources can be classified in two main groups: a - system errors In the group of system errors we have the position errors of the pitot-static tube, transmission errors in the tubing and instrument errors. The instrumental errors are mainly due to hysteresis effects and lie in the range of 1 to 2 knots. Position errors of the pitot-static tube and transmission errors in the tubing have for each aircraft other values and can be obtained from tables and diagrams belonging to the aircraft. These errors are elucidated in section 10.8.7 where the pitot-static system with its tubing is treated. Correcting the indication of the airspeed indicator (IAS) with this data results in the so-called calibrated airspeed (CAS): CAS = IAS

system-error corrections

(10.23)

The system-error corrections are small with respect to the necessary corrections on the calibration method used.

b - errors in the calibration method This group contains the errors due to the deviations that occur from the airspeed calibration formula and which are not taken into account by the airspeed indicator. A difference in air density with respect to the value at sea level in the standard atmosphere will cause the airspeed indicator to read indicated airspeed and not the true airspeed. The true airspeed can be obtained by the pilot with the aid of correction tables or with the aid of instruments based on changed measuring methods such as the Machmeter and the true airspeed indicator. In the following sections, the corrections to be applied to the instrument readings will be elaborated and the operation of the special indicators be elucidated.

10.5.4.1

Accounting for the flight altitude For a rapid calculation of the true airspeed at flight altitude, from the indicated airspeed on the instrument, it may be of ease to

have a graph, as shown in figure 1 0 . 2 3 . As the airdensity p at the flight altitude depends on static pressure p
S

and temperature T, the factor

E
P

will also do. can

Under practical flying conditions, the ratio po/p also be determined from

where po, po and T altitude.

are standard atmospheric values at sea level, p

is the static air pressure and T is the outside air temperature at flight

10.5.4.2

Accounting for the compressibility of the air The calibration of the simple airspeed indicator of section was based on the simple relation q = $ pv2 between dynamic .

10.5.3

pressure and airspeed. In this relation the compressibility of the air has been neglected, resulting in a rapid grow of the error with increasing airspeed. At airspeeds below 200 kts the error is less than
2 kts and neglectable. But at an airspeed of 400 kts the error has

already grown to 16 kts. For that reason, airspeed indicators are usually calibrated in agreement with the relation (see section 1 0 . 5 . 1 0 . 3 )

where qc
P
=

the impact pressure (dynamic pressure with allowance for the compressibility of the air), density of the air, airspeed, speed of sound = Cp/Cv
=

= = = =

v a

m ,
=

Y R

ratio between the specific heat at constant pressure and at constant volume (Y
1,4) 2 8 7 , 0 4 J/kgK).

C -C = gas constant (for air R P v

If the scale of the indicator again, is calibrated under standard atmospheric conditions at sea level, the indicated airspeed IAS satisfies the relation

The respective quantities under standard atmospheric conditions at sea level are indicated by the subscript o.

10.5.4.3

Accounting for the air density In the simple airspeed indicator, where the compressibility of

the air was neglected, the true airspeed could be obtained from the indicated airspeed by accounting for the air density via the factor

4 po/p. For the situation that the compressibility of the air is taken
into account we want to establish an equivalent relationship. For that purpose we introduce the equivalent airspeed EAS as

'A TS

- 'A ES

f Pi
1

(10.27)

Substitution of (10.27) in (10.25) and using (10.4) learns that the equivalent airspeed VEAS satisfies
q ~ = '' vEAS 0

j l + $v&~yps

We find from (10.26) and (10.28) that only in the case of incompressible media (y,= m ) VEAS - VIAS. In all other situations we can write -

where AVCEC = compressibility error correction. In conclusion we find that the pilot can find his TAS when he corrects the IAS on the airspeed indicator according to the following scheme

IAS
" CAS
v

EAS

"
TAS

where Av . = instrument correction, instr hv = position error correction,

Pet

Av P

cec

= compressibility error correction, = density of the air, which is a function of pressure

altitude and outside airtemperature.

10.5.5 Sensitive airspeed indicators

For larger aircraft, with an extended velocity range a clear indication of the minimum and maximum velocity is very important. This means that a large scale is necessary. To meet these requirements, sensitive airspeed indicators have been developed, of which the main pointer makes one revolution for 100 knots and a subdial shows the number of hundreds (Fig. 10.24). Because of the specific dial spacing, the airspeed mechanism must be provided with additional calibration means such as a capsule-restraining spring. When all the screws of the capsule restraining spring are backed out, only the long, relatively weak spring itself restrains the capsule. As the capsule expands rapidly at higher speeds, because of the square law between dynamic pressure and speed, the pointer tends to move too much. By causing the screw nearest the mounting end of the spring to contact it, the spring is made stiffer and hence the capsule rate of expansion decreases. As the speed goes higher still additional screws restrain the spring progressively, resulting in progressively more restriction to capsule motion. The effects of temperature change on the capsule and mechanism are generally compensated for with a bimetallic element on the calibrating lever. The compensator is designed as a result of tests on indicators at high and low temperatures. In some instruments the compensator is individually adjustable for test compensation.

ALTITUDE IN km

-.

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 kmlh

INDICATED AIRSPEED

F i g . 10.23

R e l a t i o n between TAS and IAS f o r d i f f e r e n t a l t i t u d e s

plN*ADJusTAmE

/ /

CALIBRATING LEVER WITH BIMETALLIC COMPENSATOR /ROCKING SHAFT BALANCING WEIGHT CALIBRATING SCREWS

. /

p , * ~ ~ ~ ~
PITOT-

ROD 'CAPSULE RESTWINING SPRING

DIAPHRAGM CAPSULE

F i g . 10.24

Sensitive airspeed indicator

D Y N A M I C PRESSURE

PRESSURE DIFFERENCE

"HG
400

100

150

200

250 D.1.A.S

300 KNOTS

350

F i g . 10.25

A i r s p e e d and Mach l i m i t f o r a t y p i c a l a i r c r a f t

10.5.6 Airspeed indicators with maximum

allowable - speed pointer

For slowly flying aircraft, the maximum allowable airspeed V NE' which may not be exceeded without causing structural damage can simply be presented by a fixed mark on the dial of the airspeed indicator as shown in figure 10.22. However, for aircraft which can reach high velocities, we cannot confine with the indication of V NE allone, since difficulties can already occur before V has been NE reached. At higher altitudes the air density is less dense and the TAS will be higher as the IAS indicated by the airspeed indicator. For an aircraft flying at maximum IAS (V
NE
) the TAS will grow

with altitude and may come in the range of the velocity of sound. Before the aircraft reaches the velocity of sound, however, the airflow around the structure may locally exceed the velocity of sound and cause instationary shock waves (buffeting) which may overload the structure and influence the stability. The TAS at which buffeting occurs strongly depends on the type of aircraft and therefore, each aircraft will have its own maximum operational speed which may not be exceeded. Due to the fact that the velocity of sound is dependent upon altitude, this maximum operational speed of an aircraft will differ for each altitude. With the introduction of the Machnumber as the ratio between true airspeed and sound velocity, the with altitude varying maximum operating speed can neatly be expressed by a simple, constant Machnumber %E. In figure 10.25 the maximum allowable speeds are indicated for a specific type of aircraft. At high altitudes the Machnumber forms the 0.88). At lower altitudes the V of 380 kts (IAS) NE is the limitation. As at lower altitudes also turbulence has to be limitation taken into account, the dotted line is used as V NE' For a certain combination of speed and altitude the pilot can determine the matching Machnumber. If this M is lower than MNE, As soon as M = it is possible to fly with this same velocity at still a higher altitude.

(% =

sE

has been reached, the velocity has to be decreased

with increasing altitude. Hence, above a certain altitude the maximum IAS decreases with increasing altitude as else %E (IAS)max is constant. would be exceeded. Below that altitude

On the airspeed indicator with maximum allowable speed pointer of figure 10.26 the pilot can read at a glance the IAS he is flying and the (IAS)maX which is allowed at that altitude. In addition to the normal airspeed pointer a second, broad, striped pointer is used, which coincides with the airspeed pointer when maximum safe speed for the airplane is reached. The maximum speed pointer is driven by an evacuated diaphragm capsule. With altitude the capsule will expand due to the lower air pressure resulting in an lower indication of the maximum allowable speed pointer. For altitudes below 24.000 ft a fixed rabbet provides a fixed reading of 380 kts of the blocked pointer.

10.5.7 Machmeter The Machnumber not only plays an important role in airsafety, but it is also important for the performance of the aircraft. Therefore, for optimal flying conditions a direct indication of the Machnumber is necessary. To find out how the Machnumber can be measured, we start with the definition of the Machnumber v M = a (10.31) expression (10.25) can be written as qc
=

(10.31)

where v is the true airspeed and a the sound velocity. With the aid of

1 Pv2 [l + f ]M '
=

(10.32) w a n d the pressure pS

=

As the velocity of sound a

pRT equation

(10.32) can also be written as

From (10.33) we learn that the Machnumber depends on the two pressures q
C

and p

. Both

pressures are measureable; the impact pressure

qC with an impact pressure diaphragm as used in an airspeed indicator and the static pressure p with a static pressure diaphragm as used in s a pressure altimeter. The Machnumber is obtained by measuring the ratio between q
C

and p

. The principle of a Machnumber based

on this

principle is shown in figure 10.27. Although the operation of the Machnumber can be explained on the basis of expression (10.33), it is less suited for calibrating the meter. For that purpose in section 10.5.10.4 a more suitable expression is derived.

Fig. 10.26

Airspeed indicator with maximum-alowable-speed

pointer

\PRESSURE
STATIC

MOVEMENTS DUE TO AIRSPEED CHANGES

MOVEMENTS DUE TO ALTITUDE CHANGES

1. Airspeed capsule 2. Altitude capsule 3. Altitude rocking shaft

4. Sliding rocking shaft 5. Calibration spring (square-law compensation) 6. Calibration screws (square-law compensation)

Fig. 10.28

The c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a Machmeter

If the impact pressure q

rises, the pressure difference

capsule will expand and drive the rod A to the right, resulting in a larger indication of the pointer. This is in accordance with relation (10.33). If the atmospheric pressure p
S

drops, but qc remains constant,

the vacuum capsule will expand and push up the arm B, resulting again in a larger indication of the pointer. This fact again is in accordance with relation (10.33). ratio. In figure 10.28 an exploded view of the construction of a real Machmeter is shown. The impact pressure q
C

The vacuum capsule determines the transfer

is measured by the

differential pressure capsule 1 and will set the sliding rocking shaft and levers A, B, C, D to angular positions. The altitude capsule 2, measuring the static presse P by moving the rocking shaft 4.
S

adjusts the transfer ratio

10.5.8 Mach-airspeed indicator Often a conventional airspeed indicator and Machmeter are combined in one instrument case. The requisite information is presented in a manner as shown in figure 10.29. The mechanism consists of two measuring elements which drive their own indicating elements i.e. a pointer and a fixed scale to indicate airspeed, and a rotating dial and scale calibrated to indicate Machnumber. At velocities below 200 kts, the pointer only indicates the airspeed. The Machnumber is not of importance at these speeds. At higher speeds the pointer reads along the inner scale the velocity and at the same time along the outer scale the Machnumber. A second pointer known as the maximum operating velocity (VMO) pointer is also provided for the purpose of indicating the maximum safe speed of an aircraft over its operating altitude range (compare the Machmeter of the proceeding section). The pointer is striped red and white and can be pre-adjusted to the desired limiting speed value by pulling out and rotating the setting knob in the bottom right-hand corner of the indicator. The adjustment is made on the ground against charted information appropriate to the operational requirements of the particular type of

aircraft. The purpose of the setting knob in the bottom left-hand corner is to enable the pilot to position a command "bug" with respect to the airspeed scale, thereby setting an airspeed value which may be used as a datum for an auto-throttle controlsystem or as a fast/slow speed indicator. Two external index pointers around the bezel may be manually set to any desired reference speed, e.g. take-off speeds V and VR.

10.5.9 True airspeed Indicator

A true airspeed indicator gives the pilot a reading of the actual airspeed of the aircraft. According to v = Ma = M it can be considered a Machmeter which has been corrected for ambient temperature effects. In most high-performance aircraft, the TAS is computed in an airdata computer and transmitted to an electrically driven indicator with digital readout. For slower aircraft and helicopters, a completely mechanical TAS indicator has been developed. Its principle is shown in figure 10.30. The mechanism senses airspeed and pressure altitude with capsules. The linkage is such that altitude compensation is automatically achieved. A third capsule is connected by a capillary tube to a liquid-filled temperature bulb located on the outside of the fuselage. In response to the outside temperature, the liquid-filled temperature capsule changes shape. The temperature capsule is linked to a slide which multiplies the motion of the Mach shaft and produces a main rocking shaft rotation proportional to the TAS. This shaft drives a sector shaft through a pair of crossed levers. The sector shaft is geared to the pointer which reads against a fixed dial calibrated for TAS. The mechanism is calibrated to include compensation for the temperature rise in the external bulb due to speed.

HANDSTAFF PINION

SECTOR SHAFT

MAIN ROCKING SHAFT E M W A T E D ALTITUDE CAPSULE \ TEMPERATURE SLIDE ,MACH SHAFT TEMPERATURE CAPSULE

AIRSPEED CAPSULE PITOT PRESSURE

TEMPERATURE BULB

Fig

. 10.30

Operational schematic

of a true airspeed indicator

Fig. 10.31

Volume element of fluid, travelling along flow lines

' J

---+
0

...-

0 0

Al R FLOW -

Sr\
f. i

STAGNATION POINT

/
I

STING

TOTAL PRESSURE Pt

----SURFACE PRESSURE

PRESSURE ALON STREAMLINE OS

WITHOUT STING

Fig. 10.32

Pressure d i s t r i b u t i o n along a p i t o t - s t a t i c

tube

10.5.10

Backgrounds of airspeed measurements In the field of airspeed measurements distinction is made between

airspeeds between Machnumber M = 0 and M = 0.2 where the compressibility of the air can be neglected
=

- airspeeds exceeding M

0.2, where the compressibility of the air

has to be taken into account. 10.5.10.1 Bernouilli's equation for an incompressible fluid For a small volume element of fluid, travelling along a flowline, free of gravitational forces and friction, Newton's law states that (see figure 10.31)

Moving along with the element of fluid

aV In a stationary flow - - 0 and we find after substitution of (10.35)

at

in (10.36) that

In an incompressible fluid

is constant and equation (10.36) can be

integrated and the result is Bernouilli's equation

along a flowline in an incompressible fluid.

10.5.10.2

Speed measurement in an incompressible fluid For slow flying aircraft at speeds v < 100 m/s airspeed measure-

ments based on Bernouilli's equation (10.37) can be performed. At the pitot-static tube of figure 10.32 the flowing air will be brought to standing in the stagnation point S. Application of Bernouilli's relation along the streamline OS at a point far in front of the pitot tube and at the stagnation point results in

is the total pressure measured in the stagnation point by t the pitot tube and p is the static pressure measured by holes in the s sidewall of the pitot tube. The airspeed can be obtained from (10.38) as

In (10.38)

It forms the basis of the operation of the simple airspeed indicator of section 10.5.3.

10.5.10.3

Speed measurement in an adiabatic compressible fluid For aircraft flying at speeds exceeding M = 0.2, the compres-

sibility of the air has to be taken into account. In an compressible flow, the density no longer is constant but is related to the pressure according to

where Y is the ratio between the coefficients of specific heat at i.e. constant pressure C and constant volume C P v'

Substitution of (10.40)

in (10.36)

results after integration in the

energy law for adiabatic fluid flow

Application of this law along the streamline OS in figure 10.32 at a point far in front of the pitot tube and at the stagnation point results in this case in

From (10.40)

we find

Substitution of ( 1 0 . 4 4 ) in ( 1 0 . 4 3 ) and rearranging gives

Introduction of the velocity of sound a2 = y R T and p =pRT

the final result can be written as

I
I

This relation is rather complicated and is often approximated by the first two terms of a binomial expansion

With the aid of ( 1 0 . 4 6 ) and ( 1 0 . 4 7 ) it can be brought into the form

It is noted that the true airspeed VTAS can be obtained from ( 1 0 . 4 8 )

as

10.5.10.4

Measurement of the Machnumber The Machnumber M of an airflow is defined as the ratio between

the airspeed v and the local velocity of sound a

v M = a

(10.51)

With the aid of this relation equation ( 1 0 . 4 8 ) can be written as

Introduction of the impact pressure qc = we find for (10.53)

Pt

p, which stands out from

the dynamic pressure q by taking into account compressibility effects,

For air y = 1.4. The calibration of the Mach indicator of section 10.5.7 is based on this expression. Since q
C

and p are measured directly by the pitot

static system, no calibration agreements as to non-measureable influences (such as p in an ordinary airspeed indicator) has to be made. As the relation between M and q /p is non-linear, a variable
C

spring in the instrument has to account for that effect in order to obtain a linear scale.

10.6

Vertical speed measurement The third group of airdata instruments are the vertical speed indicators, also known as variometers or rate-of-climb indicators. They are very sensitive differential pressure gauges designed to indicate the rate of altitude change from the change of static pressure alone.

10.6.1 Basic principle of the vertical speed indicator

As illustrated in figure 10.33 the static pressure from the fitting on the case is led through two paths; one is a tube leading to the inside of the capsule, the other is a fine capillary tube or calibrated flow restrictor, which leads into the main volume of the case surrounding the capsule. If the aircraft is flying at a constant altitude, the pressures in the case and inside the capsule are equal. The capsule is relaxed and the pointer will indicate zero. In a climb, the static pressure will decrease. The pressure in the

INCREASING STAX PPESSURE

ENT

Fig. 10.33

Principle of the vertical speed indicator

ALTITUDE OF AIRCRAFT AIRCRAFT FLYING LEVEL INITIAL I ALTITUDE AIRCRAFT CLIMBING

I
I I I
I

TIME

RATE 0F CLIMB

CONSTANT RATE OF CLIMB

t
I I
INDICATED RATE OF CLIMB I

TIME

I I

RESPONSE AT SEA LEVEL

- - - - -37% .------ - --- - ---TIME LAG 2 x THAT AT SEA LEVEL I

TlME

Fig. 10.34

I n s t r u m e n t lag

capsule follows the static pressure at once, but due to the flow restriction and the relatively large volume of the case, the pressure in the case does not decrease very quickly. As a result the capsule is compressed and the pointer rotates in the climb direction. When the aircraft stops climbing, the pressure in the case slowly reaches the value in the capsule and the pointer will again read zero. In a descend the case pressure will build up slower than the pressure inside the capsule and as a result the capsule will expand. This causes the pointer to rotate in the dive direction. The relation between the pressure difference Ap on the capsule and the vertical speed v v
=

dh dt

is given by (compare section 10.6.7)

where
R
= 287.05307 m 2 / s 2 ~ gasconstant, =
= = =

T
go V

absolute temperature of the air (K), acceleration of gravity (9.8 m/s2), the volume of the air in the instrument case (m3), viscosity of the flowing air.

W
!J

= leak coefficient of the capillary,

=

From the calibration formula (10.55) we learn that v is direct v proportional to the pressure difference Ap on the capsule. Further, the vertical speed v is dependent on T and the viscosity !J. The latter v again is dependent on the temperature and hence, v has become a v function of Ap and T. As a consequence, vertical speed indicators will indicate only the correct vertical speed if the temperature is present which has been chosen for calibration of the instrument scale. Vertical speed indicators are generally calibrated for altitudes between 3500 - 3700 m. At altitudes differing from the calibration altitude, the air temperature will differ from the calibration temperature and a methodical error in the indication will result. This will not always be a great problem as the pilot is often only interested in keeping his altitude constant. With other words if v = 0 . As from a point of v view of the user the zero indication of the meter is important, the

influence of the air temperature is of minor importance. The scale of the instrument is chosen logarithmic in order to improve the readings of small vertical speeds, which turned out to be important for keeping the altitude of the aircraft constant. In figure 10.35 this is obtained with the aid of progressive restraining springs.

10.6.2 Errors of the vertical speed indicator The readings of the vertical speed indicator may be in error due to either instrumental errors or methodical errors.

1. Instrumental errors
If the vertical speed indicator is exposed to a constant static pressure, but is in a place where the temperature suddenly increases, the volume V of trapped air in the instrument case will expand. As the volume in the case is constant, a pressure rise will occur, causing a false climb indication. This problem can be solved by thermally insulating the case of the indicator or using instead of the volume of the instrument case as reservoir V a lose thermos bottle. This slows the heat exchange in the reference volume and greatly minimizes the error due to temperature changes. 2. Methodical errors As already mentioned in section 10.6.1 the vertical airspeed indicator was calibrated at a certain temperature T temperature of the air deviates from T
0 ' 0

. As

soon as the

the vertical speed other

than v = o will be in error. The velocity indicated by the instrument v can be corrected with the relation T ! ' o T! o'

v v where

= v v. mdicated
=

vv
v

true vertical speed,

= indicated vertical speed, v. lnd T = temperature of the air, T = known calibration temperature,
0

= viscosity of the air,

=

! ' o

viscosity of the air at the calibration temperature T

0

By using instead of the simple capillary a combination of a capillary and orifice, the influence of the temperature can be compensated for automatically. For that purpose we notice that the value of
P

is directly proportional to T. Hence, if the temperature T decreases, the

! . I

will decrease and

as a result the pressure difference Ap across the capillary will also decrease. If we look what happens with a flow of air through a calibrated hole of neglectable length (orifice or restriction) the resistance turns out to be proportional to the air density
P.

As the

air density is inversely proportional to the temperature, the pressure difference Ap across the restriction will increase with decreasing temperature. Combining a capillary and a restriction with proper dimensions, both influences will oppose and Ap across capillary and restriction will be approximately independent of the temperature. Notwithstanding the compensation methods used, the accuracy of a vertical speed indicator is quite poor, in the order of 200 ftlminute = 1 m/s. 3. Instrument lag The most important factor when using a VSI is the time lag in the indicator. The response of the instrument when an aircraft is climbing at a constant rate from t time taken by
0

on, is given in figure 10.34. The

the pointer to go from zero to 37% of its true rate is

called the instrument lag. The time lag in the indication depends on the structure of the leak and should be as low as possible for a rapid response. On the other hand, however, the time lag may not be too low for stability of the indication when flying in turbulent weather. As a compromise the time lag is usually in the order of about

4 seconds at low altitudes and increases in an inverse ratio to the

absolute pressure of the altitude.

10.6.3 Exploded view of a typical vertical speed indicator As illustrated in figure 10.35 the static pressure is fed by a tube in the inside of the capsule and in the instrument case by a capillary tube or calibrated flow restrictor. The displacements of the capsule in response to differential pressure changes are transmitted to the

pointer by a link and rocking-shaft magnifying system and a quadrant and pinion. A correct division of the scale is achieved with two calibrating springs which bear on a stem connected to the center-piece of the capsule. The purpose of these springs is to exert forces on the capsule and so achieve the correct relationship between the capsule's pressure/deflection characteristics and the pointer position at all points of the scale. The forces are controlled by two rows of screws located in a calibration bracket, which vary the effective length of their respective springs. The upper row of screws and the upper spring control the rate of descent calibration while the lower row of screws and lower spring control the rate of climb. The pointer can be adjusted to zero graduation by a mechanism consisting of an eccentric on a shaft, bearing against the capsule support bar. The exposed end of the shaft is provided with a screwdriver slot. When the shaft is rotated the eccentric displaces the plate which is in contact with the underside of the capsule and as a result the capsule moves up and down, the movement being transferred to the pointer via the magnifying system amd pointer gearing.

10.6.4 Instantaneous vertical speed indicator

Especially at high speed, each error in pitch causes a considerable rate of climb or descent. Therefore the pilot wishes to have a more rapid information whether the aircraft is either climbing, descending or flying level. For that purpose instanteneous vertical speed indicators have been developped. It combines the ordinary VSI with a simple type of accelerometer. In figure 10.36 the basic principle of the IVSI is shown. If the aircraft starts climbing, the piston lags due to its inertia. Air below the sucker will be pumped into the case and the pressure will rise instantaneously. The capsule will be compressed and the indicator will show a rate of climb. During a descent, the whole process will be in reversed order. The air above the piston is pumped into the capsule. During a steady descent or climb, the piston of the acceleration pump returns to its neutral position because of the lack of accelerating forces. The capsule is then controlled by the pressure difference between the static line and the inside of the case. The pump only supplies a first indication.

RANGING LEVER

STATIC PRESSURE TUBE TO DIAPHRAGM CAPSULE

ROCKING SHAFT RATE LIMIT RELIEF VALVE,

DIAPHRAGM CAPSULE CAPSULE SUPPORT BAR

v/
Fig. 10.35

ECCENTRIC

ZERO ADJUSTMENT SCREW

Exploded view of a VSI

Fig.

Basic p r i n c i p l e of the instantaneous v e r t j. c a l speed i n d i c a t o r

UP

DOWN

\ MOVING VANE CHAMBER

REFERENCE CHAMBER

F i g . 10.37

Vane type variometer

10.6.5 Vane type variometer Because of its faster reaction (time lag 1 sec) use of the vane type variometer is preferred. In figure 10.37 the principle is shown. The slot between the vane and the house of the indicator has the same function as the capillary. In a descent or climb a pressure difference exists between the environment and the reservoir. This pressure difference exerts a force on the vane and a torque is generated. The vane will rotate under the influence of this torque until1 balance is obtained with the torque of the spring. The reservoir is thermally isolated, slowing down the heat exchange in the reference volume and minimizing the error due to temperature changes.

10.6.6 Electrical variometer The electrical variometer is based on a hot wire. The sensor which has to be taken up in the pipeline connecting the fixed reference chamber and the static source, consists of two wire resistors electrically heated at 100' to 200C. The equalizing air flow through the sensor will cool down the resistors, resulting in a change of resistance. As the flow will transport heat from the foremost resistor to the hindmost, the latter will be cooled down less. Measuring the changes in resistance with a Wheatstone bridge as shown in figure 10.38 it is possible to determine the equalizing airflow in strength as well as in direction.

/ 10.6.7 Backgrounds of vertical speed measurement

The vertical speed of an aircraft is defined as

As in the atmosphere (compare (10.5))

we find from (10.57) and (10.58) that

Hence, the vertical speed v be determined if we can find an instrument v The basic which can measure the relative change in pressure - . P dt principle of such a device is shown in figure 10.39. A capillary interconnects two volumes V the outside air, while V I1 and VII. V is in direct contact with I I is a closed volume.

A change in airpressure due to a climb or descent of the

aircraft results in an instanteneous change in pressure from pso + Psl in V in VI. Due to the restriction of the capillary the pressure p I1 so will not change at once and a pressure difference Ap = ps1 - psO across the capillary occurs. This pressure difference is measured by a deformation of a membrane. Due to the pressure difference across the capillary a volume flow of air starts flowing at an amount of Q m3/s. If the resistance of the capillary is W', the volume flow satisfies the relation

In a tube of length 1 and inner radius R the resistance W' of a laminar Poiseuille flow is given by

W'
where

8 u 1 4
n R

(10.61)

is is the viscosity of the air. As the latter quantity is

strongly temperature dependent, the resistance will be written as

where W is a constant, representing the temperature independent properties of the capillary. For an isothermal process we have as relation between pressure p and volume V that

I -lB-1 +
ADJUSTMENT

POWER

STATIC SOURCE

REFERENCE

ps
HOT WlRE SENSOR

CHAMBER

A I R FLOW

H O T W l R E SENSOR R, A N D R2 E L E C T R I C A L L Y HEATED A T 1 0 0 ~ - 2 0 0 C ~

Fig. 10.38

Principle of the electrical variometer

STA,TIC AIR PRESSURE

" I
W
RESTRICTION

"I I

II
I I

pso

Ps-

$ ps1

ps1

pso
MEMBRAME

g. 10.39

B a s i c p r i n c i p l e of v e r t i c a l speed measurement

Considering the volume of air V = V in the box 11, we find after I1 differentiation of(10.63) that

of air through the restriction at a rate -Q, it follows from (10.64) that

Substitution of (10.65) in (10.60) results in

Comparison of the latter relation with relation (10.59) results in

The latter equation is the calibration equation for a vertical speed indicator. We find that v is direct proportional to the presv sure difference Ap. The vertical speed measurement is dependent on T and p . As

u is also a function of temperature vv will finally be

a function of Ap and T.

10.7

Cabin pressure measurement In aircraft equipped with pressurized cabin's, it is important to monitor the airpressure in the cabin, as low pressure has a harmful influence on the physical condition of the passengers. For that purpose a cabin altimeter measures the pressure in the cabin and displays it on a scale calibrated in ft. The scale has generally a range from

0 - 50.000 ft and is calibrated according to (10.12).

In addition to

this pressure altitude also the difference between the pressure in the cabin and the pressure of the outside air is measured and displayed on a second concentric scale calibrated in psi. In figure 10.40 the basic principle of the cabin altimeter is shown. In general the system will be less sensitive than a normal altimeter.

10.8

Pitot-static systems The determination of altitude, velocity, Machnumber and vertical speed requires the accurate measurement of static- and pitot pressures. In addition, these pressures provide a prime reference for the cabin pressure altimeter, the airdata computer and autopilot.

10.8.1 Static pressure sources In still air the static pressure p

S

can be measured with a simple

barometer. On a moving aircraft this measurement becomes difficult. The airflow around the aircraft causes a pressure distribution along the aircraft as shown in figure 10.41. Only at the points A, B and C the pressure corresponds with the static pressure p
S

. For accurate

measurements the static pressure intake to the barometric device, therefore, has to be performed at one of these locations. In addition the intake may not be exposed to the onrushing wind as impact pressure will cause a higher than actual static pressure reading. For light aircraft flying at low speeds, the static pressure can be measured accurately enough by a simple static tube (see figure 10.42) located on the wing strut or forward of the wing's leading edge. For helicopters the downwash of the rotors causes a difficulty in finding a suitable location for the static source. A flexible or pivoted static tube above the center of the rotor is used with success. Jet - aircraft use flush mounted ports in the sides of the fuselage as static sources. To prevent the occurrence of errors due to turbulence, in an area of about two feet around the intake the skin has to be very smooth and free from wrinkles. A single hole or a series of smaller holes as shown in figure 10.43 may be used. The areas for these ports are selected by windtunnel tests, from experience on similar shaped aircraft, or by trial- and error testing. In order that the sensed pressure is free from error when the aircraft yaws, static ports are used in pairs, one on each side of the aircraft. The two ports are connected together at the aircraft's center in order to average the two pressures. To minimize the

Fig. 10.40

Cabin a l t i m e t e r

Fig. 10.41

Pressure distribution along on aircraft

CLAMP ATTACHED
545

<<*

HOLES ARE DRILLED ON BOTH SIDES OF TUBE

ad

<&
(3/8" DIAMETER)

Fig. 10.42

Simple static tube

LOCATION OF STATIC PORTS

BEST AREA FOR LOW STATIC ERROR IS SELECTED

TO STATIC SYSTEM

AIRCRAFT SKIN

SERIES OF SMALL HOLES WHICH RESEMBLE A SALT SHAKER FLUSH RIVETS

SEALING CEMENT

DETAIL OF STATIC PORT

Fig. 10.43

Static sources for a jet aircraft

20

15

10

ALTITUDE I N k m AS INDICATED BY THE ALTIMETER

loo
(

AP, I N rnrn Hg

Izo0 VELOCITY IN krnlh 1000 AS INDICATED BY 800 THE AIRSPEED INDICATOR

200

400 VALUE)

AP<O-AV>O,A~>O AP>0+AV<O,Ah<O

A =TRUE VALUE

- MEASURED

Fig. 10.44

Influence of an error in P on the altitude and velocity determination ,

TO PlTOT SYSTEM

RELATIVE WIND

OPEN END TO ADMIT RELATIVE WIND

CLAMP METAL TUBING

SMALL DRAIN HOLE AUTOMATIC CLOSING VANE

F i g . 10.45

Simple p i t o t tube f o r a l i g h t a i r c r a f t

TO PlTOT SYSTEM /ELECTRICAL , , & FOR HEATING CONNECTOR @ POWER AIRCRAFT SKIN
I

HEATING ELEMENTS NICKEL- PL COPPER

F i g . 10.46

Heated p i t o t tube

errors due to changes in the airplane's angle of attack, static ports are most often located on the sides of the fuselage below the broadest width. This location has the further advantage in helping to keep rainwater from entering the port when the aircraft is parked. To keep the holes free from ice the sensor is heated by electrical heating elements.

10.8.2

Errors in the measurement of static pressure In any aircraft there is some error in sensing the static pressure because of the imperfection of the static source location. This error is called position error and depends on the velocity, altitude and configuration (flaps and undercarriage in or out) of the aircraft. In figure 10.44 the influence of an incorrect p measurement
S

on the altitude and velocity indication is presented. To obtain a position error correction (PEC) the aircraft must be flown on a number of altitudes and at various speeds, while its measured pitot and static pressures are compared with those known from outside means. For that purpose a pacer aircraft can be used, or a trailing cone with static ports in the connecting hose can be dragged by the airplane. When this cone is far enough back from the disturbance caused by the airplane, it can sense static pressure with great accuracy over a wide speed range.

1 0 . 8 . 3 Pitot pressure sources

The total pressure p On a

needed for the determination of the air-

speed can be measured with the aid of a pitot tube. aircraft the pitot tube can be a simple length of metal tubing whose open end aims into the relative wind (Fig. 1 0 . 4 5 ) . It can be located on the nose, wingstrut, fuselage side or tailfin. Important is that it is situated in a free undisturbed airstream. In the pitot tube a small drain hole is drilled to assure that rainwater or condensation does not accumulate. In larger aircraft equipped for instrument flight in bad weather, deicing of the pitot tube must be possible. For that purpose the airtube is surrounded by an electric heating element, as shown in figure

10.46 The heat must be concentrated at the front of the tube and

therefore copper is used to assure good heat conduction forward. A tube with a blunt front is easiest to heat. However, this shape tends to give pitot pressures that are too low when the direction of airflow deviates too far from a line parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tube. These tubes can be mounted on the nose, on a wingstrut, on the bottom or sides of the fuselage or on the leading edge of a wing or vertical fin. Higher speed aircraft have in general a wider angle of attack range than lower speed aircraft. Accurate pitot pressure sensing both at high speeds and low angle of attack as well as at landing speeds and a high angle of attack is than only possible with a pitot tube having a sharp leading edge as shown in figure 1 0 . 4 7 . For these tubes, a greater amount of heating is needed to ensure that enough heat flows into the then leading edge.

10.8.4

Errors in the measurement of pitot pressure If the direction of the airflow deviates too far from a line parallel to the long axis of the tube, pitot pressures will be too low. This may occur in flying with a high angle of attack or in a severe side slip. In figure 10.48 the percentage error as a function of angle of attack is presented while in figure 10.49 the percentage error as a function of slip angle is given for a typical pressure sensor. For higher speed aircraft, which generally have a wider angle of attack range than lower speed aircraft, accurate pitot pressure sensing both at high angle speeds and a low angle of attack as well as at landing speeds and a high angle of attack, can be obtained if the pitot tube is given a sharp leading edge as shown in figure
1 0 . 4 7 . This has the secondary advantage of lessening the resistance

to airflow at higher speeds.

BOOM FASTENED TO NOSE. [WING, OR FIN EDGE

AIR

F i g . 10.47

High-speed

p i t o t tube

+TO PRESSURE ERROR

IN % O F

0 2 q,=%pv -20
-40

-60
-80

-100 -40' -20'

20' 40'

60' ANGLE OF ATTACK

F i g . 10.48

P i t c h c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of a p i t o t t u b e

PRESSURE ERROR IN %

+10 2 0 -20 -40 -60 -80 -100 -0 4' -0 2' 0 2 0 '

OF

q.=% p v

4 0 ' 6 0 '

Y A W ANGLE

Fig. 10.49

Y w c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of a p i t o t tube a

--. ,.PlTOT DRAIN

.-u...mc"

PlTOT SYSTEM

TO STATIC SYSTEM

a"

,STATIC PORTS TOP AND BOTTOM

rPITOT

WRT

RE.41 M WIND

\HEATER

Fig. 10.50

Heated p i t o t - s t a t i c

tube

F i g . 10.51

Position errors f o r a typical pitot-static head i n s t a l l a t i o n and f o r a p i t o t t u b e and s t a t i c vent i n s t a l l a t i o n

PITOT-STATIC SYSTEM USING PITOT-STATIC TUBES

Fig. 10.52

Pitot-static system

10.8.5 Pitot-static tubes For sonic and supersonic speeds, it is sometimes impossible to find locations on the fuselage that have an acceptable low error. For that reason (super)sonic aircraft may use a combined pitot and static tube. In figure 10.50 an example of such a (heated) pitotstatic tube is presented. The static source of this device may have larger errors than fuselage ports at low speeds, but it will be better and more reliable at high speeds. As an illustration the position error for a typical pitot-static head installation and for a pitot tube and static vent installation is shown in figure 10.51. It is noticed that the curve may jump to the dotted line when the flaps and undercarriage are lowered.

10.8.6 The pitot-static system of an aircraft The pitot- and static pressures, sensed by probes on the fuselage of the aircraft, are transmitted through pipelines to the primary flight instruments, air data computer, autopilot and control system of the cabin pressure. This system of interconnecting pipelines is called the pitot-static system and its complexity depends primarily upon the type and size of aircraft, the number of locations at which primary flight instrument data is required and the types of instrument. In figure 10.52 an example of a pitot-static system for a larger aircraft is given. For safety reasons more than one pitotstatic system is used. The left-hand pitot tube and static system no.

1 is used for the captain's instruments, while the right-hand pitot

tube and static system no. 2 is used for the first officer's instruments. As a safeguard against failure, a standby system is installed, whereby static pressure can be selected from alternate sources and connected into the primary system. Generally these sources are less accurate than the primary sources.

10.8.7

Errors in pitot-static systems The plumbing of the pitot-static system has to be leak-tight, otherwise air at other pressures will flow through the leaks and cause instrumental errors. Especially for aircraft with pressurized cabins this would cause large errors. The pipelines have to be installed in such a way that no water can accumulate in the system. Watertraps (Fig. 10.53) are designed to have a capacity sufficient to allow for accumulation of the maximum amount of water that could enter the system between servicing periods. The drain valves are of the selfclosing type, so that they cannot be inadvertently left in the open position after drainage of accumulated water.

10.8.8

Backgrounds of time-lag in pitot-static systems In figure 10.54 a pressure indicating instrument with volume V is connected with a pipeline of length 1 and inner radius R. If we assume that the volume of the pipeline may be neglected we find a pressure drop along the line of Ap if a volume flow of Q m3/s flows through the line according to

where W

resistance of the line.

For a laminary flow in the pipeline

w = -8
ll

1 ~ 1

R4

with 1~

viscosity of the air.

I
or

At an isothermic change in condition p. V

1

const

VALVE STEM

VALVE WASHER

WASHER

SEALING WASHER SLOT IN PIPE

DRAIN VALVE

A) WATER TRAP AND DRAIN VALVE

F i g . 10.53 P i t o t - s t a t i c water drainage

B) DRAIN VALVE CONSTRUCTION

F i g . 10.54

Pressure i n d i c a t i n g instrument connected t o a p i p e l i n e of a l e n g t h 1

F i g . 10.55

Time l a g i n a p i p e l i n e

AIR STREAM FIXED END OF

INSIDE CABIN

HELICAL BIMETALLIC

POINTER SHAFT

CABIN WALL OR WINDOW

Fig. 10.56

Bimetallic thermometer

WALL

(a,b) (c) (d)

for use in cross-flow L-shaped probe for parallel-flow ditto, with protecting shield

Fig. 10.57

Temperature probes

7 SKIN

Fig. 10.58

Flush bulb

After substitution of (10.71)

we find that

wv Ap=-

dpi dt
T =

For relative small changes in p we may assume that i If we now consider the situation that at t
=

WV.

- 1s a constant.

0 an aircraft starts

to descend in a way that p increases linearly with time m dpm = rt , we find in the stationary situation when = pm in error by an amount ?r as shown in figure 10.55.

according to dpi - that p. is dt 1

The chosen diameter of the pipelines is related to the distance between the pressure sources and the instruments in order to eliminate pressure drop and time lag factors. The time lag is proportional to the length of the line and inversely proportional to the fourth power of the diameter of the tube. The effect of the time lag is that the reading of the instrument lags the actual quantities. Especially for speed indicators it is important that the time lag of the pitot pipeline and the static pipeline are equal. This is done by compensation of the pitot-static system.

10.9

Measurement

of the outside air temperature

Air temperature is one of the basic parameters used for performance monitoring of aircraft and engines. In addition it is needed for the determination of true air speed and true altitude. The temperature which overall would be the most ideal is that of air under pure static conditions at the various altitudes compatible with the operating range of the particular aircraft concerned. The measurement of static air temperature SAT is by no means simple especially at high airspeeds.

10.9.1

Temperature sensors For small private aircraft, relative simple thermometers can be used to measure the outside air temperature. The simplest of these is one in which a tube encases a helical bimetallic element that twists with temperature change and drives a pointer directly. This thermometer is mounted on the windshield or the fuselage so that the tube protudes into the airstream and the dial can be read by the pilot (Fig. 10.56). Where it is not feasible to use the bimetallic thermometer, remote-bulb types are used. They may be liquid filled or vapour types (see section 7.2.2.1). For larger aircraft, the majority of sensors are, however, of the platinum resistance wire type, the element being contained in either a probe or mounted in what is termed a "flush bulb" configuration. The probe is protuding into the airstream through a fixing hole in the side of the fuselage (see figure 10.57).

A flush bulb (see figure 10.58) is mounted in flush with the aircraft
skin. The temperature sensor is taken up in a branch of a Wheatstone bridge. Any change in resistance is measured by the moving coil instrument in the diagonal branch and converted in temperature (see figure 10.59)

10.9.2

Errors in the air temperature measurement The measurement of the static air temperature SAT by direct means as presented in section 1 0 . 9 . 1 is only possible for airspeeds below 150 kts. At higher airspeeds, the adiabatic compression of the air affects the measurements. The air in the boundary layer is slowed down or stopped relative to the aircraft and thereby produces adiabatic compression which will raise the air temperature to a value appreciable higher than SAT. Friction of high speed flow along the aircraft surfaces will also raise the temperature. This increase is commonly referred to as ram rise RR and the temperature indicated under such conditions is known as ram air temperature RAT, i.e. RAT
=

SAT

+ RR.

\-temperaturesensor

Fig. 10.59

Temperature sensor in a Wheatstone bridge

Fig. 10.60

Principle of the measurement of total air temperature

Fig. 10.61

Total air' temperature probe without air flow deflectj

AIR FLOW

CONCENTRIC INUM TUBES

DE-ICING HEATERS

RADIATION SHIELD AIRCRAFT FUSELAGE SKIN

SENSING ELEMENT

LOCKING SCREW

CENTRE BODY

5-POLE CONNECTOR

F i g . 10.62

T o t a l a i r t e m p e r a t u r e p r o b e w i t h a i r f l o w d e f l e c t i o n i n f r o n t of t h e elements

F i g . 10.63

Temperature r i s e a t t h e s t a g n a t i o n p o i n t

The ram rise due to full adiabatic compression can be calculated as a function of the Machnumber M as

RR =

M '

SAT

The portion of the ram rise indicated by the temperature meter is dependent on the ability of the sensor to sense or recover the temperature rise, the sensitivity in this case being expressed as a percentage and termed the recovery factor K. Therefore, the indicated temperature of the temperature meter can be expressed as

The recovery factor generally varies from 0.75 to 0.90 depending on the geometry of the aircraft and the location of the bulb.

10.9.3 Total air temperature sensors For use at high Machnumbers, it is customary to sense and measure the maximum temperature rise which is possible. This is referred to as total air temperature TAT and is obtained when the air is brought to rest (or nearly so) without addition or removal of heat. This maximum temperature rise can be obtained with the pirot static principle of figure 10.60. Practical realisations of this type of sensor have a tube shaped housing, mounted parallel to the free-flowing air outside the boundary layer of the aircraft and in which the resistance element is arranged concentrically (figure 10.61). In order to minimize dissipation of heat the element is surrounded by one or more centric heat shields (cylinders) to prevent heat loss by radiation. The air which enters through the open front of the chamber is almost completely decelerated and the air is compressed nearly adiabatically. The resistance element measures the sum of the static air temperature and the temperature rise by compression, i.e. the total air temperature, with only a small error. In order to minimize the time lag with respect to the rate of temperature change and the losses resulting from dissipation and radiation, openings near the rear or downstream end of the chamber provide a controlled airflow.

In addition to the earlier type of TAT probe described above, models with internal air flow deflection ahead of the element (figure 10.62) are used. In this case the element is arranged with its radiation shield perpendicular to the direction of the flow and the air is deflected 90" before passing the measurement element. Particles of water and dust can leave the probe housing directly without coming in contact with the measurement element. This provides greater stability in relation to external influences and also yields a significant less error of measurement when flying in a rain shower. Most models are manufactured with a heater winding near the air intake, to prevent icing. Laterally arranged small holes allow the heated internal boundary layer in the probe housing to be removed (boundary layer control), so that errors in the measured temperature caused by deicing are kept within tolerable limits as long as the Machnumber does not go below 0.3 Mach. Experimentally obtained typical values are 0.9"C at 0.1 M decreasing to 0.15-C at 1.0 Mach.

10.9.4 Backgrounds of air temperature measurements Measuring the outside air temperature in an aircraft, the temperature rise due to stagnation of the air at the sensor has to be taken into account. At a stagnation point the total kinetic energy of the air is converted into thermal energy as the air velocity in this point becomes zero. Hence,

where m =mass of the air

C = specific heat of the air P v = velocity of the air

the temperature in If the true temperature of the air is T SAT' the stagnation point T will be TSAT + AT. The temperature rise AT TAT

-------+ M~
Fig. 10.64 Determination of the recovery factor from flight tests

/CENTER I

LINE OF WING CHORD

Al RSTREAM

FLIGHT PATH

-FLIGHT

PATH

VANE TYPE ANGLE O F ATTACK TRANSDUCER

Fig. 10.65

Angle of attack measurement

SYNCHRO

WIND VANE SKIN OF THE AIRCRAFT

Fig. 10.66

Wind vane used for angle of attack measurement

is obtained from (10.76)

as

In figure 10.63 the temperature rise is plotted as a function of true airspeed v. Introduction of the Machnumber M relations a2
= =

v/a and using the

temperature T TAT

R = C - C and Y = C /C the total air R T ~ ~ ~ ' P v P v is obtained as

If the stagnation is not total or if there is energy loss in the sensor, the end temperature will be lower than the total air temperature. This temperature is called the ram air temperature T RAT' Introduction of the thermometer constant or recovery factor

and substitution in (10.78) temperature

results in the expression for the ram air

With the substitution of Y = 1,4 for air, we arrive at the well-known relation

The recovery factor can be determined by flying the aircraft at different speeds in a region where the static air temperature is constant. The slope of the measured curve of T as a function of RAT M2 (Fig. 10.64) is a measure for K.

10.10 Angle of attack measurement The angle of attack of an aircraft is the angle between the line representing the relative wind and the centerline of the wing chord (figure 10.65). Aerodynamic forces as lift and drag are strongly dependent on this angle. At low angles the amount of lift for a given indicated airspeed increases when the angle of attack increases and vice versa. As no lift usually occurs when the relative wind is parallel to the centerline of the wing chord, it is conventional to call that angle of attack zero. An important value of the angle of attack is the value at which the ratio of the lift of the wing to the drag of the whole plane is greatest. At this liftto-drag angle the aircraft requires the least power to maintain level flight. Another important angle is the stall angle. If the power is progressively reduced and the angle of attack increased to maintain level flight, an angle of attack will be reached at which the air becomes turbulent and no longer follows the steep downward incline over the top of the wing. A further increase of the angle of attack will then no longer give an increase in lift but will give a rapid decrease and the plane will fall below the level flight path. The positive angle of attack at which lift starts decreasing is the point of stall.

10.10.1

Measuring vanes The angle of attack is generally measured by a balanced vane on the side of the fuselage near the nose as indicated in figure 10.66. The vane rotates freely to align itself to the relative wind. Attached to the vane is a synchro or other device which converts the vane angle into electrical signals that are transmitted to the indicating system in the cockpit (Fig. 10.67) or to the airdata computer. In addition the signal is used in a warning system to advice the pilot that the angle of attack is approaching the stall angle. One device used for that purpose is a vibrator on the control stick, which at some angle near stall lets the stick shake.

ANGLE

OF

Fig. 10.67

Angle of attack indicator

VANE DEFLECTED UPWARD

VANE DEFLECTED DOWNWARD

Fig. 10.68

Simple stall warning system with flapper switch

AMPL.

MOTOR

v
AIRFLOW DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE SENSOR

SYNCHRO

I
I
I

L- - - - - - -

4- - _ . - - I

Fig. 10.69

Null-seeking probe

UDICATED /A

SOR VANE

RELATIVE WIND

Fig. 10.70

Direction of airflow distorted around the nose

upward due to the flowpattern

Another simple stall warning device is a flapper switch mounted on the leading edge of the wing. As the wing approaches stall, the relative wind pushes the flapper up and closes a switch (Fig. 10.68). This in turn activates the stall warning device. The data of the angle of attack indicator can also be used in an automatic throttle-control system to keep an aircraft on the best angle of attack for approach to landing or on the best angle of attack for climb to altitude.

10.10.2

Null-seeking probe The angle of attack can also be measured with a null-seeking probe, which is installed at the same location as the angle of attack vane. As shown in figure 10.69 the probe consists of a tube with two rows of small holes. The two rows of holes are connected to a differential pressure sensor. As long as the airflow is blowing the tube from direction a , ) the pressures at position 1 and position 2 will be the same and the pressure difference sensor will give no output signal. However, as soon as the airflow changes direction, the pressure at position 1 will differ from the pressure at position 2. This difference causes an electric signal at the output of the pressure difference sensor, which after amplification controls a motor. This motor will turn the probe in such a direction that the pressures at positions 1 and 2 become equal again. Hence, the position of the probe corresponds with the direction of airflow. The position information can be transmitted to a stall warning computer or indicator by a synchro connected to the shaft of the motor.

10.10.3

Errors in the angle of attack measurement As the airflow along the fuselage of the aircraft is complex, the angle measured by the vane is not the true angle of the wind over the wing (see figure 1 0 . 7 0 ) . Therefore it is called the indicated angle of attack.

At low Machnumbers there is a fixed relationship between the indicated and the true angle of attack. At high Machnumbers they are related as a function of Mach. When using the angle of attack as a reference in controlling climb angle, approach speed and stalling speed, it does not matter whether the indicated angle of attack or corrected true values are used. The salient values of angle simply have numerical values different from the true ones. Only if the angle of attack is used to determine the true flight path of an aircraft, it is necessary to correct the vane readings to get true angle of attack values.

11

FLIGHT PATH MONITORING INSTRUMENTS The information needed for a safe execution of a flight, such as attitude and motion of the aircraft in three dimensions, is obtained for a considerable part from instruments in which gyros play an important role. Therefore, before treating instruments like artificial horizon, directional gyro and turn-and-bank indicator, a general discussion of the operation of a gyroscope will be given. But first of all a short exposition of reference frames may be in place, since not only the way in which data is measured is important, but also the way in which this data is fixed.

11.1

Reference frames Attitude and motion of an aircraft can be fixed with the aid of two frames of reference: the aircraft frame of reference and the geodetic frame of reference. The aircraft frame of reference is formed by three orthogonal axes, tied to the aircraft and with origin in the center of gravity of the aircraft. The positive x-axis is situated in the plane of symmetry of the aircraft, pointing in the direction of the nose. The y-axis is the transverse axis, perpendicular to the symmetry plane and the positive z-axis is the top axis pointing downwards as shown in figure 11.1. The motion of the aircraft which is composed of a linear displacement of its center of gravity and of a rotation about this center can be observed in this frame of reference by the linear velocities u, v, w along the x, y and z-axis and by the angular velocities p, q and r about the respective axes. Fixing the attitude of the aircraft with respect to the earth requires an additional frame of reference, the so-called moving geodetic frame of reference. This frame has also its origin in the center of gravity of the aircraft. However, the z -axis is now chosen along the local vertical
g

of the earth in a downward direction. The x -axis is situated in the g horizontal plane and can be chosen for instance in the north-direction.

The matching y -axis is also situated in the horizontal plane and g will be pointing eastward in this case. In figure 11.2 the geodetic reference frame is shown together with the aircraft reference frame. The attitude of one frame with respect to the other can be described by three so-called Euler angles. They belong to the three successive rotations which are needed to change one reference frame into the other. In figure 11.2 the geodetic reference frame x , y , z is g g g rotated to the position of the aircraft reference frame x, y, z in the following sequence:

about axis Oz over an angle Y to the position x y g 1 1 about axis Oy over an angle O to the position x y 1 2 2 z2' about axis Ox over an angle @ to the position x y z . 2 Other sequences with different Euler angles are possible, but

the above mentioned sequence has been generally accepted. Based on these Euler angles the attitude of the aircraft with respect to the earth can be described by:

the yaw angle Y, being the angle between the projection of the x-axis of the aircraft reference system on the horizontal plane and the x -axis of the moving geodetic reference frame, g the pitch angle O, being the angle between the x-axis of the aircraft reference system and its projection on the horizontal plane,
@,

- the roll angle

being the angle between the y-axis of the air-

craft reference system and the secant of the yz-plane and the horizontal plane. If the aircraft has a pitch, the yz-plane will not be vertical and the roll angle
@

has to be indicated in this plane. Therefore,

the bank angle $ has been introduced as the angle which the y-axis is making with the horizontal plane. As the bank angle obviously has to be thought in the vertical plane it does not agree with the roll angle. Only for small values of the pitch angle, the difference between roll and bank angle will be small.

x-axis

z-axis

F i g . 11.1 A i r c r a f t frame o f r e f e r e n c e

z = z

(Vertical)

Fig. 11.2

Geodetic frame of r e f e r e n c e

FIXED TO AIRCRAFT

vl
BEARING

L A EM + &

Fig. 11.3

Gimbal supported body as reference frame

PENDULUM VERTICAL

ah

HORIZONTAL ACCELERATION

RESULTANT

9
GRAVITY VECTOR

Fig. 11.4

The u s e of a pendulum a s v e r t i c a l sensing instrument

The measurement of the above mentioned angles causes the necessary trouble. In the first place the mechanical realization of a geodetic reference frame of which the attitude is not influenced by aircraft motions is not easy. At a first glance a reference frame connected with a gimbal supported body as shown in figure 11.3 can be used for that purpose. If the center of mass of such a body coincides with the center of the gimbal system and the bearings of the gimbal rings are free of friction, the inertia of the body will keep the reference system in its initial position, independent of the aircraft motions about the gimbal system. However, in practice this ideal situation cannot be realized and the orientation of the reference system will drift away. According as the mass of the body is larger, its resistance against angular motions will be larger and consequently the drift of the reference frame will be lower. A substantial improvement can be obtained in this respect with bodies of less mass if they are made to spin about an axis. It is on this basis that the gyroscope has been introduced as an attitude reference system. In the second place we have the problem of determining the vertical along which the z -axis of the geodetic reference frame has to be directed. g The obvious solution of using a plummet or pendulum for that purpose also causes the necessary problems here. If the aircraft is accelerating in the horizontal plane, the pendulum or plummet will refer to the apparent vertical instead of the true vertical as shown in figure

11.4. The way in which these problems can be solved will be the
subject of the sections to follow.

11.2

Basic properties of gyroscopes The gyroscope is basically a mechanical device, the essential element of which is a flywheel rotating at a high angular velocity about an axis. Such a gyro possesses two important fundamental properties:

rigidity of the spin axis or gyroscopic inertia, precession,

and it are these two properties that are used in certain aircraft instruments.

Before going into detail we notice that the above mentioned properties can be observed nicely at an object which is around us every day, the bicycle. If we lift the front wheel of the ground, spin it at high speed, and then turn the handlebars, we feel rigidity resisting us and we feel precession trying to twist the handlebars out of our grasp.

11.2.1

Rigidity of the spin axis or gyroscopic inertia If the flywheel in figure 11.5 is put into rotation, its spin axis - tends to keep its orientation in space, or as it is often expressed: it does not change its position relative to the fixed stars. Only parallel to itself, the flywheel can be moved easily; trying to change the orientation of the spin axis results in a strong resisting force of the wheel. The rigidity is largely determined by the rotational speed, mass and diameter of the flywheel. In aircraft we want small and light-weighted instruments and therefore, the mass and diameter of a gyro cannot be chosen too large. As a consequence high rigidity can only be obtained by letting the flywheel spin at high rotational speeds. Electrically driven gyros spin at 24.000 RPM, pneumatically driven gyros at 12.000

18.000 RPM.

11.2.2

Gyroscopic precession A change in direction of the highly rigid spin axis of a gyro is only possible if during some time a torque T is applied about an axis which differs from the spin axis. This torque may come from a force F applied to the gyro axis or from a force acting on the circumference of the gyro wheel. The change in direction takes place

not in line with the applied force, but always at 90" away in the
direction of rotation, as shown in figure 11.6. This phenomenon is called precession. The rate of precession w will be larger according as the torque T is larger and be smaller according as the rigidity of the gyro is larger.

PLANE OF APPLIED FORCE

I

SPIN

PLANE OF SPlN

z1
Fig. 11.5 Resistance against a force trying to change the orientation of the spin axis

I SA-SPIN

AXlS

=OUTPUT AXlS

--__IA=INPUT AXIS

Fig. 11.6

Precession of the spin axis

1. THE GYRO IS ROTATING

x - x i I N THE DIRECTION OF THE ARROW.

7. AS THE SEGMENTS MOVE DIAGONALLY THEY ARE FORCED TO ROTATE ABOUT AN AXlS x ' - x ' l WHICH LIES I N A PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO THE FORCE F.

2. ASSUME THE RIM IS SPLIT INTO A SERIES OF SEGMENTS.

5 . I F A HORIZONTAL FORCE F IS APPLIED TO A X L E x-xq I T W I L L MOVE THE SEGMENTS, ONE TO THE RIGHT.THE OTHER TO THE LEFT. THE SEGMENTS HAVE HORIZONT A L AND VERTICAL MOTION.

x'C

8 . A L L OTHER SEGMENTS M U S T T I L T T H E SAME WAY A N 0 THE AXLE WHICH IS RIGIDLY CONX '

NECTED WILL ALIGN ITSELF WITH THE AXIS x ' - ~ ' ~ .

VI

3. CONSIDER TWO OF THESE SEGMENTS WHICH ARE RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO THE AXLE x - x ,

THE SEGMENTS W I L L ACTUALLY MOVE DIAGONALLY (THE RESULTANTOF THE HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL MOTION ).

9. THEREFORE, THE WHOLE GYRO TILTS.

Fig. 11.7

Gyroscopic precession

In formula form this can be expressed by (see section 11.2.5.4):

where w = rate of precession (radls),

T
h

= =

torque angular momentum

(Nm), (kg m2/s)

The angular momentum being a measure of the rigidity of the gyro is given by

with

Cl = angular velocity of the flywheel (radls),

I = 'I1 and
r
=

r2 dV

moment of inertia of the flywheel (kg m2),

p = density of the material (kg/m3),

distance to the spin axis ( ) m.

As long as the force F is applied, precession of the rotor will continue until the plane of spin of the gyro has become in line with the plane of the applied force and the directions of rotation and applied force coincide. At this point the applied force no longer tends to disturb the plane of rotation and precession will cease. The axis about which the torque is applied is called the input axis - (IA) axis - (OA). and the axis about which precession takes place the output

11.2.2.1

Determining the direction of precession In figure 11.6 we have put forward in what sense a gyro will

precess under the influence of an applied force. The proof of it can be found in section 11.2.5.2, but a more physical explanation will be presented next. In figure 11.7 at position 1, the rotor of the gyro is shown spinning about the axis XX the arrow. We assume that segments. Considering two rim and rigidly connected one segment moves up, the

1 in the direction as indicated by the rim is split up into a series of of the segments at opposite sides of the to the shaft XX as shown at position 4, 1 other down. If now a horizontal force F is

applied to the shaft XX1, it moves the segments; one to the right, the other to the left. Hence, the segments have horizontal and vertical motion and actually they want to move diagonally (position

6. This diagonal motion is only possible by forcing the segments to ) rotate about an axis X'X' which lies in a plane perpendicular to the 1 force F. All other segments must tilt in the same way and therefore, when they are all joined to form the solid mass of the rotor, the rigidly connected shaft will align itself with the axis X'X' as shown 1 in position 8. In short the explanation boils down to the fact that the sense
of the precession w about the output axis can be found from the sense of the torque T about the input axis by rotating the latter over 90" in the direction of motion of the flywheel as already indicated in figure 11.6.

11.2.3 The degrees of freedom of a gyro Sofar we have studied the properties of gyros spinning free from any support in space. An example of such a free gyro is the earth. In aircraft, however, we can only use gyros which are supported in one way or another. Such a support can give rise to restrictions in the freedom of the gyro to take any position in space. When the rotor is supported by a single gimbal, pivotted in fixed bearings as shown in figure 11.8.a, the spin axis will always be in the plane perpendicular to the axis YY Through that, the 1' orientation of the spin axis in space can be determined by one angle. supported by two gimbals as shown in figure 11.8.b requires two angles to specify the orientation of the spin axis and is therefore called a two-degree-of-freedom gyro.

Therefore, the gyro is called a single-degree-of-freedom gyro. A gyro

a : Single gimbal
F i g . 11.8 The s u p p o r t of a gyro

b : Two-gimbal system

F i g . 11.9

Schematic p r e s e n t a t i o n of a two-degree-of-freedom

gyro

OUTPUT AXlS

GIMBAL RING

INPUT AXlS

Fig. 11.10

Schematic presentation of a single-degree-of-freedom

gyro

I
OUTPUT AXlS SPRING

INPUT AXlS CASE FILLED WITH LIQUID

BEARING

ANGULAR PICK OFF GAS FILLED CYLINDER

Fig. 11.11

Rate gyro

These angles are usually given by the angular position of the supporting gimbals. With the use of the gimbal rings we have get back the free or space gyro as treated in sections 11.2.1 and 11.2.2.

11.2.3.1

Two-degree-of-freedom gyro In aircraft two-degree-of-freedom gyros or TDF-gyros are mainly

used to establish reference datums against which the attitude of the aircraft can be established. For that purpose the angular positions of the gimbals are determined by pick-off devices such as potentiometers, synchros and E-pick-off's, mounted on the gimbal bearings as shown in figure 11.9. On the remaining gimbal bearings torque motors are mounted which can be used for orienting the spin axis of the gyro. If for instance the torque motor on the inner gimbal applies a torque, the gyro will precess about the outer gimbal axis and reverse. The TDF-gyro has no fully 360" freedom about the inner as well as outer gimbal because of the possibility of gimbal lock. This phenomenon occurs when the gimbal orientation is such that the spin axis becomes coincident with one of the axes of freedom which serve as attitude displacement references. Let us consider for example the case that the spin axis of the gyroscope in figure 11.8b becomes coincident with the ZZ -axis of the outer gimbal ring. If then a yaw 1 input is applied, the outer gimbal begins to spin. Once such spinning has begun, the spin axis remains locked to the outer gimbal regardless of the attitude assumed by the gyro thereafter. Gimbal lock can be prevented by introducing mechanical stops. They are usually placed about the inner axis and permit a motion of
?

8' 5.

However, the use

of stops introduces a new problem. When the inner gimbal strikes one of the YY -axis stops, the outer gimbal turns through 180" about the 1 ZZ -axis. This outer gimbal motion is called tumbling. 1

11.2.3.2

Single-degree-of-freedom gyros With the mounting of the rotor in a single gimbal ring as shown in figure 11.10 the single-degree-of-freedom gyro is not suited to establish a reference in space with respect to which attitude angles can be measured. Yet, this gyro finds application in aircraft instruments. This is because a SDF-gyro can measure angular rates about its input axis. For that purpose use is made of the precession properties of the gyro. In section 11.2.2 we found that when a torque T was exerted about the input axis of a gyro, a precession about the output axis resulted at a rate w
=

T/h. This precession law can be reversed in

this way, that when a gyro is rotating at an angular rate w about its input axis, a torque T = wh will result about the output axis. This torque either lets the gimbal ring rotate or it is compensated by an external generated torque. The motion of the gimbal ring can be sensed by a pick-off, while the external torque can be generated by a torque motor mounted at the gimbal shaft. The restraining torque need not necessarely be generated by a torque motor but can also be generated by mechanical means. Depending on the type of restraint used, rate pyros and rate integrating gyros can be constructed. For reasons of simplicity only examples of gyros with mechanical restraints will be given in the next sections.

11.2.3.2.1

Rate gyro When an elastic spring is attached between gimbal and case as

shown in figure 11.11, a rotation of the gimbal ring with respect to the case will cause a restraining torque proportional to the angular displacement of the gimbal ring, i.e.

where K

= =

spring constant angular position of the gimbal about the output axis.

OOA

I f now t h e gyro c a s e r o t a t e s a t a n a n g u l a r r a t e input a x i s , a torque

IA

about i t s

w i l l b e g e n e r a t e d about t h e o u t p u t a x i s . T h i s t o r q u e c a u s e s t h e gimbal t o r o t a t e a g a i n s t t h e r e s t r a i n i n g t o r q u e of t h e s p r i n g . A s soon a s b o t h t o r q u e s become e q u a l , t h e gimbal motion w i l l come t o a s t o p a t a n a n g l e (compare (11.3) and ( 1 1 . 4 ) )

Hence, t h e a n g l e 0

0A

measured by t h e a n g u l a r pick-off

between

gimbal and c a s e i s a d i r e c t measure of t h e a n g u l a r r a t e sensed a t t h e i n p u t a x i s of t h e gyro. The r a t i o h/K i s c a l l e d t h e r a t e gyro a n g u l a r

gain.

11.2.3.2.2

R a t e i n t e g r a t i n g gyro The r a t e i n t e g r a t i n g g y r o i s based on v i s c o u s r e s t r a i n t . The

e f f e c t of t h i s r e s t r a i n t i s as i f t h e gimbal i s f o r c e d t o p r e c e s s through a f l u i d . I n f a c t , t h i s i s p r e c i s e l y what happens i n a r a t e i n t e g r a t i n g gyro. From e x p e r i e n c e we know t h a t t h e r e s i s t a n c e we meet when moving a body t h r o u g h a f l u i d s t r o n g l y depends on t h e v i s c o s i t y of t h e f l u i d and t h e speed a t which t h e body i s moving. The same h o l d s t r u e f o r t h e gyro i n f i g u r e 11.12. I f t h e gimbal p r e c e s s e s s l o w l y , t h e v i s c o u s r e s t r a i n t w i l l be s m a l l , b u t i f t h e p r e c e s s i o n i s f a s t , t h e v i s c o u s r e s t r a i n t w i l l be l a r g e . I n f o r m u l a form

where C

D i s t h e damping c o e f f i c i e n t of t h e f l u i d .

This r e s t r a i n i n g torque i s i n equilibrium with t h e torque g e n e r a t e d by t h e gyro due t o a r o t a t i o n a b o u t i t s i n p u t a x i s

and we find that

It indicates that a rotational input about IA will cause also

a rotational output about OA. The ratio h/CD is called gyro angular

@.

It normally ranges from 1 to 2. Another relation describing the operation of a rate integrating

gyro can be found by integrating both sides of (11.8) with respect to time. Since the time integral of an angular rate represents an angle, we find that

or that the total precession angle O input angle O

IA' above equation by noting that it can also be written as

is proportional to the total 0 A The term rate integrating gyro is derived from the

Rate integrating gyros are often built in a design version known as floated rate integrating gyro. In figure 11.12 the principle of such a gyro is shown. The gyro rotor is enclosed in a can, which in turn is immersed or "floated" in another container filled with a fluid of such a density that the resultant weight of the rotor and the can is effectly reduced to zero. Under such ideal conditions no load is exerted on the bearings and consequently the friction will be low. Viscous damping is provided by the liquid in the small gap between the cylindrical float and the case. The temperature of the liquid has to be controlled, because the flotation-fluid density varies with temperature.

VISCOUS LIQUID

TORQUER

PICK OFF

Fig. 11.12

Rate i n t e g r a t i n g gyro

TORQUE T

ACCELERATION a ALONG SPIN AXIS

T=TORQUE

rn= MASS UNBALANCE

a=ACCELERATION d=MOMENT ARM

ANGULAR
MOMENTUM

F i g . 11.13

Mass unbalance

DRIVING GEAR-WHEEL

INNER BEARING

MIDDLE BEARING OUTER BEARING

Fig. 11.14

Rotorace bearing

b) Anisoelastic effect

Fig. 11.15

In principle, a SDF rate-integrating gyro provides the same information (an angle) as a two-degree-of-freedom gyro. Only the accuracy which can be obtained with a SDF-gyro is some orders of magnitude better than with a TDF-gyro. This is due to the much simpler construction with only one gimbal axis. This makes a better balancing of the rotor possible, leading to low drift rates.

1 1 . 2 . 4 Constructional details

Although the construction of gyros is more a problem for engineers than for the user, some constructional details are still given here because of their influence on the accuracy, an aspect a user certainly will be confronted with.

11.2.4.1

Gyro mounting As we have already seen in section 1 1 . 2 . 3 , a free gyro can be

get near by mounting a spinning mass in a two-gimbal system. Such an approximation of the ideal always leads to certain disturbances in the ideal operation. If for instance the center of gravity of the flywheel and gimbal rings does not coincide with the spin axis of the flywheel, accelerations will exert a torque on the unbalanced mass as shown in figure 11.13. This torque generates an undesired precession of the gyro which is called drift. The mounting itself also generates torques that cause drift. This is caused by the influence inner and outer gimbal have on each other due to

- Coulomb friction or stiction in the bearings,

viscous friction in the bearings, With the use of jewelled pivots the friction can be kept low.

- other forces such as magnetic forces and forces from fluid flows.
The situation can even be improved by letting the flywheel and its casing float in a liquid. The pivots are then relieved leading to a lower friction. Ball bearings have like jewelled pivots the difficulty that displacements in the bearings are often very small over

long periods of time. This is very unfavourable from a point of view of stiction. Stiction causes a threshold below which the gyro is insensitive to angular rates. For ball bearings the static friction can be reduced by using the rotorace as shown in figure 11.14. It has a double set of bearings. The middle ring is rotated by a separate motor, causing the ball bearings to operate in a region with low friction. Changing the direction of rotation of the middle ring from time to time even further reduces the stiction error. A further cause of drift is the play in bearings. It causes an unbalance which can not be compensated for. With the help of the following example its importance will be illustrated. -5 kg m/s2 Let us consider a gyro with a moment of inertia I = 4.10 and spinning at a rate n
=

2000 rad/s (= 20.000 RPM). If the allowed

drift is 20/h and the mass of the rotor is 0.2 kg, we may ask what play the bearing may show. The solution can be found by noting that under the influence of the gravity field the torque due to the play is T
=

mgd = 0.2 x 9.8 x d Nm, where d is the play in axial direction. T 1.96 d 2000

The resulting drift of the gyro due to this torque will be w is w

= = =

24,5 d radls. Allowed

4.

20/h =

20 rad/s with the result that 180 x 3600

=

d = 20 ~124.5x 180 x 3600

4.10-~ m.

Hence, the gyro may show a play of at most 4 micron in its bearings if a drift of 20/h is allowed! Further sources of drift are the torques which result from the unavoidable connections between inner and outer gimbal constituted by pick-off's and between gimbal and fly wheel through the supply wires of the drive motor. Up till now we have assumed that all parts of the gyro are completely stiff. In practice, however, there will always be some elasticity. Especially troublesome in this respect is the fact that the elastic deformation may vary with the angle at which the load is applied. This is called anisoelasticity. Its effect on the drift of a gyro can be explained with the help of the example of figure 11.15, where the shaft of a rotor is assumed to be only deformable in the

INNER GIMBAL RING

OUTER GIMBAL RING AIR JET NOZZLE

AIR JET NOZZLE

AIR JET NOZZLE

-AIR INLET

GYRO ROTOR a) AiR SUPPLY b) DETAIL OF AIR-DRIVEN GYRO

Fig. 11.16

A i r d r i v e n gyro

I
SUPPORTING TRUNNIONGYRO CE A, S MOTOR ARMATURE (ROTOR)

MOTOR STATOR WINDING

a) INDUCTION MOTOR

b) DETAIL OF SQUIRRELCAGE

F i g . 11.17

E l e c t r i c a l l y driven gyro

lateral direction and not in the longitudinal direction. In figure 11.15a the center of mass M and the point of suspension coincide. In figure 11.15b an acceleration a
0

still

is acting at an angle 1 on the gyro. The accompanying reaction force acts at the center of

mass in the opposite direction. Due to the anisoelesticity the center of mass does not sag in the direction of the force but straight upwards. The reaction force now creates a torque acting clockwise about the point of suspension
0.

The full extent of the anisoelastic effect becomes just visible when the acceleration changes direction as shown in figure 11.15 c. The reaction force as well as the sagging of the center of mass will now be in the opposite direction, but the torque still acts in the same direction. For that reason the precession caused by this torque is not reversed but keeps its original direction, resulting in a strong gyro drift.

11.2.4.2

Gyro drive The rotor of a gyro can be driven either by an air jet or by

an electric motor. In the air-driven gyro of figure 11.16, the inner gimbal ring is carried out as a case, completely surrounding the gyro rotor. By sucking the instrument case, air can enter through a filtered inlet and pass through channels in the gimbal rings and pivots and emerge finally through nozzles. The airjets of these nozzles impinge on buckets cut in the periphery of the rotor wheel and cause it to spin at a speed between 12.000

18.000 RPM. A drawback

of an air-driven gyro is its drop in RPM at high altitudes due to the lack of air pressure and the danger of malfunction caused by pollution of the bearings by the sucked air. In electrically driven gyros the rotating mass is usually the rotor of the motor itself. To obtain an as high as possible moment of inertia, the rotating mass is mounted at the outline of the motor leading to an "inside out" construction as compared to a conventional motor. In the cross section of figure 11.17 the fixed stator with three coils, displaced in space by 120' is surrounded by an annular squirrel- cage rotor.

The three coils are fed by currents 120" out of phase as shown in figure 11.18. These currents set up magnetic fields which can be composed to a single field rotating in the airgap. A clarification of this fact is shown in figure 11.18, at least for the epochs, where one of the currents in the coils is zero. If the three-phase current source has a frequency of 400 Hz, the magnetic field will rotate at 60 x 400 =
24.000 RPM.

This rotating magnetic field cuts the conducting bars of the rotor (squirrel cage) and induces voltages in them. Because of the conducting plates at either side of the squirrel-cage rotor, the induced voltages set up currents in the bars, which in turn interact with the rotating magnetic field. By this interaction a torque is generated which tends to rotate the rotor in the same direction as the magnetic field (see section 8.1.1.2 at an RPM, approximately 2 about eddy currents). As a result the rotor will come gradually on speed and finally will rotate

3% lower than the rotational speed of

the magnetic field. This so-called

9 is

necessary in order to keep

a relative velocity between the rotor conductors and the rotating magnetic field, so that the torque producing currents in the rotor can be induced. As the gyro gets its required rigidity in space just at full rotational speed, the pilot should - use gyroscopic instruments for not operational purposes in the speedup phase.

A big advantage of driving gyros with the above treated induction motor is that no electrical connections such as brushes and sliprings are required between rotor and stator, reducing the friction to a minimum.

11.2.4.3

Gyro torque motor The torque, needed to let a gyro precess, can be generated electrically with the aid of a torque motor. This motor has a lot in common with a two-phase induction motor. The two coils in the stator are displaced 90". One coil provides a permanent (alternating) magnetic field and is called reference winding, the other is split up in two parts so as to provide a reversible field and is called control

REFERENCE WINDING
00-0

CAPACITOR

1
Torque motor

k
t

q
SWITCH

6 AC-SUPPLY

Fig. 11.19

Fig. 11.20

Translational motion

dt?= w d t dr-r' do= r'wdt =

= rsin Y w d t

or in vector notation

9
Fig. 11.21

AXIS OF ROTATION

Rotational motion

winding (see figure 11.19). The voltage applied to the reference winding is fed via a capacitor which shifts the current over 90' in phase. In the circuit of the control winding there is no capacitance; therefore, if the voltage is applied to the upper winding, the current in this winding will lag the current in the control winding by 9' 0. This out-of-phase arrangement or phase quadrature applies also to the magnetic fields set up by the windings and the composition of both fields leads to a rotating magnetic field (compare the three-phase induction motor of the foregoing section). This rotating magnetic field induces currents in the closedcircuit bar-type conductors of the squirrel-cage rotor and the interaction between these currents and the magnetic stator field causes a torque on the rotor which can be used to precess the gyro.

If the voltage is supplied to the lower part of the control

winding, the current will flow in the opposite direction which causes a reversing in direction of rotation of the stator magnetic field and consequently in the generated torque. The reference winding alone cannot generate a rotating stator field and hence no torque will be generated if neither part of the control winding is connected with the supply windings.

11.2.5 Backgrounds of the operation of gyroscopes Between the quantities describing the rotational motions of a gyro and the quantities discribing translational motions a parallel can be drawn. Since the latter motions are more familiar, we start with a brief review of them and then derive the equations of rotational motion along the mentioned parallels.

11.2.5.1

Translational motion In a Cartesian coordinate system the position of a particle

can be fixed by the position vector (figure 11.20)

I where i i , & are the unit vectors along resp. the x, y and z-axis -x' -y of the coordinate system.

Observing the successive positions taken in by the particle on its course in time, the velocity of the particle is given by (r -

v - = lim At+O

+ Ar) - - r
At

= lim

At-tO

Ar - dr -= At dt

(m/s)

The direction of - coincides with the limiting direction of Ar v as it approaches zero, or in other words, the tangent to the curve s at point P. Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity v and by observing the vector change from obtain

to v

Ax in a time span At, we

(V -

a -

lim At-tO

+ Av) - 1 d x - At
dt

(m/s2)

If the moving particle has a mass m (kg) it is said to possess

a linear momentum of

Newton's second law states that the time rate of change of momentum is equal to the force that produces it and that this change takes place in the direction in which the force acts

(p) (newton)

(11.15)

If the mass of the particle is constant, equation (11.15) can also be written as

Newton's first law, which is a special case of the second law, states that the particle remains at rest (p = g) or continues to move along a straight line with constant velocity (E=constant) when no force (F = - is acting on it. - 0) As frame of reference in which the motion is measured, a fixed reference system is used. By this is meant a frame of reference, whose absolute motion is zero. Newton considered a frame fixed relative to the stars to be one of absolute zero motion and his laws of motion to be valid when referred to this so-called inertial frame of reference. Controversies regarding the existance of such a reference frame of absolute zero motion led Einstein to his formulation of the theories of relativity of which Newtonian mechanics is a special case.

11.2.5.2

Rotational motion If a particle is rotating about an axis in space, its angular

position can be represented by a vector - analogous to the position 0 vector - in linear motion. The length of the vector is proportional r to the angle of rotation (expressed in radians) and its orientation is along the axis of rotation. Although representable by a vector, finite angles of rotation are not commutative and hence will not obey the rules of vector addition. Infinitesimal rotations, however, can be shown to be commutative and to possess all the properties of

a vector. Starting with such an infinitesimal rotation do, an angular

velocity w can be introduced analogous to the linear velocity y as

The step from angular velocity to angular acceleration is identical to the step from linear velocity to linear acceleration

C o n s i d e r i n g two s u c c e s s i v e p o s i t i o n s of t h e p a r t i c l e a s shown
w i n f i g u r e 11.21, we f i n d t h a t between t h e a n g u l a r v e l o c i t y - and t h e

l i n e a r v e l o c i t y ?I of t h e p a r t i c l e t h e r e l a t i o n

exists. Analogous t o t h e l i n e a r motion where t h e amount of motion was d e f i n e d by t h e momentum p = m -, t h e amount of motion f o r a r o t a t i o n a l v d i s p l a c e m e n t i s determined by i t s moment of momentum o r a n g u l a r momentum

D i f f e r e n t i a t i o n of (11.20) w i t h r e s p e c t t o time l e a d s t o t h e e q u a t i o n of motion f o r r o t a t i o n s

I n (11.21) u s e h a s been made of (11.14) and (11.15) with the vector property

together

= 0

The term - x - i n t h e r i g h t - h a n d s i d e of (11.21) i s c a l l e d t h e r F moment of f o r c e o r t o r q u e

O account of (11.21) and (11.22) we f i n d a s e q u a t i o n of motion n for rotations

I n analogy w i t h Newton's f i r s t law o f l i n e a r motion, we f i n d f o r a n g u l a r r o t a t i o n s t h a t i f no t o r q u e i s a c t i n g on t h e p a r t i c l e , t h e p a r t i c l e remains a t r e s t a constant angular v e l o c i t y

(5 = 0)
o (h =

o r i t continues t o r o t a t e with

const).

11.2.5.3

Displacement of a rigid body Sofar we have treated only the displacement of a single particle.

Gyroscopes, however, contain spinning bodies consisting of a whole system of particles and as a consequence the above given theory has to be supplemented. The motion of a rigid body as shown in figure 11.22, can be described by a translation of some reference point 0 plus a rotation about some axis through 0. Let a body axes system x, y, z be attached to the body with origin 0 at any point. The velocity of any particle i of the body is then given by

where r is the position vector of the particle, - the angular velocity w -i of the body and the linear velocity of the reference point 0 of

vo

the body. The moment of momentum of the complete body with respect to the
I

origin 0 of the x, y, z system is now obtained from the summation of the contributions of the individual particles as

1
=

C r. x ( - x r.) mi +yo x C mi w 1 1 i i

li

(11.25)

For a body with continuous mass distribution of density the volume V of the body. If the reference point (v
0

(kg/m3),

the summation over i in (11.25) can be replaced by a volume integral over

0

is stationary

0) - and/or

0 coincides with the center of mass of the body

(1 mi i

Ti =

c), equation (11.25)

can be written as

The equation of motion of the body can be obtained according to

( 1 1 . 2 1 ) by differentiating the moment of momentum - with respect to h

time . h i + h i + h i and noting that i i and i x -x y -y z 7 . -x' -y -2 rotate with the body, we find that With h
=

Since

-x -= - x w dt

di

di di 7 . i z = w x i a n d = -x' dt - -y dt - x -' w i 2

this expression

can also be written as

The term

11 in

(11.28) has to be interpreted as differentiation with

respect to time while keeping i i and i fixed. x -y ' 2 With the aid of (11.23) and (11.28) rotating body can now be written as the equation of motion of a

The first term in the right hand side of ( 1 1 . 2 9 ) causes an oscillatory motion of the body called nutation. Its amplitude is generally very small and can be neglected in the stationary condition. Equation ( 1 1 . 2 9 ) is then approximated by

When no torque is exerted on the body (T = -) , we learn from - 0

( 1 1 . 2 3 ) that - will be constant. As further - x - = - , - will be h w h 0 w parallel to the constant vector - and hence keep its orientation in h

space too. This property is called rigidity in space. As soon as a w torque is exerted on the body, its rotational speed - will change according to ( 1 1 . 3 0 ) and the body will precess about an axis perpenT h dicular to - and - as illustrated in figure 11.23. In gyros the

Fig. 11.23

P r e c e s s i o n p e r p e n d i c u l a r t o b o t h t h e t o r q u e and moment of momentum v e c t o r

Fig. 11.24

P r e c e s s i o n of a t h i n r o t a t i n g d i s k under t h e i n f l u e n c e of a t o r q u e

r o t a t i n g body g e n e r a l l y c o n s i s t s o f a t h i n d i s c s p i n n i n g about i t s a x i s of symmetry. With t h e h e l p o f t h i s s p e c i a l body t h e p r e c e s s i o n

w i l l be e l u c i d a t e d f u r t h e r .

11.2.5.4

P r e c e s s i o n of a s p i n n i n g d i s k I n f i g u r e 11.24 a d i s c i s s p i n n i n g about t h e z-axis w i t h an

a n g u l a r speed g i v e n by

a.

According t o (11.26) t h e moment of momentum w i l l be

h - = Q r f I p r 2 d V-2i

(11.31)

I n (11.31) t h e volume i n t e g r a l I moment of i n e r t i a I of t h e d i s k .

v

p r2 d

V is often called the

I f a t o r q u e T i s e x e r t e d a b o u t t h e i x - a x i s we have

According t o (11.30) t h i s t o r q u e c a u s e s a p r e c e s s i o n about t h e

i - a x i s of magnitude Y

F i n a l l y we n o t e t h a t t h e v e c t o r s i n (11.30) a r e independent of t h e c o o r d i n a t e system and t h e r e f o r e - = - x T w With r e s p e c t t o t h e p r o p e r t y

h is

v a l i d i n an i n e r t i a l

r e f e r e n c e frame a s w e l l a s i n a r o t a t i n g frame.

h=

c o n s t , when no t o r q u e i s e x e r t e d , t h e

s i t u a t i o n i s d i f f e r e n t . A s t h i s p r o p e r t y f o l l o w s from ( 1 1 . 2 3 ) , a r e l a t i o n which h a s been d e r i v e d i n i n e r t i a l s p a c e , t h e p r o p e r t y h = c o n s t a n t when T

0 - = - will

o n l y be v a l i d i n i n e r t i a l s p a c e .

11.2.6 Modern d e s i g n s i n gyro t e c h n o l o g y The c l a s s i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e p e r f e c t f r e e gyro i s a r o t a t i n g mass w i t h no r e s t r a i n t s o r i n h e r e n t d i s t u r b i n g t o r q u e s t o cause d r i f t s r e l a t i v e t o i n e r t i a l s p a c e . From two d i r e c t i o n s a t t e m p t s a r e undertaken t o reach t h i s i d e a l i n p r a c t i c e .

One direction is to find a substitute for the classical rigid rotating mass. Thus various kinds of spinning fluids, vibrating masses, nuclear and atomic inertia effects, and laser frequency difference effects have been tried. The other main direction is to refine the suspension means of the rotating mass. Designs here have included fluids, electrostatic suspensions and gas bearings. In the following three sections we will restrict ourself to those designs which have already proven to be successfull in practical use; the dynamically tuned gyro, the electrostatically suspended gyro and the ring laser gyro.

11.2.6.1

Dynamically tuned gyro In the conventional gyro the rotor with its spin motor is located

inside the rotor case or inner gimbal as shown in figure 11.25a. The external gimbal ring connects the rotor carrier to the gyro case via two sets of bearings at right angles. An alternative arrangement of the necessary parts that gives the same freedom about the intersecting axes is shown in figure 11.25b. Putting the rotor outside the gimbal ring makes it possible to fix the motor to the case and drive the rotor through the support shaft and support pivots. This eliminates the motor as a critical balancing problem and as in addition no electrical leads need to be carried across the gimballing system, disturbing torques are avoided in this way. If in the latter system the rotor is accelerated to some constant high angular velocity, the rotor spin axis will tend to remain fixed in space even if the drive axis is offset by rotating the gyro case. In figure 11.26 we give a practical realization of such a gyro. The rotor is coupled to the drive shaft via a gimbal system with flexure pivots. For reasons of simplicity the operation of this type of suspension can be best explained at hand of the spring element of figure 11.27a, which consists of two notches milled in the shaft. Such a spring element can only be deformed easily about the II-axis, but it resists against bending about the III-axis. Therefore, a disturbance of the rotor from its equilibrium position will cause the III-axis to perform a motion like a balance, This applies for a non-rotating

-GIMBAL RlNG
,+' . \ j

GYRO CASE

SUPPORT SHAFT AND DRIVE AXIS

.\
AND SPIN MOTOR

GYRO CASE

GIMBAL RlNG

Fig. 11.25

Conventional and rotating suspension a) Conventional suspension with rotor and spin motor inside gimbals, b) rotating suspension with rotor outside gimbal ring

DRIVE MOTOR PICKOFF

PERMANENT MAGNET RING

Fig. 11.26

Dynamically tuned gyro

I - axis

SURFACETRAVERSED B Y THE Ill-AXIS IS FIXED I N INERTIAL SPACE

II l - axis

ELEMENT

I l - axis

SURFACETRAVERSED B Y 11-AXIS IS PERPENDICULAR TO THE DRIVE SHAFT

Fig. 11.27

Rotor w i t h s p r i n g s u s p e n s i o n : a ) c o n f i g u r a t i o n , b) decoupling of t h e s u r f a c e t r a v e r s e d by t h e 1 1 1 - a x i s , c ) t h e s u r f a c e t r a v e r s e d by t h e 1 1 - a x i s i s p e r p e n d i c u l a r t o t h e d r i v e s h a f t

F i g . 11.28

Rotor of a dynamically t u n e d gyro i n f o u r d i f f e r e n t p o s i t i o n s

rotor as well as a rotating one. If in the latter situation the rotational speed is chosen such that after one revolution of the rotor, the deflection of the 111-axis repeats itself, the motion of this axis will always take place in the same space-fixed surface, which not necessarily needs to be perpendicular to the drive shaft. Evidently the tension of the spring is not able to turn the surface perpendicular to the drive shaft. The restoring torque of the spring is apparently compensated by an oppositely directed torque, which is often called negative spring torque. Hence, as can be seen from figure 11.27b, the orientation of the surface formed by the rapid motion of the 111-axis is decoupled from the orientation of the drive shaft and the surface behaves like a

free

gyro. If we look at the surface traversed by the 11-axis it will be

clear that this surface is always perpendicular to the drive shaft. Consequently, the motion of the rotor will be a fluttery one if the drive shaft has an inclined position. In figure 11.28 the attitude of the rotor is shown in the course of a revolution.

11.2.6.2

Electrostatically suspended gyro The most perfected suspension of a gyro can be found in an

electrostatically suspended gyro (ESG). In such a gyro a small beryllium sphere is kept floating by a strong electric field between electrodes in high vacuum. Once the sphere has been brought to spin with the aid of an eddy current motor, it can be left to its fate because the extremely low friction causes no observable degradation in RPM for months. In figure 11.29 the principle of the ESG can be found. The sphere is kept floating between several electrodes, which are supplied with rapidly changing voltages. Without an appropriate control system, the sphere would always be pulled in the direction where the distance between the walls is smallest. This is because the magnitude of an electrostatic force increases with decreasing distance between the walls. For that reason the distance between the sphere and the wall is measured in a number of directions with the aid of capacitive sensors. If a decrease in distance is observed at one side, the control system decreases the voltage at the electrode at that side and increases the voltage at the opposing electrode. The resulting electro-static force will then readjust the sphere to its proper position. The sphere can be given a stable orientation in space

by flattening the inside as shown by the dotted lines in figure 11.29. The pickoff of the ESG consists of an electro-optical device which scans a zigzag pattern painted on the sphere. Any deviation between the gyro case and the equator of the sphere is sensed by this device.

11.2.6.3

Ring laser gyroscope The laser gyroscope is an integrating rate gyro in the unconventional sense, as it contains no spinning mass. The essential feature of the laser gyro is a ring-type cavity in which the laser radiation traverses a closed path as shown in figure 11.30. The laser cavity supports two standing waves that can oscillate at different frequencies. The frequencies of oscillation of these standing waves are dependent on the rotation of the cavity with respect to inertial space. A measurement of the frequency difference between the two waves gives a direct measure of the rotation of the laser cavity. A more detailed explanation of the operation of the ring laser gyro (RLG) can be obtained by considering the Sagnac interferometer of figure 11.31. It consists of an ideal circular interferometer of radius R. Light entering at point A is split up by a beamsplitter into two beams travelling around the circumference of the circle, one in a clockwise direction and indicated by the subscript

+,

the other in

a counterclockwise direction and indicated by the subscript

-.

Having travelled along the complete path, the light recombines at the original beamsplitter. When the interferometer is stationary, the transit time of the light around the circumference of the interferometer will be the same for both beams and is given by

TO OTHER ELECTRODE PAIRS

PICKOFFS

F i g . 11.29

E l e c t r o s t a t i c a l l y suspended f r e e - r o t o r gyro

READOUT DETECTOR

CORNER PRISM

LASER TUBE

CERVIC CASE

v
CATHODE

Fig.

11.30

Ring l a s e r gyro

F i g . 11.31

Rotating Sagnac Interferometer

CURVED MIRROR

OUTPUT MIRROR SERVOED MIRROR

Fig. 11.32

Ring laser gyro schematic

Is the interferometer rotating at an angular speed w, the transit times of the two beams will be different. This is caused by the fact that during the closed path transit time of the light, the beamsplitter originally located at point A has been moved to point B. Thus, with respect to inertial space, the light beam travelling oppositely to the direction of rotation of the interferometer has to traverse a shorter distance than the light beam travelling in the same direction as the rotation. Note that the speed of light is considered to remain invariant. The closed path transit times are now fixed by

where

refers to the inertial space distance between A and B. Substitution of (11.36) in (11.35) results in

In relations (11.35)-(11.37)

the upper sign refers to the light

beam travelling in the direction of rotation of the interferometer, while the lower sign is for the light beam travelling in the opposite direction. Under the assumption that R w << c the time difference between both light beams can be found from (11.37) as
2
2 2

Noting that c At corresponds with an optical path difference AL and that n ~ ' is the area A enclosed by the light beams, relation
(11.38) can also be written as

It can be proved that this relation can be generalized for arbitrary interferometer constructions and that it is independent of the location of the axis of rotation. Although conceptually valid, the Sagnac interferometer is not a very practical device since A L is much smaller than one wavelength of the light used in the interferometer beams. This makes the measurement of A L impossible except for very large interferometer rings. However, if the Sagnac interferometer is made an active one by placing a laser into the cavity as shown in figure 11.32, the sensitivity changes remarkably. The condition under which the laser can sustain stable oscillations is that the optical cavity length must enclose an integral number of wavelengths. If m represents this so-called mode number (typical in the order of lo5

10 ) , the oscillation condition for a rotating

cavity is given by

where f

?I

represents the frequency of the light beam seeing the cavity

as being of length L+ respectively. Thus a small change in path length

between both beams result in a small frequency difference Af given by

Due to the high frequency in the optical region (f = 1014 Hz), small changes in length AL can result in measurable frequency differences Af. Combining (11.39) and (11.42) the beat frequency Af is found as

DIELECTRIC MIRROR

FRINGE PATTERN
F i g . 11.33 Generation of t h e f r i n g e p a t t e r n o f both l i g h t beams i n the RLG.

OUTPUT

/
/

/
/

INPUT

/
/

I
I
I

- w

..

DEAD BAND

F i g . 11.34

Dead band on lock-in e f f e c t of RLG

Fig. 11.35

Pendulum indicating the plumbline

PENDULUM DIRECTED

G R A V I T Y FORCE

Fig. 11.36

Apparent direction of the plumb line during a turn

In figure 11.33 the beat frequency is obtained by letting a small percentage of the energy of both oppositely directed beams be transmitted through a dielectric coated output mirror. The beams are made practically colinear by a 90" corner prism to form a fringe pattern. This fringe pattern moves at the beat frequency rate Af, the direction of movement being determined by the sense of rotation of the RLG. It is noted that with this type of readout, a laser gyro is inherently an integrating rate gyro with a digital output. This can be easily seen from ( 1 1 . 4 3 ) , where an integration in time results in

with

Af dt and O

J~

w dt

Thus with up-down counting the net number of accumulated counts depends only on the net angle through which the ideal RLG has rotated. The total count is independent of rotation fluctuations. In practice the ring laser concept of figure 11.32 is carried out as shown in figure 11.30, where the laser is formed by the complete cavity between the mirrors. As material for the cavity Cervic is used, a kind of fused quartz with a very low coefficient of expansion. A limitation inherent in any laser gyro design is the dead band or lock-in effect. As shown in figure 11.34, there is a threshold in the angular velocity below which the gyro will give no output. This is due to interaction effects between the two oppositely directed beams which arise when, on reflection, a small amount of energy from one beam is scattered back from the mirror surface into the other beam. This interaction causes the two beamfrequencies to lock together. Improvements of the mirrors can reduce this effect to a fair amount, but no matter how good the mirrors, the threshold can never be reduced below the level of 1/h needed for navigation.

Various techniques to overcome this problem have been designed We mention the mechanical dither, where the RLG is placed on a torsional spring which rotates the gyro rapidly backward and forward. As a result the RLG will traverse the lock-in region rapidly and due to the differene in sign of the effect with direction of rotation it will be averaged out with time.

11.3

Attitude indication To control an aircraft to attain a straight flight or a level turn, the pilot can use under good visual conditions the earth's horizon as reference. But, as soon as this horizon can't be seen anymore, he needs an instrument to provide him with the necessary reference information. Noting that the earth's gravity field is always perpendicular to the local horizontal plane and a stationary pendulum aims along this gravity field or local plumb line (see figure 11.35), a pendulum seems the obvious instrument to profide this reference information. Unfortunately, in a moving aircraft a simple pendulum is unsuited to indicate the true vertical and the horizon. For instance, when the aircraft banks in a turn, the weight of a simple pendulum is pushed towards the outside of the turn by the centrifugal force as shown in figure 11.36. Also in a straight flight, the pendulum can deflect; rearward during accelerations and forward during decelerations. Therefore, we have to look after instruments which can keep a vertical reference, without being influenced by the accelerations of the aircraft. Instruments possessing this property are the two-degree-of-freedom gyros. If the spin axis of such a gyro is brought into line with the local vertical, it will keep this direction, whatever the movements of the support of the gyro will be (figure 11.37). We then speak of a vertical gyro (VG). If the axis of the outer gimbal of the VG is chosen parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, it can be used to measure pitch and roll angle as shown in figure 11.37. At "pitch up", the spin-axis of the gyro remains vertical, while the z-axis of the aircraft moves forward (the

z-axis moves backwards).

SPIN AXlS

-2-

AXlS A T PITCH UP

s 9-

z-

AXlS A T ROLL TO THE RIGHT

AXlS

[/g VG PITCH AXlS

PARALLEL TO THE LONGTUDINAL AXlS OF AIRCRAFT

F i g . 11.37

P i t c h and r o l l a n g l e i n d i c a t i o n w i t c h t h e a i d of a v e r t i c a l gyro

Fig. 11.38

The change i n d i r e c t i o n of t h e plumbline i n a p o i n t P on e a r t h due t o e a r t h r o t a t i o n

F i g . 11.39

T r a v e l e r r o r of t h e v e r t i c a l gyro

The pitch angle O is reckoned from 0 to 9' 0;

pitch up positive and

@

pitch down negative. At right wing down, the aircraft banks and the

z-axis inclines to the right. The roll attitude

is reckoned from

0" to 1 0 ; 8'

roll to the right positive and roll to the left negative.

11.3.1 Apparent gyro drift and its compensation Using the vertical gyro as a vertical reference, it will be noticed that after a certain lapse of time the spin axis has been wandered from its original vertical direction. This error is caused by the fact that the spin axis of a TDF-gyro will keep its position in inertial space, while the plumb line on the curved surface of the rotating earth will take different directions in inertial space. Figure 11.38 shows how a plumb line in a fixed point P on earth changes direction in inertial space due to the earth's rotation. At the equator this change will be at a rate of 1 ' h 5/, while at the poles it will be zero. As a result, the spin axis of the gyro, originally directed along the plumb line will apparently drift away with time. This kind of apparent drift is also known as earth-rate wander. A comparable error occurs if we travel along the earth's curved surface as shown in figure 11.39. Again we have to do with an apparent drift as the plumb line changes its direction with position and not the spin axis of the gyro.. This kind of apparent drift is often called transport wander. To compensate for these apparent drift components, the spin axis of the gyro has to be brought continuously into alignment with the local vertical of the earth. For that purpose use is made of an erection mechanism, the blockdiagram of which is shown in figure 11.40. The direction of the spin axis of the VG is compared with the direction of the vertical, sensed by a pendulum or level. Any discrepency results in an error signal which is used to exert a torque on the gyro in order to let the spin axis precess to the vertical. At a first glance, we have not made much progress, as the pendulum senses the apparent vertical, composed of the gravity force and any centrifugal or acceleration force. This implies that also the erection mechanism only performs correctly during an unaccelerated straight flight. Under accelerated flight conditions the indication of the vertical will become worse rather than better.

By taking a number of measures, however, this undesired behaviour can be improved. The introduction of a limitation in erection speed prevents the gyro axis to be directed away too much from the true vertical, when in a turn or accelerated flight the deviation between the spin axis of the VG and the apparent vertical sensed by the pendulum becomes large (see figure 1 1 . 4 1 ) . The erection velocity is generally limited at 2

3'/min,

leading to a slow precession of the

gyro. In this way we have obtained that in the long run the vertical gyro unit of figure 11.41 operates like a pendulum, while during the short manoeuvres of the aircraft the gyro prevents the indicated vertical from swinging away. Hence, we have combined in a VG-unit the long term stability of the pendulum with the short term stability of the gyro. In spite of the limitation in erection speed, the above mentioned VG will still show large errors during prolonged accelerations, occuring for instance in long turns in one direction. A solution to this problem is offered by an erection cut-off; as soon as the acceleration of the aircraft exceeds a certain value, the automatic erection mechanism will be switched off. The VG then starts to operate like a free gyro and as a consequence will be subjected to apparent drift and transport wander due to the earth's rotation and the motion of the aircraft. The resulting errors are, at least for short periods, small in respect to the acceleration errors we expect in case the erection mechanism would be operating. As soon as the strong acceleration ceases, the erection system will be switched on again and the vertical gyro resumes its erection process. In figure
11.41 the erection cut-off comes into operation as soon as the

deviation between apparent vertical and true vertical exceeds 8'.

11.3.2 Practical realizations of VG's with their typical erection mechanisms

In the course of time a large number of different types of erection systems have been developed. The particular system adopted in practice depends on the design of the vertical gyro, but they all have in common that they are of the gravity-sensing type. The three main categories which can be distinguished are pneumatic, mechanical and electrical. In the following sections,an example of each category will be treated.

PENDULUM

Fig. 11.40

B a s i c p r i n c i p l e of t h e e r e c t i o n system of a v e r t i c a l gyro

VELOCITY

PROPORTIONAL ERECTION

CUT-OFF A T 8 '

Fig. l i . 4 1

P r o p o r t i o n a l e r e c t i o n o f a gyro w i t h l i n i t a t i o n a t 2-3"/min and c u t - o f f a t 8 O

Fig.

11.42

P r i n c i p l e of t h e g y r o h o r i z o n

BANK TO PORT

LEVEL

BANK TO STARBOARD

@ @ @
@ @ @
Fig. 11.43

@@@

HORIZONTAL FLIGHT

CLIMB ATTITUDE

DIVE ATTITUDE

I n d i c a t i o n of t h e a r t i f i c i a l h o r i z o n

11.3.2.1

Gyro h o r i z o n (pneumatic e r e c t i o n system) The gyro h o r i z o n o r a r t i f i c i a l h o r i z o n can be found i n l i g h t

a i r c r a f t f o r t h e i n d i c a t i o n o f p i t c h and bank a t t i t u d e . I n a s c h e m a t i c way t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e i n s t r u m e n t i s shown i n f i g u r e 11.42. The

1' The c a s e , which r e p l a c e s t h e i n n e r gimbal r i n g of t h e gimbal system,

f l y w h e e l ( 2 ) i s s p i n n i n g i n a c a s e (4) a b o u t t h e v e r t i c a l a x i s XX

h a s p i v o t s p a r a l l e l t o t h e l a t e r a l a x i s YY

o f t h e a i r c r a f t . They can 1 r o t a t e f r e e l y i n b e a r i n g s of t h e normally h o r i z o n t a l o u t e r gimbal ( 3 ) . The p i v o t s of t h i s o u t e r gimbal r i n g a r e p a r a l l e l t o t h e l o n g i t u d i n a l a x i s ZZ of t h e a i r c r a f t and r o t a t e i n b e a r i n g s t i e d t o t h e 1 i n d i c a t o r house and a i r c r a f t . The a t t i t u d e i n d i c a t i o n f o l l o w s from t h e p o s i t i o n of t h e h o r i z o n b a r (8) moving b e h i n d a f i x e d s m a l l winged marker (1) i n t h e c e n t e r of t h e d i a l , i n d i c a t i n g t h e r e a r view of an a i r p l a n e . The h o r i z o n b a r i s s u p p o r t e d on a l e v e r ( 6 ) which i s p i v o t e d a t t h e r e a r of t h e r o l l gimbal. A s l o t i n t h e l e v e r r e c e i v e s a p i n (7) which i s mounted on t h e gyro c a s e and e x t e n d s t h r o u g h a s l o t i n t h e gimbal. When t h e a i r c r a f t i s f l y i n g l e v e l , t h e h o r i z o n b a r i s d i r e c t l y i n l i n e w i t h t h e wings of t h e a i r p l a n e symbol. To c o r r e c t f o r t h e a n g l e of a t t a c k going w i t h a p a r t i c u l a r a i r s p e e d and l o a d a t l e v e l f l i g h t , t h e a i r p l a n e symbol c a n be a d j u s t e d upward o r downward by a knob a t t h e f r o n t of t h e c a s e . Exact l e v e l f l i g h t i s a s c e r t a i n e d by t h e v e r t i c a l speed i n d i c a t o r f o r t h a t purpose. When t h e a i r c r a f t banks t o t h e l e f t o r t h e r i g h t , t h e r o l l gimbal and t h e h o r i z o n b a r remain h o r i z o n t a l , b u t t h e d i a l and a i r p l a n e symbol r o t a t e w i t h t h e f u s e l a g e . I f t h e a i r c r a f t s t a r t s f l y i n g nose down, t h e gyro c a s e w i t h
i t s c r a n k arm ( 7 ) remains f i x e d i n s p a c e . However, t h e r o l l gimbal

which c o n t a i n s t h e h o r i z o n - b a r p i v o t t i l t s forward w i t h t h e f u s e l a g e . T h i s c a u s e s t h e horizon-bar s u p p o r t l e v e r t o p i v o t around t h e c r a n c k

p i n and d e f l e c t t h e h o r i z o n b a r upward r e l a t i v e t o t h e a i r p l a n e symbol. The i n d i c a t i o n s o f t h e a r t i f i c i a l h o r i z o n going w i t h a number of d i f f e r e n t a t t i t u t e s of t h e a i r c r a f t a r e p r e s e n t e d i n f i g u r e 11.43.

11.3.2.1.1

Pneumatic drive and erection system of the gyro A typical version of an air-driven gyro horizon is shown in

figure 11.44. The airjets driving the gyro wheel are generated in almost the same way as described in section 11.2.4.2. The only difference is that in the gyro horizon the air used for spinning the rotor is not simply drawn off the gyro case through holes, but through a pendulous vane unit attached to the bottom of the gyro casing. The pendulous vane unit is used as an erection mechanism of the gyro and its detailed construction is shown in figure 11.45a. The airflow from the gyro housing is exhausted through four holes which can be shut off by knife-edged pendulously suspended vanes clamped in pairs on two intersecting shafts supported in the unit body. One shaft is parallel to the axis YY1 and the other parallel to the axis ZZ1 of the gyro. As reaction on the airflow through the holes, forces will be applied to the unit body. The magnitude of these forces is controlled by the position of the vanes. Is the gyro in the vertical position, as shown in figure 11.45b, the knife edges of the vanes bisect each of the ports A, B, C and D. A11 four port openings are then equal, with the result that all four air reactions will be equal and hence the resulting forces about each axis will be in balance. As soon as the gyro is displaced from its normal vertical position as for instance in figure 11.45c, where the top of the gyro is tilted towards the front of the instrument, the pendulous vanes on axis YY will remain vertical due to the gravitational force. As a 1 result, port D on the right-hand side of the body will be opened while port B on the left-hand side will be closed. The increased reaction of the air from the open port results in a torque being applied to the body about the axis ZZ and the gyro starts precessing 1 about the axis YY, back to the vertical position, where the vanes again bisect the ports to equalize the air reactions.

11.3.2.2

The horizon system (electrical erection) Many large aircraft currently in use employ integrated flight

instruments or flight director systems (see manual Avionics) which comprise indicators that display not only pitch and roll information,

1 : Sky plate 2 : Inner gimbal ring 3 : Resilient stop 4 : Balance nut 5 : Temperature compensator 6 : Rotor 7 : Actuating pin 8 : Outer gimbal ring 9 : Actuator arm 10 : Pendulous vane unit 11 : Buffer stops 12 : Bank pointer 13 : Horizontal bar

GIMBAL AND ROTOR ASSEMBLY

F i g . 11.44

A i r d r i v e n gyro h o r i z o n

'\

AIR FLOW FROM ROTOR HOUSING

VANE

(a)

F i g . 11.45

Pendulous vane e r e c t i o n u n i t . a ) c o n s t r u c t i o n , b) gyro i n v e r t i c a l p o s i t i o n , c ) p r e c e s s i o n due t o a i r r e a c t i o n , d ) gyro tilted

ATTITUDE REFERENCE UNIT (AVIONICS BAY)

ATTITUDE INDICATOR ICOCKPITI

Fig. 11.46

The horizon system

but also associated signal data from radio navigation systems. The vertical gyro is no longer situated in the indicator itself, but can be found in a separate case in the avionics bay. We then speak of a horizon system. As the dimensions of the gyro are now no longer limited by the dimensions of the indicator case, larger and hence more stable gyros can be used. In addition, the attitude reference information being transported as an electrical signal can now easily be distributed to other systems such as autopilot, flight data recorder and weather radar antenna stabilization circuits.

11.3.2.2.1

Operation of the horizon system The attitude indicator of figure 1 1 . 4 6 contains a sphere which

can be rotated by synchro-servo systems about the lateral and longitudinal axis. The upper half of the sphere is painted light-blue, the lower half brown. The dividing line represents the horizon. The pitch of the aircraft is read from a graduation on the sphere against a fixed aircraft symbol mounted in front of the sphere. The bank angle, determined by the angle which the horizontal line on the sphere makes with the aircraft symbol, is read with the aid of the bank angle marker on the scale at the upper rim of the instrument. With the aid of two synchro systems the positions of the synchro rotors in the attitude reference unit are transferred to the rotors of the pitch and roll synchros in the indicator. Servo motors take care of positioning the sphere correctly. In case one of the synchro systems is malfunctioning or the eletric power of the gyro motor is interrupted, a warning flag is displayed. In contrast with the artificial horizon, the aircraft symbol in a horizon system cannot be adjusted on the indicator. The only way to let the horizon line in this instrument coincide with the aircraft symbol during a level flight is to introduce an off-set voltage in the pitch servo system with the aid of a so-called pitch-trim potentiometer. This potentiometer can be found on the amplifier in the integrated instrument rack.

11.3.2.2.2

The electrical erection system The attitude information derived from the synchros in the

attitude reference unit is only valid, provided that the axis of the gyro rotor is in the vertical position. This can be accomplished with the aid of an electrical erection system, the diagram of which is shown in figure 11.47. Any discrepancy of the gyro axis from the vertical is sensed by two liquid level switches mounted on the inner gimbal (figure 11.46); one for pitch and one for roll. If one of the liquid switches is tilted, it will interrupt the current flow through one side of the balanced windings of a torque motor. As a result the motor starts producing a torque which causes the gyro rotor axis to precess back to the proper vertical. The rate at which this erection occurs is about 2 earth rotation. In the initial alignment phase, which takes place after the electric power has been applied to the vertical gyro unit, a torque rate of 2'/min would take a too long waiting time before the system is ready for use. Therefore, a fast erection circuit allows in this phase a higher current to flow through the control windings of the two torque motors. Fast erection is enabled when the rotor of the gyro is spinning up. As soon as the gyro has attained its correct rotation speed the fast erection circuit is switched off.

3"/min. This value turns out to be adequate to

correct for any small drift that may be produced by friction and

11.3.2.2.3

Roll erection cut-off (RECO) To prevent the gyro from erecting to the false vertical when

the aircraft is in a turn, roll erection cut-off switches, mounted on the outer gimbal ring of the vertical gyro unit automatically disable the roll erection when the angle between the apparent vertical and the true vertical exceeds 6". One of the liquid-filled switches S 3'

S will then be activated by the centrifugal acceleration and the

RECO circuit removes the voltage on the control windings of the roll erection torque motor. As soon as the deviation angle becomes less than 6", the voltage will be restored on the control windings.

ROLL INFORMATION

I
I_ -

PITCH INFORMATION

,
w
N

R
WARNING CONTINUITY

ROLL SYNCHRO

SYNCHRO

CONTINUITY

GYRO MOTOR

FAST ERECT

ENABLE

SPEED OET CONTINUITY

w
PITCH TORQUE

ROLL TORQUE

CONTINUITY

Fig. 11.47

Electrical block diagram of the vertical gyro unit

B A N K A N G L E SCALE A N D POINTER

-POWER

'OFF' F L A G

- PITCH ERECTIONITRIM

KNOB

F i g . 11.48

Standby

a t t i t u d e indicator

F i g . 11.49

Mechanism of t h e

standby a t t i t u d e i n d i c a t o r

11.3.2.2.4

Pitch erection cut-off (PECO) On the inner gimbal ring two liquid-filled pitch erection cutS will cut out the pitch erection when the deviation
6

off switches S

5'

between apparent vertical and true vertical exceeds 2.5" in pitch, due to an acceleration or a deceleration of the aircraft. Pitch erection is restored automatically after three minutes, even if the cut-off switches continue to sense a pitch angle discrepancy > 2.5".

11.3.2.2.5

Gyro flag warning circuitry

A flag warning signal is given to the indicator when gyro

components are not functioning properly. For that purpose, the continuity circuits in figure 11.47 monitor if no open circuits occur in the different windings of the synchros and the motors of the gyro.

11.3.2.3

Standby attitude indicator (mechanical erection system) With the use of horizon systems as treated in the foregoing section it seems that in large aircraft there is no longer a need for gyro horizons. However, to meet airworthiness requirements in case of a possible failure of the circuits controlling the display of aircraft

attitude, the gyro horizon still finds a place on the instrument panel, be it in the role of a standby attitude indicator. In figure
11.48 an example of such an indicator is illustrated.

11.3.2.3.1

Operational aspects of the system Instead of displaying pitch and roll attitude with a conventional in this

stabilized horizon bar as treated in section 11.3.2.1,

instrument a stabilized drum is adopted as the reference against the aircraft symbol. The upper half of the drum is painted blue to display climb attitudes, while the lower half is black to display descending attitudes.

The pitch angle is read on a scale graduated in ten degree 0 increments up to 8 ' climb and 60" descent. The bank angle is indicated by a pointer and scale in the normal manner. With the knob in the lower right-hand corner of the indicator pitch trim can be established by positioning the aircraft symbol through i 5". The trim angle can be read by an index attached to the knob which moves in front of a scale graduated every degree with an indication of climb and dive. Pulling the knob out and keeping it in that position will energize a fast-erection circuit. The indicator is powered by 28 V DC from the battery busbar, a source which will be available under all circumstances and, therefore, assuring that attitude indications will be displayed. When in the indicator in the electric supply of the gyro a failure occurs, .a "power off" flag will come in view.

11.3.2.3.2

Construction of the indicator In figure 11.49 the construction of the indicator is shown in

some more detail. Inside the gimballed case (1) the vertical gyro is driven by a squirrel-cage induction motor powered by 155 V, 3 phase AC supplied by a static inverter, which, in turn, is powered by 28 V

DC from the battery busbar. The AC supply of the gyro motor is monitored by the power failure indicator ( 2 ) at the back of the
instrument. It consists of a two-phase failure warning flag motor, the control windings of which are series connected with two of the excitation windings in the stator of the gyro motor. In normal operation, the torque of the two-phase motor overcomes the force applied by a counterspring and makes the dial flag disappear, indicating to the pilot that the gyro is normally supplied. When the supply voltage drops below about 70 V or an open circuit occurs in any of the supply leads, the torque of the two-phase motor decreases to a point where the counterspring takes over and the "power off" flag appears in view.

Fig. 11.50

Detail of the attitude indication mechanism

Fig. 11.51

Ball erection mechanism

HIGHEST POINT

LOWEST POINT

Fig. 11.52

Motion of the balls. a) vertical perpendicular to the track plane, b) vertical not perpendicular to the track plane

The way in which the attitude indication is obtained can be best explained with the aid of the detail sketch of figure 11.50. When the aircraft rolls, the instrument case will rotate about the axis XX' and the angle between the aircraft symbol and the horizon line on the drum will be equal to the bank angle of the aircraft. When pitching, the instrument case will rotate about the axis W ' with respect to the fixed gyro case. This motion is transmitted to the drum by means of a set of gear-wheels. The total ratio of the transmission is 1 : 2 and the direction of rotetion is such that during a climb the horizon line on the drum moves down like the true horizon seems to do and the aircraft symbol appears on a blue background. During a dive, the motion is reversed and the aircraft symbol appears on a black background.

11.3.2.3.3

Principle of the mechanical erection mechanism To keep in the standby attitude indicator the spin axis of the

gyro in its vertical position, a ball erection mechanism is used (figure 11.51). The system consists of a pair of balls (1) driven by two fingers (2), diametrically opposed to each other along a circular track at the top of the gyroscope. Two further fingers (3) equidistant from the first pair act as stops, limiting the sector of travel of each ball. The rotational motion of the fingers is taken from the gyro rotor through a reducing gear train contained in the cover. With a reduction ratio of 717 : 1 the speed of the balls is about 30 RPM. In the situation that the vertical is perpendicular to the track plane, the two balls will be in continuous contact with their driving fingers and will roll diametrically opposite to each other at a uniform speed (figure 11.52a). The center of gravity of the two balls will be situated at the spin axis of the gyro and no precession will be initiated. However, if the vertical is not perpendicular to the track plane, the ball motion will be varied. In the climbing part of its travel, each ball will be pushed along by its driving finger at a uniform speed until the highest point is reached and the ball separates from its driving finger under the influence of the tangential component of the gravity force. The ball now starts to roll at an accelerated speed until it catches up with

its stop finger, which it then follows at a uniform speed until the lowest point is reached. Here, the ball separates from the stop finger and remains stationary until its driving finger moves up behind it and sets it moving again, whereupon another cycle starts. Per cycle, the balls remain a longer time on the left half (rising slope) than on the right half of the track in figure 11.52b. As a consequence the average center of gravity of both balls will be situated in point F, resulting in a torque which causes the gyro to precess to its vertical position. Large erection errors, caused by horizontal accelerations, are avoided by cutting off the erection mechanism when the deviation 0. between the apparent vertical and the true vertical exceeds 1' In figure 11.53 the lay-out of the erection cut-off mechanism is illustrated. At the pendulums which are sensitive to horizontal accelerations, pawls are connected which are placed in front of the erecting balls. As soon as the apparent vertical deviates from the true vertical by an angle greater than loo, the pawl is dropped below the centre of the ball (figure 11.54) and the ball cannot separate from its driving finger on its downward movement. In other words, a complete revolution of the track is completed without separation from the driving finger, and since this applies to both balls, they will remain symmetrically positioned on the track and hence can have no erecting effect. The erecting effect will become operative once more when the deviation angle between apparent vertical and true vertical becomes less than 10". The pawls will then no longer drop to a sufficient degree to prevent the balls from moving freely between their driving fingers and their stop fingers.

3.2.4

Analysis of the erection errors in vertical gyro systems Although the built-up of errors in the indication of a vertical.

gyro during a flight is limited thanks to the limitation in erection speed, it is still important for a pilot to be informed about the errors he can expect under specific acceleration conditions as in a take-off or a turn. The error behaviour will be explained from the basic principle of figure 11.55.

GRAVITY

Fig.

11.53

Erection cut-off

mechanism

EVOLUTION OF THE ERECTORTRACKCURVE

Fig.

11.54

D e t a i l of t h e pendulum w i t h pawl

TRUE VERTICAL

/
/

GYRO VERTICAL /APPARENT VERTICAL

N T
RESULTANT FORCE ON PENDULUM

--GRAVITY FORCE OF THE EARTH

F i g . 11.55

I n f l u e n c e of a c c e l e r a t i o n

90

120

150

180

210

240

270

300

TIME FROM BRAKE RELEASE (SECONDS)

F i g . 11.56

E r r o r b u i l t - u p of a c o n v e n t i o n a l VG d u r i n g and a f t e r a take-off w i t h a Boeing 7 0 7 a i r c r a f t

11.3.2.4.1

Take-off acceleration errors With respect to the error built-up of a VG during the take-off

of an aircraft a few phases can be distinguished. In the first phase, when the aircraft is accelerating towards
V2,

the pendulum will lag behind the aircraft due to its inertia and

as a consequence the apparent vertical will lean forward (figure

1 1 . 5 5 ) . In a conventional V with only erection speed limitation this G

will lead to an alignment of the gyro in the direction of the apparent vertical with a maximum rate of w = 2 - 3'/min. If the acceleration P continues for t sec. a total pitch error will be built up of

and the pilot may get the impression of a too high pitch angle. In the second phase, when the aircraft is climbing at a constant large accelerations will be absent and the VG will precess 2' back to the true vertical. In the third phase when the flaps are retracted, the aircraft again will be accelerated and consequently the error of the V will G be built up again with a rate of 2 speed V

3"/min. Finally in the last

phase when the aircraft is climbing to the enroute altitude, the error in the VG indication again will decrease. In figure 1 1 . 5 6 , the error built-up of a conventional VG with only erection velocity limitation is shown for a Boeing 707 aircraft in take-off. If the VG is equipped with an additional erection cut-off system the errors as presented in figure 11.56 will be further reduced.

11.3.2.4.2

Turning error In a turn, the situation is a little bit more complicated. The

apparent vertical, the direction of which is now determined by the resultant of the earth's gravity field and the centrifugal acceleration will describe a cone. The VG tends to align with the apparent vertical, but due to the limited value of the rate of precession of 2 - 3'/min the VG is slow (see figure 11.57) and ends up in a position somewhat in the direction of the overage apparent vertical. As after a complete

turn of 360' the average direction of the apparent vertical coincides with the true vertical, the indication of the VG will show no error. At half the turn, thus at 180, the error will be maximum. The value of that maximum error depends on the duration of the turn and the maximum rate of precession of the gyro. The course of the orientation of the VG in a turn can be found in the following way. Let us suppose that the aircraft is flying a rate-one-turn
(= 18O0/min) and that the maximum erection speed of the gyro is given

by

Wp =

3'/min.

At position 5 in the turn of figure 11.58 the aircraft senses a centrifugal force a directed towards the outside of the turn. As centr a result the top of the spin-axis of the VG precesses to the inside of the turn with a horizontal velocity v, nearly proportional to the erection speed of the gyro Cartesian components v
X

= 8'Imin. Decomposition of v in the P and v results in Y

v Y

- const w sin 5
P

(11.47)

If the aircraft has completed an angle of $ rad of the turn, the time elapsed is given by t the deviations p
=

$/ITmin. and the position of the top

of the gyro spin axis in the horizontal plane can be calculated from
X

and p given by resp. Y

= const

sin Ji

Ji n v dt = const w py = /o y
W

lo -

ll

sin (n t) dt =

const

[cos $ - 1 1

INDICATED VERTICAL TRUE VERTICAL

I
I

APPARENT VERTICAL

Fig. 11.57

D i r e c t i o n of t h e v e r t i c a l i n d i c a t e d b y t h e VG l a g s t h e apparent v e r t i c a l

DIRECTION OF FLIGHT

F i g . 11.58

The e r e c t i o n e r r o r d u r i n g a c u r v e

Fig. 11.59

Course of the erection error of a VG in a turn

COMPENSATED ERECTION ERROR

PATH TRAVERSED B Y T H E TOP OF T H E GYRO SPIN A X I S

Fig. 11.60

Compensated erection error

Relations (11.48) and (11.49) of a circle.

form the parameter representation

Hence, the top of the gyro spin axis obviously describes a circular track in the horizontal plane. The circle at the left in figure 1 1 . 5 9 represents this track and any chord of this circle will indicate the tilt of the gyro axis in relation to the true vertical. If for instance the aircraft has turned through 9 0 , the chord AB' represents the direction of tilt of the gyro axis. This tilt can be resolved in two components; one in a forward direction and the other to starboard. Thus in addition to an error in bank indication also an error in pitch is presented when the aircraft is at point B of its turn. In a similar manner, the chord AC' indicates the direction of tilt after 180". At this point the bank error has reduced to zero and the error in pitch has grown to a maximum value. This false pitch information from the VG may tend the pilot to push the control column, resulting in a loss of altitude of the aircraft. The erection error may be compensated for by inclining mechanically the gyro spin axis. It is based on the idea that if during a turn the top of the axis can describe a circle about the vertical, only a single constant error will result. If with the VG of our example generally only rate-one-turns are flown, the compensation of the erection error can be obtained by
~ inclining the spin axis over an angle of 8 / degrees. The effects of

this inclination are shown in figure 1 1 . 6 0 . It is noted that in this way only compensation for one type of turn can be arranged. Another way to reduce the erection errors during turns is to make use of erection cut-off systems as treated in sections 1 1 . 3 . 2 . 2 . 3 and 1 1 . 3 . 2 . 2 . 4 .

11.4

Turn-and-bank indicators To keep an aircraft on a straight course, its deviations from the desired direction have to be monitored and corrected for. At daylight under clear visibility conditions the pilot can use for that purpose characteristic points in the terrain which are located along the desired track. Before in this way, however, a deviation will be noticed and action be taken, the aircraft has already turned over a

certain angle and it will take a certain time before the aircraft is back on course. Moreover, the aircraft will cross the desired course due to inertia and deviate in the opposite direction when a correction takes place. The above described procedure will repeat and as a result the aircraft will describe an oscillatory movement around the desired track. If no external reference points are available and the course can only be established with the aid of a compass, the deviations will even be larger. To prevent the aircraft from making this oscillatory movement, use is made of a turn indicator. As this instrument measures the time rate of change in heading, i.e. the angular rate J, of the aircraft about the vertical, which is approximately equal to the angular rate r about the yaw axis, deviations from the prescribed course can be detected at an earlier stage leading to a closer tracking of the course. In addition, the instrument can be used to establish turns of a known rate in navigational procedures. The turn indicator is combined with a bank indicator in one casing. The latter instrument helps the pilot to keep the aircraft correctly banked in a particular turn. In the smaller types of aircraft the turn-and-bank indicator functions as a primary flight instrument, but in many larger types of aircraft other gyroscopic instruments have taken over these functions and is the instrument only retained as an emergency standby instrument.

11.4.1 Turn indicator section

The turn indicator consists of a single-degree-of-freedom rate gyro, whose spin axis is normally placed athwartship as shown in figure 11.61. The base frame is fixed to the aircraft. A tension spring attached between a point on the gimbal below its rotational axis and the base frame keeps the gimbal in its horizontal rest position. Should the aircraft rotate up or down about its pitch axis, the gyro will not react because the spin axis of the gyro is allowed to maintain its direction during these manoeuvres.

L W

AIRCRAFT VERTICAL AXIS GYRO WHEEL

POINTER

DIRECTION OF GIMBAL ROTATION FOR RIGHT TURN

LIQUID FILLED

BASE FRAME CRANK ARM

F i g . 11.61

Schematic of t h e t u r n i n d i c a t o r s e c t i o n

F i g . 11.62

D i a l p r e s e n t a t i o n of a turn-and-bank

indicator

Fig. 11.63

Position of the gimbal ring in a coordinated left turn

If the aircraft banks to the right or to the left, without changing heading, the gyro senses a roll rotation about the horizontal gimbal axis and generates as a reaction a torque in the horizontal plane which tries to rotate the gyro about the aircraft vertical axis. This is prevented, however, by the pivots of the gimbal system and the pointer stays in its center position. Only when the aircraft is turning about its vertical axis a deflection of the pointer will result. Namely, the gyro now senses a rotation about the vertical axis and reacts with a torque about the horizontal gimbal axis. As a result the gimbal ring will deflect against the force of the stretching spring. According to (11.5) the angle of deflection of the gimbal ring will be proportional to the rate of turn and by means of a pointer this value is displayed on the dial. In practice, the gimbal ring deflection is kept below 6' in order to reduce the error caused by the fact that the rate of turn component will not be at right angles to the spin axis during gimbal ring deflections. Further, the direction of spin of the gyro is chosen in such a way that the gimbal will tend to remain horizontal with respect to the earth when the aircraft makes a banked turn. This means that if the aircraft makes for instance a banked turn to the right, the gimbal will turn to the left and remain approximately horizontal. This has as a consequence that the pointer has to be coupled to the gimbal ring via a crank arm in order to give the pilot the right indication, i.e. in a right turn a deflection of the pointer tip to the right and in a left turn a deflection of the pointer to the left. To prevent pointer oscillation and to obtain a smooth pointer motion, a friction-free air or liquid dash pot is linked to the gimbal. On the dial of figure 11.62 the marks shown at either side of the zero of the scale correspond to a turn at a rate of 18O0/min, also called rate one turn.

11.4.1.1

Error sources In measuring the rate of turn of an aircraft, we are interested

in the angular rate $ about the vertical axis as shown in figure 11.63. The rate gyro, however, can only measure angular rates r about its input axis, which not necessarily has to be the vertical axis. Therefore, it will only be possible to measure the correct value of $ if the spring sensitivity is choosen such that the gimbal deflection just equal but opposite to the bank angle $. In that case the gimbal ring will remain exactly horizontal and the instrument will measure the rate of turn $ about the vertical correctly. Unfortunately, this is only possible at one particular airspeed, specified in the calibration of the instrument. This is caused by the fact that in a coordinated turn the bank angle depends on the true airspeed. The errors in the indication due to TAS deviations are, however, not too serious. Only when flying within a wide range of true airspeeds, the calibration of the turn indicator for a mean TAS may cause problems. Important for a correct indication is further that the angular speed of the gyro rotor is kept constant as the angular momentum h of the gyro influences the deflection
E

is

of the gimbal.

11.4.1.2

Backgrounds of the turn indicator In the situation where the turn indicator senses an angular rate

$ about an arbitrary axis, the reaction torque T generated by the gyro -r is given by the vector product (11.50) T = h x $ -r h where - is the angular momentum of the spinning gyro*). The direction in h which - is pointing depends on the direction of spinning of the gyro rotor. In figure 11.64b the direction of spinning of the gyro has been chosen in such a way that a deflection
E

of the gimbal ring will be in

the same direction as the bank angle $ of the aircraft. From (11.50) we find that in this case the magnitude of the torque T is given by r Tr
=

h $ sin I90 - (E

4) 1

h $ cos

(E

+ 4)

(11.51)

I*)

It is noted that relation (11.50) differs in sign with relation (11.30). This is caused by the fact that in (11.50) we work with the reaction torque of the gyro while (11.30) has been derived for an externally applied torque. As action
=

- reaction the difference in sign is explained in this way.

a) ANGULAR RATE

ABOUT THE VERTICAL

b) DEFLECTION OF THE

GIMBAL RlNG I N THE SAME DIRECTION AS THE BANK ANGLE

C)

DEFLECTION OF THE GIMBAL RlNG I N THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF THE BANK ANGLE

F i g . 11.64

P o s i t i o n of t h e gimbal r i n g i n a banked t u r n

F i g . 11.65

D e f l e c t i o n a n g l e & a s a f u n c t i o n of bank a n g l e 6 and r a t e o f t u r n $ a s parameter

c3

CENTRIFUGAL ACCEL. + v

RESULTANT

Fig,

11.66

Bank a n g l e 6 i n a c o o r d i n a t e d t u r n

F i g . 11.67

Diagran o f $4 = f ( E ) f o r a t u r n i n d i c a t o r of which t h e d e f l e c t i o n o f t h e gimbal r i a g i s i n t h e same d i r e c t i o n a s t h e bank a n g l e

F i g . 11.68

Diagram of $4 = f ( E ) f o r a t u r n i n d i c a t o r of which t h e d e f l e c t i o n of t h e gimbal r i n g i s i n t h e o p p o s i t e d i r e c t i o n of t h e bank a n g l e

If the direction of spinning is chosen in the opposite direction as shown in figure 1 1 . 6 4 ~and consequently the deflection of the gimbal ring will be in the opposite direction of the bank angle, the magnitude of the gyro torque is found as
= h J, sin {90

Tr

E) =

-h

31

cos ( $

E)

(11.52)

In the equilibrium situation the gyro torque T is neutralized r by a torque

exerted by the stretched spring on the gimbal ring. In ( 1 1 . 5 3 ) K is the spring constant. For equation ( 1 1 . 5 2 ) this results in the relation

By using the goniometric relation cos (6 - E ) = sin $ sin cos

E E

cos

6 cos

+
E

and making use of the property that for small values of

E

z 1 and sin

the gimbal deflection can be calculated from

( 1 1 . 5 4 ) as

4 cos

K-h$sin$ From ( 1 1 . 5 5 ) we learn that the indication of the turn indicator not only depends on the angular rate

4 but

also on the bank angle $,

provided that we assume that h and K are constants for a given instrument. The influence of the bank angle $ on the indication of the turn indicator is shown in figure 1 1 . 6 5 . In a non-banked turn

(4

= 0)

we have

and hence a deflection steep turn with rates.

Eo

proportional to the rate of turn

VJ.

At a

90, the deflection will become zero for all angular

The indication of turn indicators of which the gimbal ring deflection is in the same direction as the bank angle 4 will be nonunique. From (11.51) and (11.53) we find that in the equilibrium state KE = h cos

(4 +

E) =

h $

(COS

cos

sin $ sin E) '

(11.57)

Noting that in a coordinated turn the bank angle 4 is determined by the ratio between the centrifugal acceleration $v and the gravity field g according to (see figure 11.66)

we find after substitution of (11.58) in (11.57) and some manipulation that v

!?-&

(COS

cos

- sin 4 sin

E) tg

(11.59)

From the diagram of figure 11.67 where equation (11.59) has been plotted, it can be seen immediately that the indication unique. If for instance at a fixed true airspeed v is increased, the same reading
E

will not be

the bank angle 4 1 ' of the instrument can be obtained as

for the lower bank angle. This is a very undesirable situation, but happily the indication of turn indicators with a gimbal deflection opposite to the bank angle will be unique. This is caused by the fact that the equation of the true air speed in this case is written as
h --E(co~ 4 cos

E i-

sin 4 sin

E,

tg 4

(11.60)

F i g . 11.69

P o s i t i o n of t h e b a l l i n a p r o p e r l y banked t u r n

F i g . 11.70

The p o s i t i o n of t h e b a l l i n : a) s l i p p i n g t u r n , b ) a s k i d d i n g t u r n

NORTH

DESTINATION

WIND VECTOR

ACTUAL TRACK

CHARACTERISTIC POINTS ON THE SELECTED TRACK

POINT OF DEPARTURE

Fig. 11.71

Desired track and heading of an aircraft

The graphical representation of this function in figure 11.68 shows that at a fixed true airspeed, an increase in bank angle $ also , leads to an increase in the deflection
E

of the pointer, and in a

unique way indeed. Therefore, only turn indicators are manufactured nowadays of which the gyro gimbal ring deflects in the opposite direction of the bank angle.

11.4.2 Bank indicator section When an aircraft is turning, the turn indicator shows the rate at which the turn is made, but it does not indicate whether the turn is being made correctly without any sideslip. Therefore, most turn indicators are equipped with an additional indicator, the - or bank

slip indicator. It consists of a curved, liquid-filled glass tube in

which a black glass ball can move. The liquid, often alcohol, is used for damping the motions of the glass ball. If the aircraft is flying a straight and level course, the ball settles under the influence of the gravity force in the center. As soon as the aircraft makes a turn, in addition to the gravity force also a centrifugal force will act on the ball and as a consequence the ball will position itself along the resultant of both forces as shown in fig. 11.69. If the aircraft is banked properly, the position of the ball indicator will be the same as for a straight and level flight. If the aircraft is banked too steeply the ball will roll to the lower side as shown in figure 11.70a. The aircraft is said to be slipping. If the aircraft is not banked steep enough, the ball will roll to the upper side as shown in figure 11.70b and the aircraft is said to be skidding now.

11.5

Heading indicating instruments If an aircraft has to be flown to a certain destination, the desired track from the point of departure to the point of distination has to be known. Under good visual conditions the aircraft can be flown along this desired track by using as reference characteristic points on the ground, which are situated along this course. The heading

of the

aircraft is monitored by a compass. In bad weather or at night, the desired heading is steered with the aid of a compass and the position along the track is monitored with the aid of radio-navigation equipment. The use of a direct reading magnetic compass for this purpose has as drawback that when the aircraft is accelerating or banking, large errors will be introduced in the readings of this instrument. In addition, the aircraft's own magnetic field will cause disturbing deviations. The above mentioned errors do not occur when a directional gyro is used for monitoring the heading of the aircraft. Especially under bad weather conditions the directional gyro is a valuable instrument for monitoring a turn. The directional gyro is gyrocompass, but only an aid which can indicate the heading of an aircraft for a short period of time, say at most 15 min. On the gyro no aiming torque is exerted which takes care of a fixed consistent direction with respect to the earth. Due to the earth rqtation, therefore, an error of 2 degrees will have been built up after 10

15 min. After this time the

directional gyro has to be corrected with the aid of the indication of the magnetic compass. In small aircraft the pilot has to perform this action by himself, but in large aircraft equipped with a gyrosyn compass the above mentioned process is performed fully automatic.

The heading of an aircraft, defined as the angle between the vertical plane through the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and a meridian, does not necessarily have to agree with the track angle because of the influence of the wind (see figure 11.71).

11.5.1 Magnetic compass systems Magnetic compasses are based on the measurement of the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field. Since these measurements are based on the fundamentals of magnetism first of all a short introduction to magnetism and the structure of the earth's magnetic field will be given.

11.5.1.1

Elementary magnetism For thousands of years it has been observed that lodestone, a

form of magnetite (an oxide of iron), attracts small pieces of iron. This property is known as magnetism. A piece of this material constitutes a natural magnet. Another property for which lodestone was known was its north-seeking capability. When mounted on wood and floated in water it will swing round and align itself in a roughly north-south direction, so acting as a primitive compass. Nowadays much stronger magnets are manufactured from alloys, composed mostly of iron, nickel and cobalt. The extremity of the magnet which seeks north is called north pole and the extremity that seeks south the south pole. When two magnets are brought together it is found by experiment that like poles repel and unlike poles attract. The force of attraction or repulsion between two poles varies inversely as the square of the distance. Further it turns out that this force is proportional to the strength of the magnetic poles. As a result, the force between two poles at a mutual distance d and with pole strengths M and M is expressed as

where F

the force in newton, distance between the poles in meter, constant of proportionality, which for the units chosen
=

M
d

= the pole strength in weber,

= =

10- 7 henrylmeter.

The force is directed along the line connecting both magnetic poles.

A magnet always contains a north pole and a south pole, the

north pole having a positive pole strength and the south pole having the same but opposite pole strength. The magnetic lines of force always run from north pole to south pole as shown in figure 11.72. Customary is to introduce the magnetic field strength H as the force exerted on the unit of magnetic pole strength. Based on this definition, the magnetic field strength is found from the measured force F on a magnetic pole of strength M as

The field strength is visualized in figure 1 1 . 7 2 by the number of field lines. The closer the field lines the stronger the magnetic field. Let us now consider the situation of figure 1 1 . 7 3 where a pivoted magnet is situated in a homogeneous field of strength H. The north and south pole with strength M are situated at a mutual distance

1. According to ( 1 1 . 6 2 ) each pole will experience a force M H newton and as these forces act in opposite directions they constitute a couple. The torque T of this couple is given by the product of one of the equal forces and the perpendicular distance between them, i.e.

This torque will rotate the magnet until it is lined up with the magnetic field H. It is on this principle that the magnetic compass operates.

11.5.1.2

Terrestrial magnetism For centuries it has been known that the earth is surrounded by a weak magnetic field and although the origin of this magnetism is even now not completely understood, the horizontal component of this field is a valuable reference in navigation, as it provides the directive force for the magnetic compass, which indicates the aircraft's heading in relation to the horizontal component of this field.

NORTH-SOUTH POLES

--. - ____------___ , -. ," _ _ _ - - - - - _-_ -.' , , .-, -I -

*--------------

, \

- . \ 8 ,

FLUX UNES

--________----

..___-.' ---

MAGNETK RER)LSX)N

..".--.;,-',,'.,.__--' .....
\

MAGNETK A T T W r n

Fig. 11.72

Magnetic f i e l d of a magnet

FIELD H

Fig. 11.73

Torque e x e r t e d on a magnet a t an a n g l e 0 i n a uniform f i e l d

Fig. 11.74

The magnetic field of the earth

MN

jN
w e s t east

VARIATION OR DECLINATION 8

Fig. 11.75

The cause of the variation

The global pattern of the earth's magnetic field resembles roughly that of a short, strong bar magnet near the earth's center as shown in figure 11.74. The axis of this hypothetical bar magnet cuts the earth's surface in the so-called magnetic poles. As shown in the aforementioned figure, their poles do not lie on the earth's spin axis and therefore, do not coincide with the geographic poles. Moreover, the magnetic poles themselves are continuously changing their positions and at present the distance between magnetic and geographic poles is approximately 2000 km. This means that the angle between the magnetic axis and the axis of rotation of the earth is approximately 18'. The direction of the magnetic field lines is from the south magnetic pole to the north magnetic pole. Hence, the north magnetic pole is south-magnetic and the south magnetic pole is north-magnetic. At the magnetic equator, which corresponds roughly with the geographic equator, the magnetic field is parallel to the surface of the earth, and the horizontal intensity will be the same as the total intensity. At the magnetic poles of the earth, the magnetic field is oriented vertical and there will be no horizontal component. At all other places on earth, the magnetic field lines will enter the earth under a certain angle, which varies with latitude. The actual magnetic field is more complex and requires the measurement of its magnitude and direction at many places on earth before it can be defined accurately enough to be of practical use for navigation.

11.5.1.2.1

Magnetic variation The direction of the earth's magnetic field at any point on

earth can be determined with the aid of a freely suspended magnet. Defining the magnetic meridian as the direction of the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field at a point on the earth's surface, the projection of the longitudinal axis of the freely suspended magnet mounted at that point will indicate the direction of this magnetic meridian.

The angle between the true meridian and the magnetic meridian at a point is known as the magnetic variation. It is designated west or east, depending on whether the magnetic meridian lies to the west or to the east of the true north (see figure 11.75). The variation can have any value from zero to 180, the latter occurring on the true meridian linking the geographic and the magnetic north pole. In the Netherlands the average variation is 5 west. ' Another name for variation which is often used by magneticians is declination. Variation is subject to the following changes:

a slow progressive secular change of 0.005' movement of the magnetic poles; a daily or diurnal change of small seasonal changes;

per year, due to the

01; .'

unpredictable temporary changes up to 5" due to severe magnetic storms. In figure 11.76 a world chart is presented in which lines are

drawn connecting points with equal magnetic variation. These lines are called isogones. The line connecting points of zero variation is called the agonic line.

5.1.2.2

Magnetic dip angle Except near the magnetic equator, where the lines of force of

the magnetic field are parallel to the earth's surface, one end of a freely suspended magnet will dip below the horizontal, pointing to the nearer pole. The angle I, measured between the axis of the magnet and the horizontal is called the dip angle (see figure 11.77). Magnetic dip is also often called inclination, especially by magneticians. If all points on earth with equal dip angle are connected, socalled isoclinal lines are obtained. In figure 11.78, a chart with these lines is presented. The magnetic equator (zero dip) roughly 0 follows the geographical equator (in the mean within 1 ' of latitude). Moving either north or south of the magnetic equator, the dip angle gradually increases, reaching about 67' at our lattitude (The Netherlands). At the magnetic poles, the dip is 90" and a freely suspended magnet will take a vertical position.

HN= H c o s I
Hv =H sin I

EARTH'S SURFACE

HORIZONTAL PLANE

//////////////////////////////////
F i g . 11.77 Components of t h e t o t a l e a r t h magnetic f i e l d

21 *-.
p :: , 5

.. -. .i .s. --.' ' *:. i;: ....

~
0

s-

D.

t2

::~
i. ,

z s , 2z:

.. :. ;. .. re;
: z ;

.- , : x

.-!

I. -"> i'" i':: st;

Fig. 11.79

Simple hand-held magnetic compass: a) top view, b) pendulous magnet

Fig. 11.80

Construction of a card-type compass

11.5.1.3

Construction of a direct reading compass A simple design of a direct reading compass is the hand compass

sketched in figure 11.79. The north-direction is sensed by a magnet needle which can be read against a compass rose fixed to the compass case. The instrument is generally used to set out in the field a track to a certain target with the aid of a map. The effect of the dip angle (inclination) on the reading of the compass is greatly reduced by making the magnet system pendulous, i.e. to pivot it at a point above the center of gravity as shown in

" figure 1 1 . 7 9 b ) . When the vertical component H of the earth's magnetic

field acts on the needle, the latter will be tilted, drawing away the center of gravity of the needle from its position below the pivot point P. As a result the gravity force g acting on the center of gravity and the reaction force acting upward through the pivot, no longer act along the same line and a righting couple is introduced. The couple tends to bring the needle in the horizontal position once more. However, this will not be the exact horizontal position as H is still being exerted. In aircraft, where the compass is used for determining the course with respect to the magnetic meridian a direct reading compass is generally of the card-type. An example is shown in figure 11.80. The compass card is now part of the magnet system. Together with two magnetic needles it is attached to a float. The suspension consists of an irridium-tipped pivot, secured to the center of the float and resting in a sapphire cup. The compass card is referenced against a lubberline fixed to the interior of the instrument case. The case is filled with a liquid in order to damp the motions of the magnet system and to give it a certain buoyance, thereby reducing the weight on the pivot and so diminishing the effects of friction and wear. The liquids used are of the mineral oil or alcohol type. They must have a low freezing point, low viscosity, high resistance to corrosion and be free of decoloration. Changes in liquid volume are compensated for by a diaphragm-type expansion device at the rear part of the case. The compass system is designed with a pendulosity such that the magnet system is within approximately 2' of the true horizontal between latitudes 60" north and 40" south.

At the top of the compass a permanent-magnet corrector assembly is mounted for correcting the effects of deviation due to longitudinal and lateral components of the aircraft magnetism (see section 11.6.1.1).

11.5.1.3.1

Compass errors It is an often observed fact that methods used to counteract

undesirable errors under certain operating conditions are themselves potential sources of errors under other conditions. In the case of our direct reading compass, where the magnet system is made pendulous to counteract the effects of dip, the center of gravity will not be exactly underneath the point of suspension and as a result any manoeuvre of the aircraft, introducing an acceleration, will produce a torque about the magnet system's vertical axis and rotate it in azimuth to a false meridian. This kind of compass errors can be subdivided in acceleration errors and turning errors.

11.5.1.3.1.1 Acceleration errors If the aircraft is accelerating or decelerating, the force applied by the aircraft to the magnet system will attack at the point of suspension as this is the only connection. The magnet system, due to its inertia, wants to stay in its present position and reacts with an equal but opposite force acting through the center of gravity CG. The two forces consitute a couple which, dependent on the heading being flown by the aircraft, causes the magnet system merely to change its angle of dip or to rotate in azimuth. Let us first consider an aircraft flying in the northern hemisphere and accelerating on an easterly heading (figure 11.81a). The acceleration force acts through the point of suspension P and the reaction force through the center of gravity CG. The couple constituted by these forces tends to rotate the magnet system in a clockwise direction until equilibrium is obtained with the couple arising from the magnetic forces on the magnet system. The compass system will indicate an apparent turn to the north, or what is termed an easterly deviation. When the aircraft decelerates the reverse effect will

NORTH

ACCELERATION DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF THE COMPASS CARD

T H \

REACTION FORC LUBBER LINE NO ACCELERATION LUBBER LINE ACCELERATION

b) HEADING NORTH

-DIP ANGLE CG
I

, - -REACTION FORCE

EXTRA DIP ANGLE NO ACCELERATION ACCELERATION

Fig. 11.81

Acceleration errors (in northern hemisphere)

H sin

H =TOTAL STRENGTH OF EARTH MAGNETIC FIELD

=INCLINATION

@ =BANK ANGLE
H"~=DISTURBING COMPONENT OF MAGN. FIELD

Fig.

11.82

The d i s t u r b i n g component o f t h e magnetic f i e l d

BANK ANGLE \ ' ( A T COURSE NORTH)'

MN,

MN\

DISTURBING COMPONENT OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD

i
I :

LEFT

IN HEADING RIGHT I

'I,

Fig. 11.83

The o r i g i n of t h e bank a n g l e e r r o r ( n o r t h h e a d i n g )

occur; the couple now tends to turn the magnet system in an anticlockwise direction, indicating an apparent turn to the south, or westerly deviation. If northerly or southerly headings are approached, the magnitude of the apparent deviation decreases, the acceleration error varying as the sine of the compass heading. No deviation of the compass indication will occur, when the acceleration or deceleration of the aircraft is in the north-south direction as in that case only the dip angle is increased or decreased without any azimuth rotation (see figure 11.81b). At the equator where the inclination of the magnetic field is zero, no acceleration error will occur as in that case the center of gravity is situated exactly below the point of suspension. In the southern hemisphere, all deviations of the compass will be in the opposite direction.

11.5.1.3.1.2 Pitch errors If a level flying aircraft is put into a climb by increasing the pitch angle and leaving the true airspeed unchanged, the effect on the compass magnet system will be the same as if the aircraft has decelerated. This is because the horizontal velocity is decreasing. If the change in pitch is also accompanied by a change in speed, the apparent deviation can be quite considerable.

11.5.1.3.1.3

Turning errors When the aircraft executes a turn, two sources of compass errors

can be identified; the bank angle of the aircraft and the centrifugal acceleration. For ease, each error source will be treated separately.

11.5.1.3.1.3.1

Bank angle error Due to the bank angle of the aircraft, the otherwise inactive

vertical component H" of the earth's magnetic field gets che oppertunity to exert a torque on the compass needle. In figure 11.82 the situation is presented under the assumption that the rotation axis

of t h e magnet system i s p a r a l l e l t o t h e yaw a x i s of t h e a i r c r a f t . For a p r o p e r l y banked a i r c r a f t t h i s w i l l always be t h e c a s e a s t h e yaw a x i s and t h e a p p a r e n t plumb l i n e , a l o n g which t h e t u r n i n g a x i s of magnet system always a l i g n s i t s e l f , w i l i c o i n c i d e . The v e r t i c a l component Hv of t h e magnetic f i e l d can be decomposed which has no i n f l u e n c e on t h e o p e r a t i o n of t h e z " compass and a component H which i s f u l l y o p e r a t i o n a l i n t h e t u r n i n g Y p l a n e of t h e magnet. The d i r e c t i o n of H~ i s always towards t h e c e n t e r Y of c u r v a t u r e of t h e c o u r s e of t h e f l i g h t and t h e r e f o r e w i l l be heading dependent. I t s magnitude i s o n l y dependent on t h e bankangle 4 of t h e a i r c r a f t , p r o v i d e d t h a t t h e t o t a l f i e l d s t r e n g t h H of t h e e a r t h ' s magnetic f i e l d and i t s i n c l i n a t i o n a n g l e I a r e c o n s t a n t . Due t o t h e d i s t u r b i n g f i e l d H caused by t h e banking of t h e " v a i r c r a f t , t h e compass n e e d l e which o r i g i n a l l y was o r i e n t e d a l o n g t h e h o r i z o n t a l component i f t h e e a r t h magnetic f i e l d H , w i l l be f o r c e d R t o a l i g n i t s e l f a l o n g t h e composite f i e l d H , c r e a t e d by t h e v e c t o r sum of HH and H i n a component H

Y' For an a i r c r a f t heading n o r t h , t h e compass i n d i c a t i o n i s sketched

i n f i g u r e 11.83 when banking t o t h e l e f t o r t o t h e r i g h t . I f t h e a i r c r a f t i s not e x a c t l y f l y i n g t o t h e n o r t h o r t o t h e and H w i l l no l o n g e r be perpenY d i c u l a r b u t w i l l e n c l o s e an a n g l e 90' x when banking t o t h e r i g h t south, but an a r b i t r a r y course X , H

and a n a n g l e 270" e a s t (X field

=

+x

when banking t o t h e l e f t . When f l y i n g t o t h e

=

w i l l c o i n c i d e w i t h t h e n o r t h p o i n t i n g f i e l d HN and t h e bank Y a n g l e e r r o r of t h e compass w i l l be z e r o . On c o u r s e s i n between, t h e bank a n g l e e r r o r can become l a r g e r t h a n t h e one observed on a p u r e l y n o r t h e r n o r s o u t h e r n c o u r s e . I n f i g u r e 11.84 t h e e r r o r c u r v e s a r e p r e s e n t e d f o r a n a i r c r a f t banking t o t h e r i g h t . For an a i r c r a f t banking t o t h e l e f t , t h e c u r v e s have t o be drawn s y m m e t r i c a l l y w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e v e r t i c a l middle l i n e . When f l y i n g a r i g h t t u r n on a n e a s t e r n c o u r s e o r a l e f t t u r n on a w e s t e r n c o u r s e , t h e bank a n g l e can become s o s t e e p t h a t t h e t u r n i n g p l a n e of t h e magnetsystem of t h e compass i s p e r p e n d i c u l a r t o t h e magnetic f i e l d l i n e s . A s shown i n f i g u r e 11.85, t h e d i r e c t i o n a l f o r c e a c t i n g on t h e magnet n e e d l e becomes z e r o and t h e i n d i c a t i o n of t h e

v H

90')

o r t o t h e west (X

2 7 0 ) , t h e d i s t u r b i n g magnetic

BANK ANGLE

0 5 lo0 15' 20' 25' 30' ' '

MAGNETIC HEADING

BANK ANGLE ERROR

F i g . 11.84

Bank a n g l e e r r o r of a magnetic compass a s a f u n c t i o n of magnetic h e a d i n g and bank a n g l e

-F i g . 11.85

NORTH

Loss of d i r e c t i o n a l f o r c e of t h e magnetic f i e l d when f l y i n g a r i g h t t u r n on an e a s t e r n c o u r s e

Fig. 11.86

The influence of the centrifugal force on the compass error

BANK ANGLE

d=loO

OOoO= HEADING

(O~~~)=INDICATION ----

Fig. 11.87

The course of the magnetic compass indication in a banked turn

compass will be undetermined. At still higher bank angles, i.e. steeper turns the directive force will become opposite and the compass starts turning in the opposite direction.

11.5.1.3.1.3.2

Centrifugal error When flying a turn, a centrifugal force will be acting on all

parts of the aircraft, including the magnet system of the compass. As a result the turning axis of the magnet system will line up with the apparent vertical determined by the resultant force R composed of the gravity force G = m g and the centrifugal force F = m v w, where m is the mass of the magnet system, v the velocity and w the rate of turn of the aircraft (figure 11.86a). The non-coincidence of the center of gravity and the point of suspension of the magnet, causes the component of the centrifugal force in the turning plane F which turns the needle away from the true north direction MN as shown in figure 11.86b. The system comes to a rest in position MN' where the torque exerted by F is balanced by the torque exerted by the Y magnetic field on the needle as soon as it leaves position MN. to act a torque on the magnet system

11.5.1.3.1.3.3

The total error or turning error Sofar we have treated the bank error and the centrifugal error

separately. But in a turn both errors will occur simultaneously and the combined error is known as the turning error. Of both errors, the bank angle is by far the most important. In figure 11.87 the turning error of the magnetic compass is shown at the difference stages of a coordinated turn made at a bank angle of 10". For a right turn as well as a left turn it applies that on a northerly heading the compass indicator lags the true course and that on a southerly heading the compass indication leads the true course.

11.5.1.3.1.4

The effect of aircraft magnetism on the compass reading In addition to the errors caused by the movements of the

aircraft also errors occur due to disturbances in the magnetic field generated by the aircraft itself. As these disturbances influence the operation of the magnetic compass in the same way as the flux valve its treatment will be deferred to section 11.6. Meanwhile it can be stated that the direct reading magnetic compass used as standby instrument generally is installed at the center rabbit of the front window, far from the current carrying and ferro-magnetic parts of the other indicators.

11.5.1.3.1.5

Backgrounds of the bank angle error curves The bank angle error is by far the most important contribution

to the turning error of a magnetic compass. For that reason, the formula on which the computation of the error curves of figure 11.84 is based will be derived in this section. In the situation of figure 11.88, where an aircraft, flying a heading $, banks over an angle 4 , not only the horizontal component N H - of the earth's magnetic field will be acting on the compass system, but also a component H originating from the vertical component - of " HV Y the earth's magnetic field. As a result, the compass needle will no

H~ longer align itself along the - direction but along the resultant R magnetic field - To find the heading $c, the compass will indicate H

in the banked situation, we introduce besides the local geodetic

I

frame x , z the aircraft reference frame x, y, z . Decomposing g Yg' g y -axes results into the horizontal component - along the x HN g' g HN X g
=

N H cos $

Fig. 11.88

Components of t h e magnetic f i e l d a c t i n g on t h e compass n e e d l e i n a banked a i r c r a f t

a)

FRONT PANEL

b) OPERATIONAL SCHEMATIC FOR DIRECTIONAL GYRO

Fig. 11.89

Directional gyro

These components, in turn, can be written in components along the local x, y, z-system according to

H~ = H~ X X g

N H cos $

H~
Y

N H cos g
N H sin

+ +

HN s.m

$ cos

H~ Z

N . H s m $ sin

+
v

Ye

The decomposition of the vertical component - in this reference H frame results in

The total magnetic field H H

= H

H -

+ 'H -

can now be written as

cos $I

H = HN s.m $ I cos Y H
Z
=

sin sin+
+ + HV
cos 4

. HN sln

$ sin

Remembering that the horizontal and vertical components of the earth's magnetic field are given by resp. H
N
=

H cos I and ' H

H sin I

(see figure 11.77) equation (11.67) can be rewritten as H

= H cos

I cos

$I

H
H

Y
Z

H (cos I sin $ cos

- sin I sin

+)

(11.68)

= H (cos

I sin $ sin

+ + sin I sin 4)

The compass indication $c can now be calculated from H -q tg Jlc X

cos I sin $ cos $ sin I sin $ cos I cos J,

(11.69)

The curves of figure 11.84 are based on this formula. In a horizontal flight with $
=

0, it follows that tg $

= tg $

which means that the compass heading indication is errorless

In a

right turn at a course of 90' or in a left turn at a course of 270, it follows that at a bank angle of 90' - I the compass heading is undetermined. This is caused by the fact, that the magnetic field H is in the direction of the turning axis of the compass, causing the torque exerted on the compass needle to be zero. In our country this effect will occur at bank angles of 90" - 66.5"
=

23.5". If the

bank angle becomes greater than 90" - I, the component of the earth's magnetic field situated in the turning plane of the compass changes direction and the compass rose starts rotating in the opposite direction.

11.5.2 The directional gyro In the foregoing sections it appeared that the use of a magnetic compass as heading indicator is afflicted with large errors when the aircraft is accelerating or turning. In addition we found that no unique indication with a magnetic compass is possible in the neighbourhood of north or south pole, as in these regions the horizontal component of the magnetic field becomes no longer detectable. A direction indicating system which does not have the above mentioned drawbacks is the directional gyro. It uses a two-degreeof-freedom gyroscope with spin axis in the horizontal plane. As shown in figure 11.89 the outer gimbal is pivoted about the yaw axis
Zz 1

of the aircraft and carries in its simplest form a circular card graduated in degrees. The card is referenced against a lubberline fixed to the gyroscope frame. When the rotor is spinning, the gimbal system and card are stabilized so that by turning the frame, the number of degrees through which it is rotated can be read on the card against the lubberline. The scale and thus the spin axis, can be set to

Fig. 11.90

Apparent drift of the directional gyro due to earth rotation

sin q5

Fig. 11.91

Decomposition of the earth's rotation vector fi in a horizontal and a vertical component

SP

F i g . 11.92

T r a n s p o r t wander

any reference direction by a knob on the frontside of the instrument case. If this knob is pushed in, it cages the inner ring in an orthogonal position to the outer ring. Rotation of the knob will then set any reading, for example the compass heading on the scale against ze the lubberline. Pulling out i h knob will free the set of gimbals and the heading set by the pilot can be kept for some time. The reason for caging the inner ring is to prevent it from precessing when the outer ring is rotated and to assure that, on uncaging, its axis is at right angles to the outer ring axis.

11.5.2.1

Error sources of the directional gyro Also the directional gyro has its specific errors; besides the drift due to mechanical imperfections of the instrument, we mention the apparent drift due to earth rotation and change of aircraft position as well as gimbal errors.

11.5.2.1.1

Apparent drift due to earth rotation As the spin axis of an ideal, drift-free TDF-gyro keeps its

direction in inertial space, its direction with respect to the rotating earth will change continuously. This apparent drift is at any latitude between the poles a combination of an apparent drift tilt in the vertical plane, called - and an apparent drift in the horizontal plane, called azimuth drift. To demonstrate both effects, in figure 11.90 a gyroscope is set spinning with its axis horizontal in the plane of the true meridian at a latitude north of the equator. Due to earth rotation the spin axis of the gyro will move about a horizontal axis, giving the gyro an apparent tilt such that the north end of the spin axis goes up. At the same time the spin axis will turn about a vertical axis, resulting in an apparent drift in azimuth with the north end of the gyro to the east. To determine the speed at which the gyro spin axis is moving in both planes we look at figure 11.91, where the earth's speed of
R rotation is presented by a vector - in the center of the earth and

directed along the rotation axis of the earth. The magnitude of this

vector is 15'/hour.

As all points on earth have the same rotational cos @ and a vertical

speed, the Q-vector may be transferred to the earth's surface, where it can be decomposed in a horizontal component component The component
Q

sin 4, where @ is the latitude on earth. cos @ causes the tilt of the gyro. As tilting

of the gyro axis in a directional gyro has to be avoided, automatic leveling techniques have been developed. They will be treated in section 11.5.2.2. The component sin @ is responsible for the apparent azimuth drift in the horizontal plane, also called earth rate precession. Compensation can be obtained by using the earth's magnetic field as a stable directional reference. For that purpose the gyrosyn compass has been developed, which will be treated in section 11.5.4.

11.5.2.1.2

Transport wander Also the displacement of the aircraft along the surface of the

earth will contribute to the apparent drift error of the directional gyro. This effect is often called transport wander. If we look at the situation of figure 11.92 where an aircraft is flying from A to B with a velocity v, the motion can be represented by a rotational speed

where R is the radius of the earth and h the height of the aircraft above the earth. If is transferred to the point above the earth where the aircraft is flying, it can be split up in a vertical component and a horizontal one. The tilt, caused by the horizontal component is automatically compensated for by the erection mechanism of the gyro. The apparent drift due to the vertical component causes a misreading of the indicated heading. However, when the aircraft is flying along a great circle, this component will be zero because in that case the
W

vector will be tangent to the spherical earth.

Therefore, we may conclude that by flying a constant heading on a directional gyro which has been corrected for tilt and earth rate precession, the flight path will be a great circle when at least the

1 5 '
ERROR

loo
50
-HEADING

o0

-5O

-100

-150 Fig. 11.93 Gimbal errors of a directional gyro at different bank angles

. \...

APPARENT HORIZONTAL PLANE TRUE HORIZONTAL PLANE

TRUE VERTICAL

OF AIRCRAFT APPARENT VERTICAL

Fig. 11.94

Gimbal orientation of the directional gyro in a banked aircraft

a) GIMBAL SYSTEM OF A DIRECTIONAL GYRO

b) DETAIL OF THE LEVELING DEVICE. LEFT: ROTOR AXlS HORIZONTAL, RIGHT: ROTOR AXlS TILTED

F i g i 11.95

Pneumatic leveling device for a directional gyro

windfield is constant. As a matter of fact this is the basis of the use of directional gyros in polar regions where magnetic compass indications become unreliable.

11.5.2.1.3

Gimbal errors of a directional gyroscope

A proper heading indication can only be obtained with a directional

gyro if spin axis, horizontal gimbal axis and vertical gimbal axis are oriented mutually perpendicular. As the outer gimbal axis is parallel to the yaw axis of the aircraft, it will be clear that no correct indication can be expected when the aircraft rolls, climbs or dives. These kinds of errors are not concerned with imperfections of the gyro itself, but are the result of the geometry of the gimbal system. These errors are called gimbal errors. In figure 11.93 the gimbal error is shown for different bank angles 4 as a function of the angle $ of the spin axis relative to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. These curves can be calculated by considering figure 11.94. The true heading is given by the angle $ in the horizontal plane. If the aircraft banks over an angle 4, the directional gyro will indicate a different angle by
A$

in the inclined plane. The gimbal error is defined

*-

(11.71)

Its value can be calculated by considering the right spherical triangle in which we have cos 4 = tan $I or tan $ cos 4 tan
( I

1 cot $

With the aid of (11.71) we have

tan (A+) = tan ($ -

tan $ - tan Ji 1 tan tan

+
JI

Substitution of (11.73) in (11.74) results in tan (A$)

=

tan $ (1 - cos +) 2 l + t a n )I cos

the relation on which the curves of figure 11.93 are based. We notice 5, that the largest errors occur on headings 4 ' 135", 225' and 3 5 . 1' For bank angles < 30" the largest gimbal error is A$ < 4 " . The gimbal error can be eliminated by using a so-called roll stabilized directional gyro. This type of DG is a conventional directional gyro mounted in an extra gimbal ring. Owing to this extra ring the three axes of the conventional TDF-gyro can now be kept orthogonal and no longer gimbal errors will occur when the aircraft is banked.

11.5.2.2

Automatic leveling of a directional gyro The specific method used for leveling the spin axis of a

directional gyro strongly depends on the way the gyro rotor is driven. In this respect we can make a distinction between air-driven gyros and electrically driven gyros.

11.5.2.2.1

A pneumatic leveling device In a pneumatic leveling device, the spin axis of an air-driven

gyro is kept horizontal by sensing any misalignment in terms of an unequal air reaction. For that purpose, the air used for spinning the gyro is exhausted through an outlet on the inner gimbal ring and directed onto a wedge-shaped plate secured to the outer gimbal ring. In figure 11.95a, the rotor axis is shown in the horizontal position. The exhaust air outlet will then be upright and situated directly over the high point of the wedge located on the center-line of the outer gimbal ring. The airflow from the outlet will be devided equally and strike both faces of the wedge. As a reaction horizontal and R will be exerted on the wedge. Since both forces are 1 2 equal and opposite no resulting torque will be exerted on the outer gimbal and the rotor axis remains horizontally. forces R

A.C. S U P P E I O . I X E D FIELD WINDING

A.C. SUPPLY

TO

FIXED FIELD

Z1

A.C. SUPPLY TO LIQUID LEVEL SWITCH

Fig. 11.96

Electric leveling device

SECONDARY PICK-OFF COILS

LAMINATED COLLECTOR HORNS

SPOKES

EXCITER (PRIMARY) COIL

Fig. 11.97

Construction of the flux detector element

COVER PLATE

,TERMINAL

LUG

JOINT MOUNTING FL

EXCITATION COllFLUX COL

SPOKE OR LEG

PLASTIC CASE

Fig. 11.98

Cross section of a complete flux value

However, when the rotor axis is tilted from the horizontal position, as shown in figure 11.95b, the air outlet is no longer bisected by the wedge and the horizontal force R of R will be greater than R A 1 2 ' torque will now be applied about the vertical axis ZZ, in the direction
I

from its tilted 1' 1 position back to the horizontal position, where the forces R and R 1 2 are equal.

causing the rotor to precess about the axis YY

11.5.2.2.2

An electric leveling device The leveling system used in electrically driven gyros consists

of a switch and a torque motor as shown in figure 11.96. The switch is generally of the liquid level type and mounted on the inner gimbal of the gyro. The torque motor is a two-phase induction motor located so that its stator is attached to the outer gimbal ring and its rotor to the gyro casing. Any departure of the inner gimbal ring from the horizontal position is sensed by the liquid level and will result in a torque produced by the torque motor. This torque lets the gyro precess about the W -axis back to the level position. 1

11.5.3 Compensation of the apparent azimuth drift of the directional gyro To compensate for the earth rate precession of a directional gyroscope it seems obvious to make use of the magnetic compass, being an excellent long-term-stable directional reference. In small aircraft equipped with simple directional gyros the compensation is performed manually. The pilot, before setting manually the directional gyro, gets the aircraft in a horizontally stationary flight, waits until the magnetic compass has settled, makes a reading and sets the directional gyro at the correct heading. Then, the pilot uses its directional gyro and monitors the drift of the gyro about every ten minutes according to the method described above. In large aircraft the process of setting the directional gyro by magnetic compass information has been automated in the gyrosyn compass.

As the conventional magnetic compass is less suited to provide electric data signals for the compensation process, flux valves are used in the gyrosyn compass as magnetic field sensors. The operation of these devices will be discussed next.

11.5.3.1

The flux valve Unlike the moving detector element of the simple magnetic compass,

the flux valve is a magnetic field sensing element of the fixed type. In general the construction of the element is as shown in figure 11.97. The star shaped armature with three spokes is made of laminated Permalloy material. The collector horns, affixed to the spokes, serve to enhance the earth's magnetic field through the spokes. In the center we find the exciter coil which for all three spokes is the same and which is fed by a 400 Hz AC current. Around each of the spokes a secondary pick-off coil is installed. The unit is mounted on a pendulous weight, allowing a limited amount of freedom (30") in pitch and roll, to enable the element to sense the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field. It has no freedom in azimuth. The case in which the element is mounted is hermetically sealed and partially filled with fluid to damp out excessive oscillations of the element (see figure 11.98). To explain the operation of the flux valve, we first consider a single spoke as shown in figure-11.99. It consists of a top and bottom leg suitably insulated from each other and shaped so as to enclose the central hub core around which the primary coil is wound. The secondary coil is wound around both legs. The laminated Permalloy of which the legs of the spoke are made has as characteristic property that it cannot only be magnetized easily but that it is also capable of loosing almost all its magnetism once the external magnetizing force is removed. These properties are visualized in the idealized magnetization curve of figure 11.100. It relates the flux density B in the material to the magnetization field H, originating from the current in the excitation coil and/or the earth's magnetic field. At the saturation point the material is fully magnetized and the curve starts leveling off.

AX
SUPPLY

OUTPUT WINDINGS

1:

00-Input X X = Output @=Alternating flux during positive half of ACcurrent supply

Fig. 11,99

netail of the spoke of a flux.value

I
SATURATION POINT

FLUX I N TOP LEG

FLUX IN

4 EXCITED

H FIELD

DUE TO CURRENT I N PRIMARY COIL

0
TOTAL FLUX=O

It

TOTAL FLUX ENCLOSED BY SECONDARY COIL

Fig. 11.100

Total flux in the absence of the earth's

magnetic field

/
/
/

* t' cos w H

I"
H = H O R I Z O N T A L COMPONENT O F EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD

F i g . 11.101

Magnetic s e n s o r i n t h e e a r t h "

magnetic f i e l d

If we drive the excitation coil with an AC current of 400 Hz, the course of the flux density in the legs can be drawn with the aid of the magnetization curve. In the right-hand side of figure 11.100 this course is shown; the alternating flux density in the top leg is in phase with -the excitation field and is drawn with a solid line, the flux in the bottom leg, being in the opposite direction of the flux in the top leg is drawn 180" out of phase with a dotted line. The total flux enclosed by the secondary coil is the sum of these individual fluxes in the legs. In case the detector is at a right angle to the earth's magnetic field, the total flux enclosed by the secondary coil will be zero (figure 11.100 right bottom) and there will be no voltage induced in the secondary pick-off coil. If the detector is at a certain angle of the sensor H cos

(+

# 9 0 ' ) with the earth's

magnetic field as shown in figure 11.101, the component along the axis

4 will

be picked up by the legs. It forms a bias

on which is superimposed the alternating H-field generated by the excitation coil. As a consequence of the bias, saturation of the magnetic material of the leg will be attained in one half of the period at an earlier time than in the other half. As a result we obtain the courses of the alternating fluxes in the legs as shown in the right-hand side of figure 11.102. The total flux linked with the secondary coil, being still the sum of the fluxes in both legs, now consists of a series of magnetic pulses; two per period of the excitation current. These flux pulses induce an AC voltage in the secondary coil. When filtering out the higher harmonics, a sinusoidal output voltage with a frequency of 800 Hz is obtained. The amplitude of this voltage is proportional to the strength of the earth's magnetic field and to the angle the field makes with respect to the axis of the sensor. The name flux valve has been given to this device because of the fact that it seems as if the earth's magnetic field is allowed to enter the spoke during the time the legs are not in saturation (valve open), while during the time the legs are in saturation the earth's magnetic field is driven out of the spoke (valve closed).

Having studied the operation of a single spoke as magnetic field sensor, we now will investigate why the flux detector of figure
11.97 contains three spokes. Bearing in mind that the flux density

sensed by the spoke of figure 11.101,

is proportional to the cosine

of the magnetic heading (I, it will be apparent that there will be two headings corresponding with zero flux and two headings corresponding with maximum flux. This ambiguity can be solved by employing three spokes positioned at angles of 120' to one another. The path taken by the earth's magnetic field through the detector at different headings is shown in figure 11.103. The composition of induced voltages in the three secondary coils of the flux sensor will be unique for each heading and when fed to the stator windings of a synchro, an electric field will be composed that will always indicate north. Hence, if the rotor of the synchro in figure 11.104 is fed with a reference voltage at 800 Hz it will direct itself along this field and act as a compass indicator.

11.5.3.1.1

Error behaviour of the flux value In respect to the conventional direct reading compass, the use

of a flux valve has as advantage that it can be made less sensitive to the aircraft's own disturbing magnetic field by placing it at a suitable place, generally the wing tip. Due to its pendulous support, the drawback of being sensitive to accelerations remains. In contrast with the conventional compass detector, the earth's magnetic field does not exert any deflecting force on the pendulous flux valve detector and the flux valve platform - that is the plane of the flux valve elements - will always be perpendicular to the direction of the resultant of the applied accelerations. Thus under steady conditions the flux valve platform will be horizontal and the direction established by the elements will be the direction of the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field with respect to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. However, in flight any horizontal acceleration will cause the flux valve platform to tilt so that it is perpendicular to the resultant acceleration and under these conditions the indicated heading will differ from the one indicated when the platform is horizontal.

ENCLOSEDBY SECONDARY COIL

VOLTAGE (FILTERED)

Fig. 11.102

Total flux due to earth's magnetic field component H cos Y

EARTH'S COMPONENT

Fig. 11.103

Path of the earth's magnetic field through the flux value detector

COMPASS NEEDLE

GENERATOR
Fig. 11.104 Compass system constructed with a flux value

11.5.4 The gyrosyn compass

In the foregoing sections we have seen that the flux valve,

although subject to acceleration errors, is an excellent long-term directional reference while the directional gyro, although subject to slow drifts (both real and apparent), suffers hardly on the shortterm errors caused by the motions of the aircraft. By integrating both systems in a gyrosyn compass it can be attained that the favourable properties of the individual systems can be exploited without being troubled too much by the unfavourable ones.

11.5.4.1

Operation of the gyrosyn compass As shown in the simple blockdiagram of figure 11.105 the heading

indication of the directional gyro is compared with the heading information obtained by the flux valve. Any misalignment results in an error signal which is used to readjust the directional gyro. A further elaboration of the blockdiagram is given in figure 11.106. With the aid of a fast servo loop, the compass card of the magnetic heading indicator is brought in the same direction as the directional gyro. This loop has to be fast (5O0/s) in order to let the compass card follow the directional gyro instantaneously. In the synchro CT at the top of the diagram the flux valve heading information is compared with the heading information of the directional gyro. Any disagreement results in an error signal which, after amplification in the slaving amplifier drives the torque motor of the gyro and as a result the DG will precess in the horizontal plane. As soon as the DG has taken its proper position the error signal becomes zero and the gyro stops precessing. To keep the influence of the acceleration errors of the flux valve within reasonable limits, the rate of precession of the gyro is chosen low, typically 1 - 3"Jmin. Therefore, this servo loop is called a slow slaving loop. The compass card information obtained in this way is presented on a heading indicator as shown in figure 11.107. The compass card is read against a fixed lubberline. The indicator is further used to display the magnetic bearing of the aircraft with respect to the

ground stations of the radio navigation system ADF (Automatic Direction Finding) and VOR (Very high-frequency Omnidirectional Range). For this reason the indicator is generally referred to as Radio Magnetic Indicator (RMI). The bearing indications are provided by two concentrically mounted pointers, referenced against the compass card.

11.5.4.2

Annunciator With the aid of the annunciator on the heading indicator the

pilot can monitor whether the compass card is using the same directional reference as the one sensed by the flux valve. The signal for the annunciator is provided by the "slaving" amplifier in the slow slaving loop. If the error signal at the output of the amplifier is such that the compass card will start turning clockwise, an X will appear in the annunciator. Counter clockwise slaving of the compass card results in an 0 Only when the output . signal of the amplifier is zero and, hence, flux valve and directional gyro are synchronized the annunciator will indicate no signal.

11.5.4.3

Synchronizing knob When electrical power is initially applied to the compass system,

the gyroscope may be out of alignment by a large amount. The system will start the alignment process immediately but due to the low rate of precession of the gyro it will take a considerable time before synchronization is effected. To speed up this process, the compass system always incorporates a fast synchronization facility in the form of a synchronizing knob on the indicator. The knob marked with a dot and cross is mechanically coupled to the stator of the synchro in the fast servo loop (figure 11.106). When the knob is pushed in and rotated in the direction indicated by the annunciator, the rotation of the stator of the synchro will be followed by the rotor at a speed of max. 50/s, due to the servo mechanism. Coupled on the same axis, the compass card and slave heading synchro rotor will corotate. The knob is rotated until the annunciator indicates synchronization (no dot or cross visible). It is noted that with the synchronizing knob the compass card is rotated with respect to the

A
FLUX VALVE

ERROR SIGNAL

-eDIRECTIONAL GYRO

)HEADING

Fig. 11.105

Block diagram of a gyrosyn compass

rI

- -1
% I

CT

SLAVING AMP!

DG

FLUX VALVE ANNUNCIATOR

SLAVING LOOP

SPARE SYNCHROS TOAUTOPILOT. FDI OR AD1 HSI OR CI FLIGHT D A T A REC.. VHF NAV REC.

_ e

INDICATOR

AMPLIFIER UNIT

GYRO UNIT

Fig. 11.106

Diagram of the gyrosyn compass

1 HEADING 'BUG'

ANNUNCIATOR SELECTOR KNOB

SINGLE-BAR POINTER COMPASS CARD SET HEADING KNOB LUBBER LINE SYNCHRONIZING KNOB

Fig. 11.107

Heading indicator

VOLTAGE

Fig. 1 1 . 1 0 8

Latitude controlling circuit

gyro axis. This implies that the axis of the gyro not necessary points north and may have an arbitrary direction. This is no objection as for the proper operation of the gyro the direction of the spin axis is unimportant, as long as it is kept horizontally.

11.5.4.4

Modes of operation All gyro-magnetic compasses provide for the selection of two

modes of operation:

- slaved mode, when the gyro is monitored by the flux valve; - free gyro or DG-mode, where the gyro is isolated from the flux
valve to function straightforward as a directional gyroscope. Whenever a malfunction occurs in the circuits which provide the system with magnetic reference signals, or when the aircraft is flying at high latitudes, where the horizontal component of the magnetic field is an unreliable reference, the DG-mode will be selected. For that purpose, a slaving cutout switch is installed on the instrument panel.

11.5.4.4.1

Latitude correction in the DG-mode Dependent on the latitude, the compass system used in the DG-

mode will show an earth-rate error of 15" sin {latitude}/hour. Especially at high latitudes this error can rise and as a consequence only accurate heading information can be obtained in this mode if the error is eliminated either by calculating the required corrections and applying them directly to the indicated headings or by incorporating an automatic correcting device in the gyroscope. In compass systems designed for polar flights, the latter method is used in the form of a latitude controlling circuit. The operation of this circuit is based on the principle that the earth-rate precession error of the DG can be compensated for by letting the gyro precess in the opposite direction at the same rate.

For that purpose two coils are placed on the outer ring of the gyro, one on either side of the inner gimbal ring as shown in figure
11.108. Dependent on the hemisphere in which a flight is being made,

i.e. North or South, one of these coils is energized. In the rotor, of the gyro, turning in the magnetic field of the energized coil, eddy currents will be induced with the result that a braking force is exerted on the rotor. The vertical component of this force gives rise to a torque about the horizontal axis which causes the complete gimbal system to precess about the vertical axis. The precession is counter-clockwise when the north correction coil is energized and clockwise when the south correction coil is energized. The rate at which the gyro will precess is only dependent on the current fed through the coil concerned. It can be adjusted with the aid of the latitude corrector potentiometer, the dial of which is calibrated in degrees of lattitude.

11.5.4.5

Replacement of the DG by an inertial platform If an aircraft is equipped with an inertial navigation system,

the directional gyro in the heading system can be replaced very well by the platform of this INS. This is because such a platform establishes a local-level north-pointing reference frame with a high short-term stability (see section 1 2 ) . Such a replacement requires some adaptations of the system since the platform cannot be slaved directly to the magnetic meridians because of the navigation function it has in the INS. In figure 11.109 the blockdiagram of the heading system based on platform information of an INS is given. The true heading information supplied by the INS platform is corrected for the magnetic variation which is stored in a computer as a function of position. Next, slaving takes place in the compass coupler, where the long-term-stable magnetic field sensor signals are processed together with the short-term-stable INS heading signal to

MAGNETIC FIELD SENSOR

MAGNETIC HEADING

COMPASS COUPLER PLATFORM HEADING TRUE HEADING MAGNETIC PLATFORM HEADING

MAGN. HEADING

INS PLATFORM

.f

MAGNETIC VARIATION DATA

Fig. 11.109

Magnetic h e a d i n g system b a s e d on I N S p l a t f o r m i n f o r m a t i o n

I A L L ANGLES
TRUE NORTH MAGNETIC NORTH MPASS NORTH DRAWN POSITIVE

1 I

DEVIATION

DINAL AXIS AIRCRAFT

Fig. 11.110

Definition of deviation

Fig. 11.111

Mechanical compensation device

produce stable magnetic heading outputs. The heading system again has two modes of operation, the slaved mode and what is still called the DG-mode. In the slaved mode the slaving rate is chosen 1 to 2 degrees per minute.

11.6

Aircraft magnetism and its effects On the sensor systems of magnetic compasses not only the earth's magnetic field acts upon but also the magnetic field of the aircraft itself. The principal causes of the aircraft magnetic field are:

hard-iron magnetism, which is of a permanent nature caused by permanent magnets in magnetrons, loud speakers, instruments, powerplants and permanently magnetized iron parts of the structure;

- soft-iron magnetism, which is of a temporary nature and caused by

metallic parts of the aircraft which are being magnetized due to induction of the earth magnetic field. The effect of this type of magnetism on the sensor system of the compass depends on the heading and attitude of the aircraft and on its geographical position;

- the magnetic field due to direct current carrying wires. This field
can be weakened by twisting supply and return wires.

11.6.1 Deviation Due to this aircraft magnetic field the indication of the magnetic compass deviates from magnetic north by an angle 6 , which is called deviation.

A deviation to the east is called positive and a deviation to the

west negative. In figure 11.110 a graphical presentation of the concept deviation is presented.

11.6.1.1 Compensation To reduce the influence of this disturbing magnetic field on the reading of the compass system, use is made of a compensator. This is a mechanical or electrical device that neutralizes the effects of the aircraft's magnetic field by setting up an opposing magnetic field.

Mechanical compensation devices are used in simple direct reading compasses, while the electrical devices are solely designed for use in flux valves. The mechanical compensator in figure 11.111 has one set of magnets to correct for the aircraft's magnetic field when it is headed on a north-south course and a second set to correct for an east-west course. Adjustment of the compass compensator is accomplished on the ground in a special calibration procedure, known as compass swinging. With all the electrical equipment operating as in a normal flight, the aircraft is headed in the direction of magnetic north and the N-S compensator is adjusted to make the compass read correctly. Then, the aircraft is headed magnetic east and the E-W compensator is adjusted to correct for the error. Next, the plane is headed southward and the N-S compensator is readjusted to go half way from where the compass reading was to the S-mark on the card. After that, the aircraft is turned westward and the E-W compensator adjusted to go halfway from the existing compass reading to W. This procedure is then repeated as the aircraft is again headed north, east, south and west. The electromagnetic compensator comprises two variable potentiometers which are electrically connected with the coils of the flux valve as shown in figure 11.112. The potentiometers correspond with the N-S compensator and E-W compensator of the mechanical device. When they are rotated with respect to calibrated dials, they inject very small

DC signals into the flux valve coils. The magnetic fields produced by
these currents are sufficient to oppose those causing deviations and they accordingly modify the flux valve output. The compensator, even when properly adjusted, removes only part of the deviation. To attain a higher accuracy the remaining errors are marked on a deviation card which is posted in the aircraft near the compass. In figure 11.113 an example of such a card is shown. A new compensation of the compass system has to be performed in the following cases:

- when the aircraft has been parked in one direction for a period
longer than 1 month,

- after changes in the electric system,

after replacement of the compass or flux valve,

COMPENSATOR

t DROPPING RESISTORS

Fig. 11.112

Electromagnetic compensation of a flux value

Fig. 11.113

Compass correction card

INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

if one or more engines within a radius of 4 meter of the compass or flux valve have been replaced, once in a year for a stand-by compass and once in a half year for a flux valve, after each flight in a magnetic storm or after a strike of lightning, and certainly when the accuracy of the deviation table is questionable.

12

INERTIAL NAVIGATION The main object of an inertial navigation system (INS) is to determine an aircraft's position and velocity by measuring its acceleration and processing the acceleration information in a computer. Since the measurement of these accelerations takes place within the vehicle itself, an INS has as compared with other navigation systems the advantage that:

- no ground beacons are needed, - the system is insensitive to radiomagnetic interference,

the system is undetectable because it does not transmit signals, the operation is independent of the manoeuvres carried out by the aircraft. As disadvantages of the system have to be mentioned that:

- it can be used around the whole earth at every flying altitude,

- the position and velocity information degrades with time, whether

the vehicle is moving or not,

the equipment is expensive and relative difficult to maintain and service, initial alignment of the system in necessary.

12.1

Basic principle of inertial navigation When an aircraft is flying along a straight line with a constant acceleration a, we know from basic mechanics that its instantaneous velocity is given by

and its instantaneous position along the straight line by

The quantities v

and r

are respectively the initial velocity

=

and initial position at time t The velocity v(t) interval t

increases linearly with time, and corresponds

with the area under the acceleration curve in figure 12.la at the
0

t.

When the acceleration of the aircraft is not constant, the velocity can be computed by dividing the time interval in an infinite number of tiny intervals and summing the incremental areas under the curve to obtain the total area. This proces is known as integration and may be written as

The accompanying position can be obtained along the same way as

The mechanization of these equations is shown in figure 12.lb and forms in essence the basis of inertial navigation. If with an accelerometer the acceleration a is measured, a double integration of this quantity will give the position r of the aircraft provided that the initial conditions v
0

and r

are given.

Apart from having a changing acceleration, the motion of an aircraft will in general not be along a straight line, but rather along a curved trajectory in three-dimensional space.

ACCELERATION

VELOCITY
V

"0

to
DISTANCE

to
Fig. 12.la

t3

- , - t

Integration of acceleration to obtain velocity and distance

ACCELEROMETER

Fig. 12.lb

Mechanization of the inertial navigation system for the motion along a straight line

INITIAL CONDITIONS

Lo
INERTIAL MEASURING UNIT

yo

r - - - - -

I I
I I I

1
I -. 3 i a
I 1 I
) .
)

ACCELEROMETERS

COMPUTER

L-ei
) .

GYROS

v -

Fig. 1 2 . 2

Block diagram of an i n e r t i a l n a v i g a t i o n system

This makes it necessary to measure the accelerations along three different axes e. in space. But as the acceleration measurements
-1

take place inside the aircraft which continuously changes orientation, it is also necessary to fix rhe orientations L e. of these axes in
1

space. For that latter purpose use can be made of gyroscopes. In this way we arrive at the block diagram of an INS as shown in figure 12.2 that contains only the essential elements. Within this blockdiagram a lot of different practical realizations are possible. But before dealing with these realizations, we first consider the operation of the sensors used for measuring the accelerations.

12.2

Accelerometers All acceleration-measuring devices in use today employ the inertia reaction effect of a proof mass, in some cases restrained to a null position, and in others absorbed by a counter reaction.

12.2.1

Linear accelerometers A simple arrangement for measuring linear accelerations is the damped mass-spring system of figure 12.3. The device consists of a proof mass m, restrained by a pair of springs with stiffness K. The mass is constrained to deflect along one axis, the so-called sensitive axis - of the instrument and its motion is damped by a viscous liquid with which the instrument case is filled. Any displacement of the mass with respect to the house is sensed by a pick-off element. To find out the behaviour of the afore mentioned accelerometer, we will carry out the experiments shown in figure 12.4. In a horizontal position at

rest on the table, the mass of the accelerometer will be kept in the mid position by the springs and the pick-off will read a deflection
6
= 0.

As soon as the instrument is accelerated on the table, inertia

will cause the mass to lag behind the instrument case. The springs will be stretched and an equilibrium situation will be obtained when the restraining force of the springs F
=

K 6 equals the force of

inertia of the mass F = ma. The deflection 6, measured by the pick-

off is then a measure of the acceleration a, i.e.

If in a next experiment we turn the accelerometer over an angle of 90" and place it on the table as shown in figure 12.4b, the pickoff will display a deflection 6 although the system is at rest. This is caused by the gravity field g of the earth, which is now acting along the sensitive axis of the instrument. It pulls the proof mass in a downward direction until the point has been reached where the gravity force is in equilibrium with the restraining force of the stretched springs. Interpretation of this reading in the same way as was done in the foregoing situation a, would lead to the wrong conclusion that the instrument is subjected to a vertical motion with an acceleration of 1 g. This misinterpretation is caused by the fact that the accelerometer cannot make a distinction between kinematical accelerations and gravitational acceleration. Finally, in a free fall as shown in figure 12.4c, the instrument will indicate an acceleration of zero. In a free fall all molecules of the mass, spring and case simultaneously satisfy Newton's law of motion and gravitation. As we see from the experiment, however, the instrument in realty is in motion with an acceleration of 1 g. Based on the above mentioned experiments, we may conclude that the indication of the accelerometer has to be interpreted as a. indicated = a - g (12.4)

where a is the component of the true kinematical acceleration of the craft and g the component of the gravity field, both along the sensitive axis of the accelerometer.

12.2.2 Pendulous accelerometers By far the most generally applied accelerometers are of the pendulous type. The basic concept is sketched in figure 12.5. The proof mass is attached to a bracket which can rotate about a pivot.

CASE

VISCOU LIQUID

PICK-OFF VOLTAGE

Fig. 12.3

Basic principle of a single-axis linear accelerometer

Fig. 12.4

Basic experiments with an accelerometer

PIVOT

I \
I \

c - - - - - )

SENSITIVE AXlS

OUTPUT VOLTAGE

Fig. 12.5

Pendulous accelerometer

C------+

SENSITIVE A X l S

Fig. 12.6

Cross-coupling

Under non-accelerated conditions, the bracket is kept in its center position by restraining springs. As soon as the case is subjected to an acceleration along the sensitive axis, inertia will cause the proof mass to lag behind and the pendulum will be deflected over an angle 8 from its equilibrium position. This angle of deflection is a measure of the applied acceleration and is converted by the pick-off into an electric signal which is suitable for further processing. The sensitivity of this accelerometer is determined by the minimum deflection, the pick-off system can detect. A sensitive sensor can be obtained when weak restraining springs are used, as in that case even small accelerations will cause deflections that can be detected by the pick-off. However, large deflections of the proof mass cause cross-coupling effects. Let us consider the situation as sketched in figure 12.6 where on a pendulous accelerometer not only an acceleration a is acting along the sensitive axis, but also an acceleration b perpendicular to this axis. With the proof mass in the mid position, only the acceleration a can resort effect in letting the pendulum deflect. However, as soon as the pendulum has been deflected over an angle 8, the resulting effect of the accelerations will be a cos 8 - b sin 8. The influence of the disturbing acceleration b can be kept small by letting the pendulum deflect over small angles 8 from its equilibrium position. This would require stiff restraining springs leading to insensitive accelerometers. The only way to come out of these conflicting requirements is to use closed loop or force balance accelerometers.

12.2.3 Force balance accelerometers

The operation of a force balance accelerometer will be explained at hand of the example of the QFLEX-accelerometer of figure 12.7. Although this accelerometer is of the pendulous type, the same principle is valid for the linear accelerometer. Any deflection of the pendulum caused by accelerations along the sensitive axis are sensed by a capacitive sensor and converted into a voltage V. This voltage is amplified by the servo amplifier and converted into a current I

which is fed through a coil mounted on the proof mass. Due to the presence of the homogeneous permanent magnetic field of the torque magnets, the current I in the coil will generate a force which opposes the deflection of the pendulum and forces it back in the mid position. If the voltage V produced by the capacitive sensor is proportional to the deflection of the pendulum, the current I generated by the servo amplifier will be too. When this current is flowing through the coil in the homogeneous field of the torque magnets it will generate a restoring force F which will also be proportional to the deflection of the pendulum. Comparing this with the operation of a mechanical spring, which also generates a restoring force proportional to the deflection of the pendulum, we have constructed in this way an "electrical" spring. In the equilibrium situation, the electrical restoring force on the proof mass will be in balance with the applied acceleration force. The current I or the output voltage across the resistor R will be proportional to the acceleration a, i.e. 1

where I = current in the coil, m a

= mass of the sensitive element,
= =

acceleration along the sensitive axis, "electric" spring constant

=

K e

coefficient of conversion

from current to force in the coil. The important advantage of the closed loop or force balance system is the direct measurement of the acceleration a by the current

I, which takes care of the balance in forces. This in contrast with

the open loop accelerometers where the acceleration was determined from the displacement of the mass. Also in the closed loop accelerometers there exists a relation between the current I and the displacement 6, i.e.

PENDULUM ACCELEROMETER

SUNDSTRAND QFLEX

+ -

ACCELERATION FORCE

b-

0 POWER 0

ACCELEROMETER CASE CAPACITIVE SENSOR

PICKOFF AND DAMPING GAPS' PICKOFF PLATE

a
J
4 -

UPPER MAGNET STRUCTURE TORQUER COIL

h/ FLEXURE
THIN F I L M PICKOFF AND TORQUER LEADS

PROOF MASS SUB ASSEMBLY

FLEX LEADS LEAD SUPPORT POSTS

MAGNET

\
Fig. 12.7

1 .

LOWER MAGNET

STRUCTURE

SENSOR ELECTRONIC CONNECTOR

Practical realization of a feedback pendulous accelerometer

F i g . 12.8

I n e r t i a l r e f e r e n c e frame

Fig. 12.9

Three-axis s t a b l e platform w i t h t h r e e SDF-rate-integrazing

gyros

where K is the total loop gain of amplifier, pick-off and coil g system. From (12.7) we learn that by chosing a high loop gain K g ' the displacement 8 can be kept small without influencing the sensitivity of the accelerometer which is determined by the coefficient m - in relation (12.6). In this way high-sensitive accelerometers with Ke low cross coupling effects can be constructed.

12.3

Construction of the inertial measuring units Returning back to our inertial navigation system of section 12.1, we note that accelerometers measure with respect to inertial space. This we usually represent by a set of mutually orthogonal axes as shown in figure 12.8. If we mount three orthogonal accelerometers on a platform oriented along these axes, a simple double integration in each direction would result in the velocity and position with respect to this coordinate system. Unfortunately these axes cannot be carried and we need a portable frame of reference for the accelerometers. For that purpose gyros are used, which can measure rotations with respect to inertial space. With the gyroscopes on the platform we are now fully referenced to inertial space. However, if the platform is oriented in one direction and we wish to move in another, we must either compute the rotation or isolate the platform from vehicle motion. In the first case we speak of a strap down inertial measuring unit -while in the second case we have to do with a stable platform inertial measuring unit.

12.3.1

Stable platform inertial measuring units

A platform can be isolated from vehicle motions by mounting it

in gimbals as shown in figure 12.9. The feedback controlled mechanism, formed by the SDF-rate-integrating gyros and the gimbal torquers keeps the platform in its original orientation. If, for instance, the platform for some reason rotates about the roll-axis, it will be sensed by the rate integrating gyro of which the spin axis is perpendicular to the roll axis. The angular pick-off mounted at the output of this gyro will produce a voltage, the polarity of which indicates the direction of motion of the platform

and the magnitude represents the angle of rotation. This voltage is modified by the amplifier so that its output, when sent to the torque motor will be of the right magnitude and polarity to drive the platform back to its initial reference null position, corresponding with a zero output signal of the gyro pick-off. In actual operation this process takes place so rapidly, that the platform will never rotate further than 10 arcseconds from its original reference position before it is rotated back. This applies to all three axes and as a result the accelerometers mounted on the platform keep their original orientation in space whatever the angular movements are that the aircraft carries out. The same purpose can be achieved with a platform on which two TDF-gyros are mounted as is shown in figure 12.10. one redundant reference axis. When properly built, both types of gyros can control a platform effectively, but from the standpoint of fabrication it is more difficult to balance a two-axis gyro properly than a single-axis type, for two output axes in the former must be precisely balanced in contrast to one in the latter. The use of the foregoing three gimbal platform systems pose a problem when pitch angles of 90" are approached. At that instant the azimuth and roll axes coincide and one degree of freedom is inadvertently lost. This effect is known as gimbal lock. For this reason it is necessary to limit the pitch of an aircraft to
2

Gyro no. 2 provides

85" for a three-gimbal system. Full freedom of motion about the

roll, pitch and azimuth axis can be obtained when use is made of a four-gimbal stable element. The four-gimbal system illustrated in figure 12.11 is simular to the three-gimbal system previously described. The difference lies in the gimbal sequence and in the type of control associated with the addition of the redundant fourth roll gimbal. The gimbal sequence is azimuth, inner roll, pitch and outer roll. The outer roll gimbal receives its control signal from a pick-off mounted between the inner roll and pitch gimbals. This pick-off maintains perpendicularity between the inner roll and pitch gimbals, obviating the need of a gyro signal to control the outer roll gimbal. As a result, roll motions of an aircraft produce only low level platform disturbances. The outer roll gimbal servo bears most of the burden for roll stabilization. As the pitch angle increases, the outer gimbal must move through larger angles to null the inner roll gimbal. When

* ;

AZIMUTH SIGNAL TWO DEGREE OF FREEDOM GYRO

ROLL SIGNAL

PITCH SIGNAL AIRFRAME

AZIMUTH AXIS AND

Fig. 12.10

T h r e e - a x i s s t a b l e p l a t f o r m with two TDF--gyros

INNER ROLL OUTER R O L L OUTPUT

INNER R O L L OUTPUT

PITCH GIMBAL TORQUER

PLATFORM PITCH GIMBAL, OUTER GIMBAL

I I( I[

Fig. 12.11

Four gimbal s t a b l e p l a t f o r m

zb

BODY FRAME OF REFERENCE

INERTIAL FRAME OF REFERENCE

Z

RATE

Yb

FlAC(
X x

X X

ACCELEROMETER ACCELEROMETER

Fig. 12.12

Instrument cluster rigidly attached to the airframe

ACCELEROMETERS

ax b ,ay b, a b ,

ax'

-I = C a b a

wa a ',

SOLUTION OF GYROS

Wx
W~

- C ( t ) = C (t)w b d
dt

Wz

Fig. 12.13

Block diagram of a strap down inerhial measuring unit

pitch reaches 9 0 , the outer roll axis is aligned with the azimuth axis, but still full freedom is maintained about inner roll, pitch and azimuth axis. As soon as the pitch angle exceeds the 9 0 , the polarity of the signal driving the outer gimbal torque motor suddenly changes polarity and the outer gimbal will flip through 1 8 0 . As we have seen, we can establish with these platforms a reference frame with a fixed orientation in inertial space, along the axes of which the accelerometers mounted on the platform can measure the i a acceleration - of the aircraft.
12.3.2

Strap down inertial measuring units

In the situation that the gyros and accelerometers are rigidly

mounted to the frame of the aircraft, the orientation of the sensitive axes of the accelerometers indicated as body axes in figure 12.12, continuously change with respect to inertial space. For that purpose a fast digital computer is required to transform the accelerometer output data to the inertial frame of reference, which remains fixed in space. This transformation is governed by the relation

i where - = the acceleration vector in inertial space, a ab - =

C
=

the measured acceleration vector in the body frame,

3 x 3 direction-cosine matrix.

The transformation matrix C is formed by the direction cosines of the Euler angles, expressing the orientation of the body frame relative to the inertial reference frame (compare section 12.3.2.1). The matrix C can be calculated from the angular rates ox, w , uz Y measured by the gyros about the body axes by solving the differential equation

with

Since the rate gyros used in these measurements have to have a large dynamic range, as they change attitude at the same rate as the vehicle, laser gyros are well suited for this purpose. For a blockdiagram of a strap down inertial measuring unit we refer to figure 12.13.

12.3.2.1 Backgrounds of coordinate transformations The transformations required in a strapdown inertial measuring unit to convert the measured accelerations in the body axes system to accelerations in inertial space are performed with the aid of a three times three direction-cosine matrix C. All nine elements of this matrix can be uniquely specified by three independent parameters, the socalled Euler angles. They relate the orientation of the body axes frame with respect to the inertial reference frame. Due to the displacement of the aircraft, this orientation will continuously change and consequently the matrix C will be time dependent. The lapse of C with time can most easily be described by a differential equation. The subject of this section will be first to perform the rotational coordinate transformations and then derive the mentioned differential equation of C.

12.3.2.1.1

Euler angles To determine the orientation of the body axes x, y, z relative

to the inertial reference frame X, Y, Z, we introduce the Euler angles $, 4 and 8 as shown in figure 12.14. The position of the body axes can be arrived at by three successive rotations. With the x-, y-, z-axes coinciding with the X-, Y-, Z-axes, we allow in a first step the x, y, z coordinate to rotate about the Z-axis through an angle
)I

so as to take up the position x

1'

yl, zl, shown in figure 12.15. The relationship between the two coordinate systems is then given by the matrix

where c represents the cosine and s the sine of the designated angle.

F i g . 12.14

Body axes x , y , z defined r e l a t i v e t o the i n e r t i a l axes X,Y,Z by E u l e r ' s angles $J, 9 , 8

Z=z1

Fig. 12.15

Rotation about the Z-axis through an angle $J

Fig. 1 2 . 1 6

R o t a t i o n about t h e a x i s y =y t h r o u g h an a n g l e @ 1 2

z
Fig. 12.17

=2

R o t a t i o n about t h e a x i s

x2=x

t h r o u g h an a n g l e

I n a n e x t s t e p we a l l o w a r o t a t i o n 8 a b o u t t h e y - a x i s a s shown 1 i n f i g u r e 12.16. Denoting t h e new p o s i t i o n of t h e a x e s by x 2 * Y 2 , z 2 , t h e t r a n s f e r m a t r i x i s g i v e n by

shown i n f i g u r e 2 12.17 t o a r r i v e a t t h e body a x i s x , y , z . The t r a n s f e r m a t r i x f o r t h i s rotation is

F i n a l l y we a l l o w a r o t a t i o n 4 about t h e a x i s x

By s u b s t i t u t i n g i n s u c c e s s i o n (12.11) and (12.10) i n e q u a t i o n (12.12) and performing t h e m a t r i x m u l t i p l i c a t i o n s we o b t a i n t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n from t h e i n e r t i a l X , Y , Z a x e s t o t h e body a x e s x , y , z

The i n v e r s e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n from t h e x , y , z body a x e s t o t h e

X , Y , Z i n e r t i a l a x e s can be o b t a i n e d i n a s i m i l a r manner o r by a

d i r e c t i n v e r s i o n of t h e m a t r i x . The i n v e r s e of (12.13) can be found as

with

The latter matrix is used in relation (12.8) to transform the accelerations measured in the body axes frame of the strapdown IMU to inertial coordinates.

12.3.2.1.2

Direction cosine matrix kinematics During a flight, the Euler angles continuously change of value

with as result that also the transformation matrix C changes with time

.
To keep track of the kinematics of the direction cosine matrix

C, we study an infinitisimal rotation of the aircraft. Such an infinitisimal rotation can be represented by a vector d $ oriented along the instantaneous axis of rotation

At this point it is instructive to consider three coordinate frames: 1) the inertial set X, Y, 2 , 2) the body axes at time t denoted by (x, y, z ) ~ ,

3) the body axes at time t

+ dt

denoted by (x, y, z)t

dt.

The transformation from the second frame to the first can be obtained as (compare 12.14)

In the same way we find for the transformation from the third frame to the first

In accordance with the Euler transformations of the foregoing section we can change the second coordinate frame into the third one by three infinitisimal rotations, dO 1 about the x-axis, dB2 about the y -axis and dB about the z-axis. With cos (dB) z 1, sin dB z dO and 1 3 neglecting products of infinitisimal angles we find according to (12.14) the transformation

It is noted that in contrast with the Euler-angle transformation, for infinitisimal rotations the transformation is independent of the sequence. Substitution of (12.18) in (12.16) and comparing the result with (12.17) we find that

Ct (

dt) = C t ()

(12.19)

With the aid of (12.15) this relation can also be written as C (t where

dt)

C(t)

C(t) wb dt

(12.20)

Application of the definition of the time derivative of a matrix to (12.20) finally results in the differential equation C(t) = C(t) w, (12.21) dt used in the strapdown inertial measuring unit to calculate the transformation matric C. d -

12.4

Navigation with an inertial navigation system over a spherical earth Now we have available the accelerations in an inertial reference frame, it seems abvious to use this reference frame too for calculating the velocity and position of the aircraft. But in terrestrial applications a number of inconveniences stick to the use of such a reference frame. In the first place it requires a representation of the gravity field of the earth in the inertial frame in order to be able to correct the accelerometer readings for the gravitational acceleration and in the second place it requires subsequent transformations of velocity and/or position. In the early days of inertial navigation, when fast digital computers were still in their infancy, the large amount of computations required for the transformations could not be performed in time by the then available computers. A popular alternative was to compute position and velocity in the geographic frame or navigation frame from accelerations as obtained in that frame. The advantage was that it required less transformations and that the accelerations in this new frame changed less fast, so that a slow computer could be used. Although with the coming of fast computers the above mentioned problems have disappeared nowadays, still the traditional solutions find only application and therefore we will restrict our attention solely to the above mentioned solution. For the introduction of the geographic frame or navigation frame in our manual use will be made of a spherical earth model. In this way the basic principle of the INS can be explained in a relatively simple way, be it that due to the oblateness of the real earth, the accuracy obtainable with this model will not be too high. For that reason, practical realizations of inertial navigation systems make use of an ellipsoid of revolution as an earth model. Without changing the basic concept as treated for the spherical earth, the latter model results in higher navigation accuracies, be it at the cost of much more complecated navigation equations.

OF EARTH

II

NORTH POLE

Fig. 12.18 Basic coordinate frames used in an inertial navigator,

(X

1 1 E E E , y ,z ) = earth centered inertial, (x , y , z ) = earth

G G G

Centerd-earth fixed, (x , y ,z ) = vehicle centered navigation coordinates

SP

Fig. 12.19

Influence of the earth rotation Cl

Fig. 12.20

Influence of a displacement along the earth's surface

12.4.1 Geographic frame of reference On a spherical earth, position can be characterized by latitude
, and east longitude A as shown in figure 12.18. Zero longitude is $

defined by the meridian passing through Greenwich, England. The ground velocity of an aircraft in this system is built up of a component tangential to a meridian, known as the north velocity v and a component tangential to the latitude circle, known as the eastward velocity v The latitude can be obtained from the north E' velocity v as N

where

is the latitude at time t and R is the radius of the earth

0

while h is the altitude of the aircraft above the earth. In a similar way the position in longitude can be found from the eastward velocity v Taking into account that the radius of the latitude circle is E' proportional to cosinus @, we find

A full three-dimensional formulation for earth navigation is

obtained if also a variable altitude is taken into account according to

where h

is the altitude of the aircraft at to and v

represents the

velocity upward, i.e. normal to the spherical earth. and v we can V' E coordinate system or navigation frame shown in G points level and east; y level and north; and Connected with the vN, v introduce the geographic figure 12.18; x G z vertically up, i.e.
Ci

opposite the g-vector. The required accelerations in this coordinate system can be obtained by keeping the input axes of the orthogonal accelerometers mounted on the stable platform of an IMU oriented along the axes of the geographic reference frame or to transform the data from the accelerometers of a strapdown IMU directly to this navigation frame. How this can be performed is the subject of the following sections.

Working with a geographic coordinate frame has as consequence that no longer the time derivative of a velocity corresponds with a pure acceleration as was the case in an inertial frame of reference. The consequences on the determination of v v and v from measured

N'

accelerations in the geographic frame of reference will be subject of section 12.4.3 where the mechanization equations are treated.

12.4.2 Practical realization of local-level, north-pointing navigation reference frames To find out how a stable platform can be kept locally level and north-pointing, and how in a strapdown system the transformation matrix C has to be modified in order to be able to transform the measured accelerations directly to that navigation reference frame, we consider the motion of a level plane in inertial space. By a level plane we understand a plane perpendicular to the earth's gravity field. For a spherical earth, this implies that the level plane will be tangent to the earth's surface.

12.4.2.1

The motion of a level plane in inertial space Due to the earth's rotation, the position of a a level plane

will change in inertial space. With respect to the axes of the geographic reference frame, this change can be expressed by the angular velocities (see figure 12.19)

aN

cos @

(12.25)

about the north-south axis.

about the east-west axis, and

about the vertical axis.

In (12.25)

(12.27) Q is the rotational speed of the earth If in addition the plane also moves over

corresponding with 15'Ihr.

the surface of the earth, for instance due to a displacement of the aircraft, additional angular velocities occur. According to figure 12.20, an east velocity v vE (Rih) cos @

E causes a rotacion about the earth's axis of

w = A

while a north-velocity vN causes a rotation about the east-west direction of

where R is the radius of the earth (-6378 km) and h the altitude above the surface of the earth. Decomposition of w
A

and wE about the axes of the geographic

reference system results in (see figure 12.21)

about the north-south axis,

about the east-west axis, and

about the vertical axis. Summarizing we find for the total motion of the level surface in inertial space that w'
N

= w +QN=Qcos++- E N R+h
v

is the angular velocity about the north-south axis, w' E = w E

+ Q

= - -

R+h v

is the angular velocity about the east-west axis, and

L$

=y,++,=Qsin++-

R+h

tan 4

is the angular velocity about the vertical axis.

The relations (12.33)

(12.35) serve as a basis on which the

stable platform and the strapdown system have to be modified in order to let them become local-level north-pointing navigation systems.

12.4.2.2

The torquing signals of a local-level north-pointing gimballed platform system In section 12.3.1 we pointed out that the function of the

gimbals was to isolate the accelerometers mounted on the platform from rotations of the aircraft. Possible disturbances are neutralized by servo motors, which force the platform back to its initial position. This position is determined by the spin reference axes of the gyros on the platform, which in turn keep a fixed orientation in inertial space. If we want the platform to be kept level with respect to the earth and pointing north, the consequence will be that the respective reference axes of the gyros have to rotate with respect to inertial space with angular speeds determined by the relations (12.33) - (12.35). Technically this can be accomplished by feeding the torque motors of the rate integrating gyros of figure 12.9 with gyro torquing commands which are computed on the basis of the above mentioned relations. In figure 12.22 the leveling loops of the platform are shown, while in figure 12.23 the servo-loop is shown which keeps the platform pointing north. From figure 12.23 we note that at high latitudes ( 4 > 7' 5) the torquing of the gyro will become difficult and even impossible due v to the fast changing term w = - tan $. This would imply that v R+h inertial navigation would be impossible at high lattitudes, but fortunately there are methods to circumferent these problems. One of these methods is the wander azimuth system treated in section 12.4.3.5.

12.4.2.3

The transformation process in a strapdown system based on a locallevel, north-pointing navigation coordinate frame The use of a local-level north-pointing reference frame as

navigation coordinate frame instead of the inertial reference frame will have conquences on the calculation of the transformation matrix C.

tan $9

Fig. 12.21

Decomposition of t h e d i s p l a c e m e n t r o t a t i o n s w

P .

ancl wv

II

dt
TORQUE MOTOR PLATFORM TORQUER A T E-GYRO

VN

4.

1 VN WE=-=

VN -

E-ACCELEROMETER PLATFORM TORQUER A T N-GYRO

WN'

VE -

N-GYRO

q .

COlq+

v L
R+h

F i g , 12.22

Servo l o o p s f o r l e v e l i n g t h e p l a t f o r m

PLATFORM R+h

Fig. 12.23

Servo l o o p f o r k e e p i n g t h e p l a t f o r m n o r t h - p o i n t i n g

THREE BOOY COMPONENTS OF VEHICLE RATE RELATIVE TO INNERTIAL SPACE

THREE BODY COMPONENTS OF VEHICLE RATE RELATIVE TO THE EARTH

MOUNTED GYROS

u -s =

];:I
Wv

BODY COMPONENTS OF

1
r

1 t CALCULATION OF C
FROM -C=CWb
dt
d

w b l=

g'

*C
DIRECTION COSINE MATRIX OF BODY AXES RELATIVE TO EARTH

ROTATION RATE OF NAVIGATION FRAME WITH RESPECT TO INERTIAL SPACE

C -1

F i g . 12.24

C a l c u l a t i o n scheme of t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n m a t r i x C f o r a strapdown system based on a l o c a l - l e v e l , n o r t h p o i n t i n g n a v i g a t i o n frame

The differential equation 1 2 . 9 , from which the transformation matrix C is calculated in figure 1 2 . 1 3 , will now have to be modified to take into account the additional motion of the navigation reference frame. This can be accomplished by subtracting from the three measured body components of vehicle rate relative to inertial space the relevant body components of the rotation rate of the navigation frame relative to inertial space. These body components can be calculated from the angular velocity vector E' =

wi,

w );

by an inverse transformation C

-1 .

The different steps in the calculation process of the directioncosine matrix C from a body axes system to an earth-tied navigation frame is shown in figure 12.24.

1 2 . 4 . 3 Mechanization of the navigation equations

Now we have determined how in strapdown systems the accelerations measured by the body mounted accelerometers can be transformed straightforward to accelerations along the axes of the navigation reference frame with the aid of the direction-cosine matrix C and how in gimballed platform systems the accelerometer axes can be kept aligned with respect to the navigation axes and consequently the accelerations be measured straightforward along these axes, it is time to investigate how positions can be calculated from these accelerations. In this respect we notice that the navigation reference frame, due to the combined effect of earth rotation and vehicle motion, is rotating with respect to inertial space. Through this the velocity of the aircraft cannot be obtained in a straightforward integration process of the accelerometer data, but a correction has to be applied for Coriolis acceleration. Moreover, we have according to section
1 2 . 2 . 1 to correct the accelerometer data for the influence of the

gravitational acceleration.

1 2 . 4 . 3 . 1 The Coriolis acceleration

The concept Coriolis acceleration can be explained on the basis of figure 1 2 . 2 5 where an aircraft is flying a straight ground course from equator to north pole.

Because the earth is rotating, an observer looking down on the earth would see the aircraft flying a curved track in space in order to make the desired straight ground track over the earth. Relative to space, the aircraft must continuously change magnitude and direction of its tangential velocity. The accelerations which accompany this process are sensed by the accelerometers. The acceleration force which is proportional to the earth's and the velocity v of the craft, acts at right angles with the flight path and is given by (see section 12.4.3.6.1) rotation rate
$2

12.4.3.2

Correction for the Coriolis acceleration and the gravitational acceleration Returning to the problem of navigating an aircraft over the

earth, the accelerometer data has to be corrected for the influence of the acceleration of the earth's gravity field and the Coriolis acceleration caused by the rotational motion of the navigation reference frame. According to section 12.4.2.1 the rate of rotation
w of this frame is given by the vector -' = 2 + w, the components of which are given by (12.33) - (12.35). With the aid of (12.4) and

(12.36), the kinematic acceleration - is obtained from the data a indicated by the accelerometers a. as -md

Decomposition of the vectors in (12.37) in components along the north, east and vertical axes of the navigation reference frame results in the following three differential equations

CURVED TRACK I N SPACE

'

TRAJECTORY ON EARTH NORTH POLE

TRAJECTORY I N INERTIAL SPACE

-CORIOLIS-

- 2 2

x y

F i g . 12.25

C o r i o l i s e f f e c t of a moving v e h i c l e on a r o t a t i n g e a r t h

precession commands

calculations

Fig. 12.26

Horizontal mechanization of an inertial navigation system (local-level north-pointing platform)

g and
Coriolis corrections

I I

Initial-altitude rate

I "I,%I,
indicated altitude Integrator

accelerometer Filters

h ,

Barometric altitude hB

Fig. 12.27

Mechanization of a baro-inertial altimeter

with
w ' = R cos $

E +R+h

w'

V = R sin $
v

I 4 . + - tan R+h

from which v

N'

and v

can be computed. The way in which this is

accomplished will be treated separately for the gimballed system and the strapdown system. It is known as the mechanization of the navigation equations.

12.4.3.3

Gimballed platform mechanization For a gimballed platform the mechanization of the navigation is generally separated in a horizontal

equations (12.38) - (12.40)

mechanization and a vertical mechanization.

12.4.3.3.1

Horizontal mechanization The ground speed of an aircraft, built up of the north velocity

v and the east velocity v N E' can be obtained by a local-level platform system if the equations ( 1 2 . 3 8 ) - ( 1 2 . 3 9 ) are mechanized according to
figure 12.26. In figure 12.26 the output of the accelerometers is corrected for Coriolis acceleration and integrated with respect to time in order to obtain v
(12.23),
N

and v

E'

These velocities are transmitted

to a dead-reckoning computer in which, based on the equations ( 1 2 . 2 2 ) lattitude and longitude are calculated. Local level mechanizations are attractive for terrestrial navigation systems, because they can provide in addition to navigational data also roll and pitch information, which can be read directly from the gimbal axes. Moreover, no correction for the gravitational acceleration is needed for the horizontal accelerometers.

12.4.3.3.2

Vertical mechanization (Baro-inertial altimeter) It might appear that altitude could be calculated by double

integration of the vertical accelerometer output with proper correction for g and Coriolis acceleration. Unfortunately this is impossible as any error in initial altitude or velocity would grow exponentially in time and a highly instable vertical channel would result. Of the barometric altimeter we know that it is very stable for long periods of time but suffers from a noisy output and a long time lag caused by the airflow through tubes, ports and orifices. Through this effect instantaneous readings of altitude and altitude rate are impossible. The best features of inertial and barometric altimeters can be combined in a baro-inertial altimeter shown in figure 12.27. By comparing the inertial altitude h. with the barometric altitude h 1 b and feeding back the difference through filters F and F we can 1 2 obtain that the indicated altitude:

will respond much faster than a pure barometric altimeter,

- shows the long-term stability of a barometric altimeter, - has less noise than a barometric altimeter, - is insensitive to low frequency accelerometer errors.

12.4.3.4

Strapdown mechanization In the strapdown mechanization of figure 12.28 the output data

of the accelerometers is first transformed to the navigation reference frame, after which the north and east velocity is computed with the aid of equations (12.38) - (12.39). (12.23). Besides this position information, the system also provides attitude information which can be used in the flight control systems, treated in the Avionics manual. This information is calculated from the C-matrix of direction-cosines. Moreover, the gyro-outputs about the body axes can be directly used for vehicle stabilization. The geographic latitude and longitude is finally obtained with the aid of equations (12.22)

12.4.3.5

Wander azimuth system In the preceeding systems use has been made of a navigation

coordinate frame that was kept locally level and north-pointing. In most operational systems, however, the navigation coordinate frame is not "torqued" to north, but slowly rotates in azimuth at a known angular rate

+. The reason for this

is that in the past the gyros

could not be torqued at the high rates required for an adequate navigation accuracy in the polar regions (see also section 12.4.2.1). In figure 12.29 the course of the navigation reference frame in azimuth is shown for such a wander azimuth system. The wander angle
y is obtained as

with t

as initial orientation of the platform at t = t

The vehicle's heading relative to true north can be obtained from the platform indicated azimuth by adding the angle y. An additional advantage of a wander azimuth system is that each gyro input axis points alternately north and south, thus tending to cancel the effect of drift, resulting in an improved navigation performance. Although strapdown systems with fast digital computers have no problems with high "torquing rates" still wander azimuth mechanizations can be found in these systems.

12.4.3.6

Backgrounds of the mechanization equations The acceleration data measured by the accelerometers of an

INS cannot he used straightforward in calculating the groundspeed and position of the aircraft with respect to the (rotating) earth. As the accelerometer cannot distinguish between kinematical accelerations and accelerations caused by the gravitational field and

t h e r o t a t i o n of t h e e a r t h , t h e o u t p u t d a t a has t o be c o r r e c t e d f o r t h e l a t t e r e f f e c t s . To g a i n i n s i g h t i n t o t h e s e e f f e c t s , we f i r s t c o n s i d e r t h e g e n e r a l motion of a p a r t i c l e w i t h r e s p e c t t o a r i g i d body which i t s e l f i s moving w i t h r e s p e c t t o i n e r t i a l space. I n a n e x t s t e p we i d e n t i f y t h e p a r t i c l e w i t h t h e c e n t e r of g r a v i t y of t h e a i r c r a f t and t h e moving body w i t h t h e r o t a t i n g e a r t h i n o r d e r t o o b t a i n t h e mechanization e q u a t i o n s f o r n a v i g a t i o n over a s p h e r i c a l e a r t h .

12.4.3.6.1

General motion i n space I n f i g u r e 12.30 we c o n s i d e r t h e motion of a p a r t i c l e p with

r e s p e c t t o a r i g i d body which i s i t s e l f moving w i t h r e s p e c t t o a f i x e d c o o r d i n a t e frame X, Y , Z. I f we a t t a c h t o t h e moving body t h e axes x , y, z , t h e motion of t h i s body can be e s t a b l i s h e d by a l i n e a r motion of t h e o r i g i n of t h e frame x, y , z and a r o t a t i o n - about a w l i n e through t h i s o r i g i n . The a b s o l u t e motion of t h e p a r t i c l e p r e f e r e n c e d t o t h e X, Y , Z-frame w i l l be e q u a l t o t h e motion of t h e p a r t i c l e r e l a t i v e t o t h e frame x , y , z p l u s t h e motion of t h i s frame, c o n s i s t i n g of a t r a n s l a t i o n and a r o t a t i o n . To v i s u a l i z e t h e motion, we assume t h a t t h e p a r t i c l e p f o l l o w s t h e curve s f i x e d t o t h e body. Thus, t h i s curve
i s a l s o f i x e d w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e frame x , y , z.

An o b s e r v e r s i t t i n g on t h e bo.dy w i l l s e e o n l y t h e motion of p along t h e curve s . Let t h e p o s i t i o n of p r e l a t i v e t o t h e x , y, zaxes be r e p r e s e n t e d by t h e v e c t o r r i i i - = x -x + y -Y + z -2 (12.42)

where i i and i a r e t h e u n i t v e c t o r s along t h e x-, y-, and z-axes. -x' -y -z I f we d i f f e r e n t i a t e 5 w i t h r e s p e c t t o time, we have t o t r e a t t h e u n i t v e c t o r s a s v a r i a b l e s due t o t h e i r changing d i r e c t i o n s and we f i n d

I Three bodv comwnents

Bodymounted gyros rate relative of veh~cli

Thr& bodv Earth's rotation rate. n Direction-cosine Matrix l C I

Z

of vehicle rate relative to earth Initial velocity Initial positlon

accelerometers

Three body components of vehicle's inertial acceleration (AV pulses)

Level-axis components of inertial acceleration

~~d~ axes relatlve to earth

Navigate Alignment equations

Fig. 12.28

Mechanization of a strapdown inertial navigation system

TRUE NORTH

AN
GRID NORTH

v -

GROUND SPEED

GRID TRACK

AXIS VERTICAL

Fig. 12.29

Plan view of a wander azimuth platform at an azimuth angle y

F i g . 12.30

Space motion i n t e r m s of t h e r i g i d body a x e s x , y , z and i n e r t i a l axes X,Y,Z

Fig. 12.31

Motion r e l a t i v e t o t h e e a r t h , u s i n g t h e n a v i g a t i o n axes x , y , z f i x e d t o t h e e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e

Since

e x p r e s s i o n ( 1 2 . 4 3 ) can a l s o be w r i t t e n a s

I n t e r p r e t i n g t h i s e q u a t i o n , t h e f i r s t term i n t h e right-hand r e p r e s e n t s d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n keeping i i and i c o n s t a n t -x' -y -2 and hence, can be i n t e r p r e t e d a s t h e v e l o c i t y of p r e l a t i v e t o t h e r o t a t i n g frame x , y , z , o r i n o t h e r words t h e v e l o c i t y t h e p a r t i c l e moves a l o n g t h e c u r v e s . The second term

- which a n v

o b s e r v e r s t a t i o n e d on t h e x , y , z-axes would be a b l e t o d e t e c t a s

- x - is the W r -. W

v e l o c i t y of t h e c u r v e r e l a t i v e t o t h e o r i g i n , due t o t h e r o t a t i o n F i n a l l y , we add t o t h e above t h e v e l o c i t y v

-0

of t h e moving

o r i g i n , i n which c a s e t h e a b s o l u t e v e l o c i t y of p becomes

To d e t e r m i n e t h e a c c e l e r a t i o n , we s t a r t w i t h t h e v e l o c i t y

dr -= v dt

of e q u a t i o n 1 2 . 4 6 r e l a t i v e t o t h e moving o r i g i n and d i f f e r e n t i a t e once more

The first two terms in the right-hand side of (12.47) result o m the differentiation of the term

,I:[

whereas differentiation

w r of the term - x - results in the remaining three terms. We can now group these terms together as

dLr now add the acceleration a of the origin to - to obtain the total 0 dt2 acceleration with respect to inertial space

- r) In (12.49) the term g x (w x - is known as the centrifugal

w acceleration, the term 2 - x (v) as the Coriolis acceleration, while dw the term - x r represents the acceleration caused by a change in
dt

rotation speed of the rigid body.

12.4.3.6.2

Motion relative to the rotating earth

In inertial navigation, where measurements are certainly not -7 -5 more precise than 5.10 dg/hour and 2.10 g a coordinate system

X, Y, Z centered at the mass center of the earth and nonrotating

relative to the stars may be regarded as inertial. The motion of an aircraft relative to the earth's surface can be described in a navigation reference frame of which the z-axis is oriented along the vertical, the y-axes oriented along the meridian plane pointing north and the x-axis pointing east as shown in figure
Q 12.31. If - is the constant angular velocity vector of the earth, we

find with the aid of equation 12.49 that the acceleration - in the a in navigation frame x, y, z is related to the acceleration a. -mert the inertial frame X, Y, 2, according to

R where - is the position vector of the aircraft relative to the mass

center of the earth and - the velocity of the aircraft relative to v the navigation frame of reference x, y, z. As a consequence, the proofmass of an accelerometer mounted in the aircraft will be subjected to an accelerating force a. given -Inert by relation 12.50. Besides this force, the mass of the earth will also exert a force on the proofmass, represented by the gravitational acceleration a Due to these causes the accelerometer will indicate -mass an acceleration (compare section 12.2.1)

Substitution of (12.51) in (12.50) and introducing the gravity field g as

leads to the mechanization equation

which is used in section 12.4.3.2 to compute the velocity v in the

navigation reference frame from the accelerometer data a. -1nd
'

12.5

Initialization of inertial navigation systems The navigation with an INS requires besides a reference frame also an initial position and an initial velocity. Before a flight, when the aircraft is standing stationary at the gate, the INS can be initialized by entering the initial position in the computer, while

the initial velocity will be zero. The reference frame can be oriented to a convenient reference by leveling (two coordinates) and alignment (one coordinate) in azimuth. In a north-pointing system this reference will be true north. In a wander azimuth system the platform azimuth remains off north, and the initial wander angle y and stored in memory. In general the orientation of the reference frame is carried out in four phases:
0

can be calculated

coarse leveling; coarse azimuth alignment; fine leveling; gyro compassing and fine leveling. In the next sections these phases will be elucidated for a

locally level north-pointing platform system. For a strapdown system the initialization process takes place along similar lines, be it that the servo loops are now realized in software in a computer.

1 2 . 5 . 1 Leveling

A gimballed platform can be brought in a level position by

using the gravity field as reference. The platform is rotated about two level axes until the horizontally mounted accelerometers on the platform read zero. This process is typically performed in two phases: a course leveling and a fine leveling.

12.5.1.1

Course leveling In a first step the platform is brought roughly in a level

position by slewing the gimbals until the horizontal accelerometers on the platform read zero. For that purpose the error signal of the accelerometer directly drives the gimbal servo motor as shown in figure 1 2 . 3 2 . Coarse leveling can be performed at slew rates of several hundreds of degrees per second. In this phase it is not necessary that the gyros are spinning.

Gimbal ServOmOtOr

F i g . 12.32

C o a r s e - l e v e l i n g loop (one a x i s )

Level servo compensation

Gimbal

3
Gyro ..torquer

Level servoamp

, Level-gimbal axis ,
*A'

High-gain amplifier (used as integrator or amplifier) F i g . 12.33 F i n e l e v e l i n g loop ( o n e a x i s )

.q lt e"y '

Magnetic compass I information

Fig.

12.34

Coarse azimuth a l i g n m e n t wich t h e a i d of magnetic compass i n f o r m a t i o n

As in this phase earth rotation and component errors are not taken into account, the platform can never be brought in a perfectly level position in this way.

12.5.1.2

Fine leveling To bring the platform in an accurate level position we have to

take into account the effect which the rotation of the earth has on the platform position and in addition we have to compensate for certain component errors. As shown for one axis in figure 12.33, the accelerometer is again used as sensor for the tilt angle about one platform axis. Together with the earth-rate signal input from the computer the signal is driving the torque motor of the gyro in the servo loop of the platform. The gimbal rotation rate is limited to the maximum gyro precession rate of about ?'Is. The final accuracy with which the platform can be leveled in this way is determined by the accelerometer errors, drift in the level gyro, horizontal disturbances acting on the platform, and azimuth errors. The horizontal disturbances in the alignment phase on the ground are caused by the rocking of the aircraft on its landing gear, induced by gusts of wind, cargo loading and walking of personnel in the aircraft.

12.5.2

Azimuth alignment In the azimuth alignment phase the platform has to be oriented in a desired reference direction, which generally will be true north. In wander azimuth systems the platform azimuth may be arbitrarily and the initial wander angle Yo has to be calculated and stored in memory. The azimuth alignment takes place in the following sequence of events :

1. coarse leveling (treated in section 12.5.1.1),

2. coarse azimuth alignment,

3. fine leveling (treated in section 12.5.1.2),

4. gyro compassing, during which fine leveling continues.

Leveling is involved in this process as accurate azimuth alignment is only possible with a properly leveled platform.

12.5.2.1

Coarse azimuth alignment In the coarse alignment phase the platform becomes roughly oriented north. Dependent on the type of INS this can be accomplished in a number of different ways. In most north-pointing platform systems magnetic compass information is used for this purpose. The course alignment can be

performed in a few seconds, because the rate of rotation of the platform is limited by the slew rate of the azimuth gimbal servo instead of the slower gyro rate. Figure 12.34 shows the coarse leveling servo loop. If magnetic compass information is not available or less suited, the north direction can also be determined by measuring the components of the earth's rotation vector. For that purpose we notice from figure 12.35 that a stationary platform deviating an angle y from true north, can be kept level if it is torqued about its east- axis at a rate of R cos 4 sin y and about its north-axis at a rate of R cos $ cos y. Therefore, in the leveling mode the torquer current I E fed to the east-leveling gyro will be proportional to R cos $ sin y and the torquer current I calculated from tan y

fed to the north-leveling gyro will be

proportional to R cos 4 cos y. The deviation angle y can now be I /I This information is used to torque the E N' platform in azimuth until the angle y has become zero.
=

In azimuth-wander systems where no torquing signals are transmitted to the azimuth gyro, the azimuth angle y is computed from the above mentioned components of the earth's rotation vector and stored in memory as the initial wander angle y
0

In this phase the computer also calculates the lattitude 4 and compares it with the one inserted by the crew in the system. In this way a reasonable check on the inserted latitude is possible. If a large discrepancy is detected, a warning light will be given.

PLATFORM EAST

PLATFORM

Fig. 12.35

R o t a t i o n r a t e s about t h e p l a t f o r m a x i s due t o e a r t h r o t a t i o n

Navigation integrator and feedback

F i g . 12.36

Gyrocompassing. The e a s t gyro d e t e c t s t h e component of e a r t h r a t e R c o s cp s i n y

Left display 260 - This is the desired track from waypoint one to two. Right display -Displayed when INSystem is in ALIGN, becomes 1 when in NAV. Actual performance index a t the start of the alignment process decreases through 8. 7, 6 etc. during alignment. Required performance index auto. matically on 5 at turn on. Can be changed to 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0, through keyboard.

Fig.

12.37

Mode s e l e c t o r p a n e l a n d C o n t r o l D i s p l a y U n i t o f t h e C a r o u s s e l I V i n e r t i a l n a v i g a t i o n system

12.5.2.2

Gyro compassing The fine alignment of the azimuth gyro to true north or the

accurate calibration of the wander angle y is performed in the gyro compassing mode. If the platform is leveled but not aligned to true north, the east-gyro will not point due east and will sense a component of earth rate (see figure 12.36) which will precess the gyro to tilt the platform north-south. This tilt will be detected by the north accelerometer which in turn will generate a signal to drive the azimuth gyro back to north. The gyro compassing is cut-off as soon as the misalignment has become within acceptable bounds or when the driving signal becomes burried in system noise. The INS is now ready to be switched to the navigation mode.

12.6

Operational aspects The use of an INS will be explained with the help of the Caroussel IV system used on board of Boeing 747 aircraft. On grounds of reliability the system consists of three independent wander-azimuth platform systems. The pilot's control of the system mode of operation is performed through mode selector units installed in the overhead panel. The read-out of navigational data, loading of alignment and flight plan data as well as the indication of the system operating status takes place through the Control Display Unit (CDU). Two CDU's are located in knee panels and the third in the centre console of the B 747 cockpit. Figure 12.37 shows a picture of the mode selector unit and control display unit.

12.6.1 Standby mode The inertial navigation system is turned on when the mode selector switch is rotated from OFF to STBY. In this phase the gyros start spinning and the temperature of the system is controlled. With the data selectors on the CDU's set to POS (position), lattitude and longitude of the present position can be inserted using the keyboard on each of the three CDU's.

1 2 . 6 . 2 Alignment mode

By rotating the mode selectors to ALIGN automatic alignment and calibration of the system will start. During the alignment phase latitude and longitude of the way points can be inserted when the data selector on the CDU is turned to WAYPT. First a course leveling of the platform takes place. As soon as the tilt angles of the platform have been reduced within certain predescribed values, the system automatically switches to the course azimuth submode, where the wander azimuth angle Y is roughly determined. In this phase the computer also calculates the lattitude and compares this value with the inserted latitude. In case of large discrepancies a warning will be given. After four minutes in the coarse azimuth mode, the system switches to the fine align submode, provided that the crew has inserted the present position. Practically this last part of the alignment consists of a fine leveling phase of 30 seconds followed by gyro compassing. In the gyro compassing mode the error in azimuth is determined which remains after the coarse azimuth mode. In addition, the azimuth gyro drift can be determined from the lapse in azimuth with time. From this azimuth gyro drift and the remaining error in azimuth position, the computer calculates a so-called performance index number that is displayed on the CDU. As soon as the value of this performance index number has become equal to a required value inserted previously in the CDU, the NAV READY indicator on the mode selector unit lights green. The INS is then ready to navigate and the mode selector can be pulled and turned to the NAV position. The alignment phase takes about 20 minutes. The fine align submode keeps on going as long as the mode selector remains in the ALIGN position.

1 2 . 6 . 3 Navigation mode

In the navigation mode the system operates as an inertial navigator. This implies that once this mode has been selected, position, velocity and azimuth errors start to increase with time, whether the aircraft is flying or not.

12.6.4 Attitude mode

When a failure occurs in the computer of the INS, the platform is still able to provide attitude information. By positioning the mode switch in the ATT position the platform will be kept level with the aid of signals coming directly from the accelerometers. The system now operates in the same way as in the coarse leveling submode of the alignment procedure. The errors in roll and pitch information will be dependent on the aircraft accelerations, as no longer profit can be gained from the Schuler oscillations of the platform (see section 12.7.1.1). Due to the switching-off of the (malfunctioning) computer, position and velocity of the aircraft will no longer be tracked and as a consequence switching-back to the NAV mode will be impossible during the flight.

12.7

Errors in the navigation with an INS The accuracy with which inertial navigation systems can navigate is determined by a number of error sources. In the first place we have the errors in the initial conditions. Four initial conditions have to be set before the system can navigate accurately. The first two are the initial position and initial velocity of the aircraft. The other two are platform initial conditions. The platform has to be level and one axis has to be pointed exactly north. In general these four conditions will be afflicted with errors. In addition the inertial sensors themselves are not perfect. Accelerometers show a large number of small errors and even the best gyros will drift. Moreover, a host of minor errors are caused by torquers, gears, gimbals, integrators and the computer. How these errors affect the final navigation error strongly depends on whether these components can be found within the closed servo loops of the platform or if they are found outside these loops.

1 2 . 7 . 1 Errors within the servo loops

To analyse the influence upon the ultimate navigation accuracy of an INS from errors within its servo loops, we consider the simplified diagram of one of these loops as shown in figure 1 2 . 3 8 . In the ideal case, when the platform is initially level and the will components are error-free, the feedback of the transport rate v E / ~ keep the platform level when moving along the earth. However, when the platform has an initial tilt or when the components in the loop show errors, the platform will no longer keep its level position on its way along the earth, but it will oscillate about this level position. This oscillation is caused by the feedback loop and is known as Schuler oscillation. It plays an important role in the error behaviour of the INS.

12.7.1.1

Schuler oscillations To study the nature of the Schuler oscillation we consider the a

situation of figure 12.39, where the platform shows at epoch t

small initial tilt error of E. The accelerometer will then sense a component g sin E e ge of the earth's gravity field and interprete it wrongly as a positive acceleration of the platform. The integrator will produce a positive velocity signal v = j g e dt and the servo E loop starts torquing the leveling gyro at a rate v /R causing the E platform to rotate in the direction of the supposed velocity. At epoch t
1

the platform will become level and the accelerometer will

read zero. The velocity vE becomes constant but keeps the platform rotating. The accelerometer then starts to sense a negative acceleration and consequently the velocity starts decreasing until at epoch t is now epoch t
2

it

has become zero. The apparent acceleration sensed by the accelerometer

3'

and the platform has reached its outmost position. Next

it starts returning back to the level position which it reaches at The acceleration sensed at that time will be zero but due to the negative velocity the platform will continue to rotate until it reaches its starting position at epoch t The whole process then 4' starts again and consequently the platform carries out an oscillatory

movement known as Schuler oscillation. The period time of this

EAST ACCELEROMETER

IN EAST DIR

Fig. 12.38

Schuler loop

C .

.. .. .. -. . .. .
1
I
I

I\

\ \

+ 1 ARC MIN
T I L T ERROR

Ge&Qs
I

1 I T I

r , Ir--I
' r

, ,I , , , , ,

--_---_--_---

--J

- 1 ARC MIN
VELOCITY ERROR (FTISEC)

I
I

-8
Fig. 12.39

Schuler oscillation

ACCELEROMETER BIAS 0.01

ftk2

4 2 rnin

84rnin

126 rnin

-t

Fig. 12.40

Influence of accelerometer bias on the navigational error of an INS

Fig. 12.41

Position error due to gyro drift

oscillation is governed by T = 2 v

where g is the average

9 . 8 1 m/s2 and

gravitational acceleration and R the numerical value of the earth's radius, implemented in the feed-back loop. With g
R = 6.37 10 6
=

m, the period time of the oscillation T

"

8 4 . 4 min.

Probably the platform behaves like a slowly oscillating pendulum which tracks the local vertical of the earth. Mechanically such a pendulum can never be realized since it would require a length corresponding with the earth's radius R!! The big advantage of the Schuler-loop is that system errors that cause the platform to tilt do not lead to growing errors with time, but to bounded errors that oscillate with a period of 8 4 . 4 min. This has also as consequence that the average attitude of the platform will be independent of aircraft accelerations, even in the long term. Hence, a better vertical reference can be obtained with a platform than with a horizon system.

12.7.1.2

Influence of accelerometer bias in the loop The most important source of error in an accelerometer is the

bias. - Since a constant bias will have the same effect on the position of the platform as an initial tilt, we expect the platform to behave as shown in figure 1 2 . 3 9 . By integrating the velocity error, we will obtain a distance error as shown in figure 1 2 . 4 0 . An acceleration bias of 0 . 0 1 ft/s2 will cause the distance error to oscillate between
0 and 2 nautical miles with a period of 8 4 . 4 minutes.

12.7.1.3

Influence of gyro drift in the loop If the leveling gyro in the servo loop of figure 1 2 . 3 8 starts drifting at a constant angular rate about its output axis, the platform will be tilt from its level position at the same rate. The accelerometer will then sense a component of the gravity field which after integration is interpreted as a velocity in a direction opposite to the direction in which the platform tilts. This velocity signal

which is growing with time is fed to the gyro torquer where it opposes the effect of the gyro drift. Owing to this the rate at which the platform tilts will decrease and finally become zero when gyro drift and velocity signal fully compensate each other in the loop. As the gyro drift is constant, this situation will give rise to a constant velocity signal. Meanwhile the platform has come to a standstill, be it in a tilted position. By that a Schuler oscillation is initiated symmetrically with respect to the horizontal plane. The distance error, following from the integration of the constant velocity signal with superimposed on it the influence of the Schuler oscillation of the platform is shown in figure 12.41. For a drift error of 1 arcminute per hour, the error in distance grows in the average with one nautical mile per hour.

1 2 . 7 . 2 Errors outside the servo loops

The error caused by components outside the servoloops do not profit of the Schuler oscillations and, therefore, their influence on the navigation accuracy of the INS will be much more serious. As most important sources of these errors we mention the scale factor of the second integrator and the drift of the azimuth gyro.

12.7.2.1

Azimuth gyro drift In inertial navigation systems of the azimuth-wander type, the

azimuth gyro is not taken up in a closed servo loop. As a consequence the error in azimuth will be strongly dependent on the drift of the azimuth gyro. The only way to reduce this error is to correct for it. For that purpose the drift error is determined in the alignment phase and stored in the computer.

1 2 . 7 . 3 Total system error

If an INS is used for maximally four hours, the error behaviour is mainly determined by the Schuler oscillation.

For flights of a longer duration, the influence of earth rotation comes to an expression in a 24-hour oscillation of the error. This arises no astonishment as in nearly all navigation equations of the INS the earth rotation occurs. This long term oscillation again acts favourable on the ultimate position accuracy of the INS. For a properly aligned INS the total system error does not exceed 2 nautical miles per hour.

13

ERGONOMIC ASPECTS OF INSTRUMENT DISPLAYS AND PANEL LAY-OUTS The process of flying can be represented by the man-machine system loop as presented in figure 13.1. The function of the crew within the loop is that of controller, and the extend of this control function is governed by the type of aircraft. In a light aircraft the pilot has to adjust manually the essential systems, and the controller's function is said to be fully active. In a large airliner on the other hand, the adjustments to essential systems are automatic in operation and the controller's function becomes one of monitoring, with the possibility to return to the active function in the event of a failure in one of the systems. In the control loop, instrument displays also play a vital role as they are the means of communicating data between the systems and the controller. In order to obtain a maximum control quality and an acceptable mental effort in interpreting data, it is necessary to pay a lot of attention to the presentation of data. In aircraft instruments we distinguish two different forms of data presentation: a) the qualitative display, in which the information is presented in a symbolic or pictorial form, and b) the quantitative display in which the measured quantity is presented in terms of a numerical value and by a relative position of a pointer or index.

13.1

Qualitative displays As an example of a qualitative display we can mention the artificial horizon of section 11.3.2. The presentation of this instrument has been chosen in such a way that it shows the world as it would appear from inside the aircraft, hence the name "inside-out" or relative display (see figure 13.2). An advantage of this way of presentation is that the transition from instrument to visual flight is quite simple. On the other hand there is the drawback that the outside world moves in the opposite way to the aircraft, so that a movement of the horizon has to be off-set by a motion which assists rather than opposes. The "inside-out" presentation therefore involves an unnatural "follow to correct" response which makes control harder. Would the presentation have been chosen to present the situation of the aircraft as it would appear from the world outside, a clockwise move would have been shown as a movement to the right. This way of presentation is known as "outside-in" or - display. As a human true controller finds it natural to try to oppose an unwanted movement, the "outside-in" presentation calls for a natural reaction of the pilot. Although in aviation "inside-out" displays are used in faremost of the cases, it may be doubted that in reality it is the optimal way of presentation.

13.2

Quantitative displays The question what the best way of presentation is of the numerical values of the measured quantities can in its generality not be answered uniquely. The answer strongly depends on the task the display has to perform. Moreover, this task may even change dependent on the particular flight phase.

13.2.1 Circular scale

The classical method of displaying information in quantitative form is the circular scale of figure 13.3. For a quick and accurate interpretation it is necessary to choose the number of marks on the scale carefully. The speed of reading decreases as the number of

MAN

CONTROL

MACHINE

Fig. 13.1

Man-machine control loop

AIRCRAFT IN RIGHTHAND TURN HORIZON MOVES WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUMENT CASE

AIRCRAFT IN RIGHT HAND TURN Al RCRAFT SYMBOL MOVES WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUMENT CASE

"

INSIDE - O U T " PRESENTATION

"OUTSIDE - IN " PRESENTATION

Fig. 13.2

Qualitative display

SCALE LENGTH SCALE OR GRADUATION MARKS

SCALE SPACING I N UNITS OF 1 SCALE BASE

..
POINTER OR INDEX

Fig. 13.3

Circular scale

'8

'250
RPM

8' 0

100-

RATE O F CLIMB

4'

Fig. 13.4

Linear and non-linear scales: a) linear, b) square-law, c) logarithmic

markings increases, while on the other hand vital information may be lost when too few markings devide the scale. A simple rule followed by manufacturers is to devide scales so that the marks represent units of 1,2 or 5 or decimal multiples thereof. The general principle adopted for the sizes of the marks is that the marks which are to be numbered are the largest, while those in between are shorter. The sequence of numbering always increases in a clockwise direction, thus conforming to what is termed the usual expectation of the observer. The spacing between the marks is governed by the physical laws related to the quantities to be measured. In aircraft we may encounter linear, square-law, or logarithmic-law type scales as shown in figure 13.4. Some quantities, such as engine speed, airspeed and altitude have to be measured with high accuracy over large measuring ranges. This would require very long scales, which makes it difficult to use single circular scales in standard-size cases, particularly in connection with the number and spacings of marks. Some of the displays developed as practical solutions to the difficulties encountered are shown in figure 13.5. A simple way of accommodating a lengthly scale is to use concentric scales as shown in figure 13.5a. It can be found in some current designs of turbo-engine RPM-indicators. The large pointer rotates against the outer scale to indicate hundreds of RPM and at the same time rotates a smaller pointer against the inner scale indicating thousands of RPM. In the design of figure 13.5b a method is shown which is used in some types of airspeed indicator; the small pointer of figure a is now replaced by a rotating scale, recording hundreds of miles per hour as the pointer rotates through complete revolutions. has been confined The method of presentation of figure 1 3 . 5 ~ mainly to altimeters. Three concentric pointers of different size register against a common scale; the large pointer indicating hundreds, the intermediate pointer thousands and the small pointer tens of thousands of feet. This method of presentation suffers that it takes too long to interprete a reading and it gives rise to too frequent and too serious mis-readings. For that reason modern altimeters no longer use this type of indicator but the digital presentation of figure 13.7b.

13.2.2 Straight scale In addition to circular scale presentation, straight-scale presentation has found limited applications in aircraft, especially in those cases where the problems of grouping and monitoring a large number of engine instruments are concerned. In figure 13.6 the moving- tape display is applied to the measurement of EGT and RPM of a four-turbojet-engine-powered aircraft. Each display unit contains a servo-driven white tape which moves in a vertical plane and registers against a scale being common to all four engines. By scanning across the end of the tapes a much quicker and more accurate evaluation of changes in engine performance can be obtained than from the classical circular scale and pointer display.

13.2.3 Digital display The long-scale problem is most easily solved by using a digital or counter-type of display, where the data is presented by numbers. The counter is driven by a servo mechanism. Generally the instruments operate in combination with a circular display as shown in figure 13.7, as digital displays alone are less suited for checking and tracking instrument readings.

13.3

Visibility The design of the instrument has to be in such a way that the scale is not obscured when observing the instrument at an angle. A standard is laid down which requires that no part of an instrument should be obscured when observed at angles up to 30 degrees from the normal. Another problem is formed by the reading errors caused by parallax. The magnitude of these errors are governed by the angle at which the relevant part of its scale is observed and by the clearance distance between the pointer and the dial plate. The parallax problem can be solved by using instruments with a so-called platform scale as shown in figure 13.8. The main dial plate is raised to the same level as the tip of the pointer.

F i g . 13.5

High-range d i s p l a y s : a ) c o n c e n t r i c s c a l e s , b ) f i x e d and rotating scales, c ) t r i p l e pointer indicator

R.P.M.

480 520

90

Fig. 13.6

Moving-tape

indicators

DYNAMIC COUNTER DISPLAY

DISPLAY

Fig. 13.7

A p p l i c a t i o n of d i g i t a l d i s p l a y s : a ) TGT-meter,

b) a1

ENLARGED SECTION THROUGH A - A

LA
F i g . 13.8 Platform s c a l e

13.4

Illumination When flying an aircraft at night, the illumnination of the instruments has to be in such a way that their readings can be observed accurately without blinding the pilot. For long times the colour of lighting systems has been red because it was believed that this colour had the least effect on the darkness adaptation characteristic of the eyes. Recent investigations, however, have shown that white light has less effect and therefore this colour is now generally used in cockpit lighting. The general illumir.ation of the instrument panel is by a dimable flood light. Individual instruments can be illuminated from the outside by pillar ligthing or from the inside by lamps placed along the rim of the dial. The first system, so called from the method of construction and attachment of the lamp, distributes light through an aperture in the lamp housing as shown in figure 13.9. The shape of the aperture distributes a sector of light which extends downwards over an arc of approximately 90' to a depth slightly less than 2 inches from the mounting point. The cheapest way to realize the internal illumination of the indicators is to distribute a number of five lamps along the rim of the dial. Another way to obtain homogeneous illumination, even with one lamp situated at one side, is to compose the instrument cover glass of two wedge-shaped portions separated by a small airgap as shown in figure 13.10. The light of the lamp passes for a certain amount directly through wedge A onto the face of the dial, while the remainder is reflected back into the wedge by its polished surfaces. The amount of light reflected is governed by the angle at which the ray strikes the reflecting surface; the lower the angle, the more light being reflected. As a result of the wedge-shape the angle at which rays strike the reflecting surfaces continuously changes with distance to the lamp, thus distributing the light evenly across the dial and also limiting the amount of light given off by the instrument. As the light source is a radial one, light rays emerge in all directions. The rays entering the wedge A at low angles progress further down the wedge before they leave and spread light across the entire dial. Light escaping into wedge B is confronted with constantly decreasing angles and this results in a trapping of light within the wedge. At the wide end of the wedge B this light is absorbed by black painting at its outer part.

13.5

Head-up displays In the critical approach and landing phase a pilot has to transfer his attention frequently from the instruments in the cockpit to references outside the aircraft and back again. This requires a constant refocussing of the eyes which is a rather time consuming and fatiguing process.

A way to alliviate these problems is to present the vital flight

data at the same level as the pilot's line of sight when viewing external references, i.e. when he is maintaining a "head-up" position. In figure 13.11 a typical head-up display is shown. The data is displayed on a special cathode ray tube and projected optically as a composite symbolic image onto a semi-transparant reflector plate or directly on the windscreen. The attitude presentation resembles that of a normal gyro horizon, airspeed and altitude are presented by markers against linear horizontal and vertical scales.

13.6

Modern developments The cathode ray tube has not only found application in the head-up display but is also used nowadays to replace
2

lot of the

older mechanical and electro-mechanical display systems on the instrument panel. These so-called head-down displays will be treated in detail in the Avionics manual. Other developments in the presentation of data have been the seven segment display and the dot matrix display. The first type can display digits as shown in figure 13.12, while the second type is suitable for displaying digits as well as letters as shown in figure 13.13. As source of illumination of the bars and dots use can be made of light-emitting diodes (Leds). These diodes consist of small pieces of semi-conducting material which emit light when a voltage is applied to the material. A drawback of this way of illumination is the bad readibility in broad daylight. Better results in this respect are obtained with liquid crystal displays of the reflecting type. The basic structure of an LCD consists of two glass plates, coated on their inner faces with a transparent conductor into the standard display format of seven bars or a 5 by 7 dot matrix. In figure 13.14 the example of the seven segment display

F i g . 13.9

Pillar lighting

DIAL PLATE

/-BLACK

PAINTING

Fig.

13.10

Wedge-type l i g h t i n g

PITCH-AFD-ROLL

DIRECTOR AIRCRAFT DATUM

I HANSVHHtN I

WINDSCREEN

REFLECTOR PLATE

4-

--

C.R. TUBE

-?
DATA INPUT

Fig. 13.11

Head-up display systep

NO. OF SEGMENTS

Fig. 13.12

Seven segment display

Fig. 13.13

Dot matrix display

SEVEN SEGMENT ELECTRODE

LIQUID CRYSTAL LAYER (TYPICAL SPACING = l o MICRONS)

BACK

MENT CONTACTS

MIRROR IMA( (NOT SEGMEN? C U I

COMMON RETURN CONTACT

Y ,

Fig. 13.14

Liquid crystal display

ol(p
INDICATOR INDICATOR

0
TURN & SLIP

Fig. 13.15

B a s i c "T" c o n f i g u r a t i o n

is shown. The space between the plates is filled with a liquid crystal material, referred to as nematic material (nemator = thread) by virtue of its thread-like molecules being oriented with their long axis parallel.. When a voltage is applied between a segment and the common return contact, the molecular order of the liquid-crystal material is disturbed and this changes its optical appearance from transparent to reflective. In this way data can be presented with good visibility even in broed daylight.

13.7

Instrument grouping The instrument panels of modern aircraft contain three groups of instruments which are essential to its operation. The first group consists of instruments which display the "look to the front". They indicate roll and pitch information, altitude, changes in altitude, i.e. the vertical speed and indicated airspeed suppleme~tedwith true airspeed. To the second group, which displays the "look down", belongs the course indicator, supplemented by a radio magnetic indicator which presents radio navigation information. The third group contains the powerplant instruments.

13.7.1 Flight instruments

As a supplier of the vital flight information roll and pitch, the horizon system is placed in front of the pilot. The other instruments of the first group, airspeed indicator and altimeter, are installed respectively to the left and right of the main instrument. They form the horizontal bar of the basic "T" shown in figure 13.15. The course indicator, being the main instrument of the second group with the "look down" is placed right below the horizon system. It forms the vertical leg of the "T". As far as the positions flanking the course indicator are concerned, they are taken by other but less essential flight instruments, and there is a certain degree of freedom in the choice of function. In figure 13.15 for instance, the machmeter and radiomagnetic indicator have taken precedence over a vertical speed indicator and turn-and-bank indicator. Around the instruments of the basic "T" usually border lines are painted which

serve as mental focus lines. They assist the pilot in focussing his attention on and mentally recording the posicion of instruments within groups. The use of the instrument landing system ILS and radio navigation systems made it necessary to replace the horizon system by an attitude direction indicator AD1 and the co-rse indicator by a radiomagnetic horizontal situation indicator HSI. These instruments integrate the indications of the different systems in one instrument. In addition they provide the pilot with steering commands to intercept an ILS localizer and glide slope or to maintain a preselected VOR radial. The operation of AD1 and HSI will be subject of the Avionics manual.

1 3 . 7 . 2 Powerplant instrulnents

The specific grouping of instruments required for the operation of powerplants is governed primarily by the type of powerplant and the size of the aircraft. In a single-engined aircraft the small number of powerplant instruments may flank the flight instruments, thus keeping them within a small scanning range. In multi-engined aircraft, the duplication of the essential instruments causes problems. For twin-engined aircraft the instruments are grouped at the centre of the main instrument panel and between the two groups of flight instruments. In large airliners with a flight engineer's station in the cockpit, all the powerplant instruments are grouped on the control panels of this station. Those instruments measuring parameters which the pilot has to know during take-off, cruising and landing, i.e. RPM, EPR, EGT and fuel flow are duplicated on the center main instrument panel. The positions of the instruments in the powerplant group are arranged in such a way that the instruments relating to each powerplant correspond to the powerplant positions as seen in plan view. Scanning a row of instruments, the crew can easily compare the readings of a given parameter and by scanning a column of instruments they can assess the overall performance pattern of a particular powerplant. A practical example of such a grouping is shown in figure 1 3 . 1 6 for the Boeing 747.

ENGINE PRESSURE RATIO

R.P.M. (N21

EXHAUST GAS TEMPERATURE

FUEL FLOW

Fig. 13.16

Power plant instrument grouping

SYSTEM 1-

ll-y~Js
SYSTEM n

ANNUNCIATOR PANEL

Fig.

13.17

C e n t r a l c a u t i o n and warning system

13.8

Central caution and warning system displays, With the growing number of aircraft spstemsl.and.,the.ir the workload of the crew in monitoring these systems has also grown. A way to reduce this workload somewhat is to work with coloured arcs on the instrument displays; the normal operating range green, the caution range yellow or orange, and the linit of operation red. With the aid of these markings the crew can obtain a rapid impression about the condition of the systems.

A further red~ictionof workload has been obtained by the

introduction of automatic.caution and warning systems. For that purpose each aircreft system is provLded with.an electronic circuit which upon detecting an error in the system lights a small window in which a short notice is engraved. All these w?-ndows are combined in a so-called annunciator panel as shown in figure 13.17. A master warning and caution light in front of the pilot indicate that in one or more of the systems a caution or warning situation has occurred. Having reset the master light and read at the annunciator panel the type of failure, the pilot can take appropriate measures eventually after having consulted the handbooks.

1'4 '-

CONSULTED LITERATURE
. .

1
2 3 -

F.J. Abbink, Vliegtuig Instrumentatie I, Lecture notes, T H Delft, 1982 (in Dutch).
F . J . Abbink, Vliegtuig Instrumentatie II, Lecture notes,

T H Delft, 1983 (in Dutch).

J. Andresen, Fundamentals of aircraft flight and engine

instruments, Hayden Book Comp. Inc., New York, 1970. H. Beek, Instrumenten I t/m VI, Lecture notes, RLS, 1974 (in Dutch). N. Bowditch, hinerican Practical Navigator, U.S. Government Printing Office., Washington, 1966. K.R. Britting, Inertial Navigation Systems Analys'is, WileyInterscience Publ., New York. . W.H. Coulthard, Aircraft Instrument Design, Pitman and Sons, Ltd, London, 1952. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Regulations Part 25 Airworthiness Standards: Transport Category Airplanes, FAA, 1974. Th. Duda and J. gvec, FlugzeuggerHte, Band I, Fluglage und Flugzustand, VEB Verlag, Berlin, 1959 (in German). Th. Duda and J. h e c , FlugzeuggerHte, Band 11, Navigation, VEB Verlag, Berlin, 1961 (in German). Th. Duda and J. gvec, FlugzeuggerHte, Band 111, Triebwerk und Zelle, VEB Verlag, Berlin, 1960 (in German). W. von Fabeck, Kreisel Gerzte, Vogel Verlag, Wiirzburg, 1980 (in German). J.L. Farrell, Integrated Aircraft Navigation, Academic Press, New York, 1976. Fokker, Training Manual Avionics of the F 28, 1982. J.T. France, The measurement of Fuel Flow, AGARDograph No. 160, Vol. 3, 1972. F. Hesse and W. Hesse, Bordinstrumente, Verlag Hesse, Breidenbach, 1977 (in German). ICAO, Aircraft Operations, Doc. 8168-OPS/611/2, 1967. M. Kayton and W.R. Freed, Editors, Avionics Navigation Systems, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1969.

4 5 -

6 7
8 -

9 10 11 12 -

13 1 4 15
16 17 18 -

19 -

KLM, Basis informatie Instrumenten, KLM Technische opleiding,

1971 (in Dutch).

,,,:,:
""

2" ',".-'I

2..

$,,'

.-<.

20

* .:... . .,,

.. :KLM, ,Flight. C e Reference Guide, KLM Flight Operations Division, ,;w . ..' '>" . :_-', , . ., .. .. . . : J: ; " 2 . ' ; , ,, ." . . .. , ,:j. : ',, c . ,,. * : ,$', 1985.
I

$3

.";,:A

21 22 -

M.M. .Kurit&y,and
,

M.S. Goldstein, Inertial Navigation, Proc. IEEE,

.

Vol. 71, No. . 1 0 ,. Oct. 1983, p. 1156-1176. , .

L .

J.G. v/d Linden and H.A. Mensink, Linear and Angular Position Measurement of Aircraft Components, AGARDograph No. 160, Volume 6 , 1977.

23 24 25 -

I. McLaren, Open and Closed Loop Accelerometers, AGARDograph,

No 160, Vol 6 , 1974. J. Nicolaes, .Instrumenten, Lecture notes, HTS Haarlem (in Dutch) .-.. ../ , C.F. ~ ' ~ o n n e i i , Inertial Navigation, Journal of the Franklin Institute, Vol 266, No 4, Oct. 1958, p. 257-278 and Vol 266, No 5 , Nov. 1958, p. 373-402.

26 -.

E.H.I. Pallet, Aircraft Instruments, Pitman Publishing Ltd., ,. London, 1981. G.T. Schmidt, Strap-down Inertial Systems, AGARD Lecture Series No 95, 1978.
H.

27
28 29 -

Sorg, Editor, Advances in Inertial Navigation Systems and

Components, AGARDograph No 254, 1981. The Singer Company, Technical Information for the Engineer; Gyros, Platforms, Accelerometers, Second Edition, November 1967.

30
31 32 33 -

F. Trenkle and M. Reinhardt, In-Flight Temperature Measurements, AGARDograph No 160, Vol. 2, 1973. M. Vedrunes, The Measurement of Engine Rotation Speed, AGARDograph No. 160, Vol. 4, 1973. W. Wuest, Pressure and Flow Measurement, AGARDograph No 160, Vol. 11, 1980. M. Walker, Some limitations of inertial navigators, Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal, Vol. 21, No. 8 , Oct. 1975, p. 287-301.

34 -

H. Wittenberg, Prestatieleer van vliegtuigen deel 11, Lecture

notes, T H Delft, 1971 (in Dutch).