Large Crowd Surveillance UAV International Aircraft Design Team - Spring 2008
International Design Team Aircraft Design projects since 1997 Virginia Tech and Loughborough University International collaboration Communication: Video Conferences E-mail Project Management Websites MSN, Skype Various Competition wins and awards from NASA General Aviation Design competitions.
Requirements RELIABILITY “1 or fewer uncontrolled crashes per 100,000 hrs of operation” Cruise Speed: 50 knots MTOGW: 300 lb Top Speed: 70 knots Payload: 45 lb desired Range: 15 nautical miles Noise Levels: < 50 dBA at 200 ft Endurance: 8 hours (minimum) 10 knot crosswind landing capability Service Ceiling: 10,000 ft (half fuel) Conventional landing within a 50 ft by 250 ft Operational Altitude: 2000 - 3000 ft Minimum Turn Rate: 6 degrees/sec Climb Rate: 200 ft/min (sea level)
Importance of Reliability Airworthiness and Safety of Flight Is it safe to fly overhead in large crowd situations ? Is it expendable? Is it capable of performing to specifications? Acceptance UAV restrictions due partly to unreliable systems Key to winning confidence of FAA to regulate UAV flight Lower long-term costs of UAVs Increased availability of UAVs for missions
Definition of Reliability Reliability according to the DoD “The ability of a system to perform its mission without failure, degradation, or demand on the support system.” Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) Period of time a repairable system/component will perform between failures Mean Time To Failure (MTTF) Same as MTBF, but for non-repairable systems What is aircraft failure? Failure to return to base
Current UAV Reliability F-16 (Manned) Mishap Rate: 3.5 per 100,000 hours
Improving Reliability Methods Redundant Systems Backup Systems Scheduled Maintenance Diversification Implications Cost Weight Increase in maintenance responsibilities http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-155.html RQ-5/MQ-5 Hunter http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/predator/predator6.html MQ-9 Predator
Main Failure Modes 1 1
Summary of Key Reliability Issues Engine/Propulsive Failure Control/Communication Failure Structural Failure Human (Ground Crew) Error Methodology Used -Propulsion/Autopilot – Fault Tree Analysis -Structure – Joint Probability Distribution Function (PDF)
Fault Tree Analysis
Structural Reliability