Ryerson University Department of Aerospace Engineering

AER715 – Avionics and Systems

Quiz #2 – Fall 2017

Date: November 15, 2017

Time Allowed – 50 mins

Instructions:

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1. Closed book.
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2. Maximum mark is 25 - mark breakdown noted in [ ] at left.
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3. Calculators allowed, but no other computing devices.
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4. Use back of page if the provided space is not enough.

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5. Return all pages of the test paper.

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Name: ____________________ Student Number: ________________

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Question Number Mark

#1 (10)
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#2 (6)

#3 (9)

TOTAL (25)

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 Ryerson University Department of Aerospace Engineering

[10] 1. Answer briefly the following questions:

[3] (a) The following figure shows a Fly-by-Wire actuator, which achieves interface
with the actuator by means of an Actuator Control Electronics (ACE).

1) Briefly describe the functions of the ACE [2]

- digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital and data bus interfaces

- signal to the PCU which moves the actuator ram in accordance with
the control demand and provide closed loop actuator control

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- interfaces to the solenoid valve with a command to energize the

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solenoid valves to allow the hydraulic system to supply the actuator

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2) What is the function of the LVDT? [1]
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LVDT provides measures the ram position of the actuator
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[2] (b) The following figure illustrates a mechanical screwjack actuator in aircraft
flight control systems.
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Briefly describe the functions of

1) the gearbox
Boost torque while reduce the motor speed.
2) the feedback link
Feed back the ram position to the summing link to implement feedback control of
the ram position.
[2] (c) Draw a block diagram of a pitch rate damper system for stability augmentation.

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 Ryerson University Department of Aerospace Engineering

[1] (d) State four methods by which avionics equipment can be cooled using
conditioning air.

1. Cooling by convected air blown over the outside walls of the equipment boxes.
(External air wash.)
2. Air blown through the boxes and over the printed circuit boards. (Directly force air.)
3. Air blown through a cold wall heat exchanger inside the box. (Indirect forced air.)
4. Fans installed in the box to draw a supply of cooling air from the box surroundings.

[1] (e) What are the two heat sinks used for airborne aircraft cooling?

Ram air and fuel

[1] (f) What are the disadvantages of ram air cooling?

- It increases the aircraft drag because the resistance of the scoop, pipework and the heat
exchanger matrix slows down the ram airflow.
- The ram air temperature increases with airspeed and soon exceeds the temperature
required for cabin and equipment conditioning’
- Ram air is also a source of heating itself (kinetic heating)

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- At high altitude the density becomes very low, reducing the ram air mass flow and hence
its cooling capacity.
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- When conditioning is required for systems which require cooling on the ground, ram air
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cooling alone is unsuitable.
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[6] 2. An avionics equipment is designed to operate in an environment with a maximum

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ambient temperature of 70 °C and is mounted in an equipment bay of an airplane.

[4] (a) Assume sea level and the maximum atmosphere temperature of 40 °C. Does
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the avionics equipment need air conditioning in order to operate normally when the
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airplane flies at Mach 0.85? Justify your answer with proper estimates.
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[2] (b) Up to what aircraft cruising Mach number the avionics equipment can work
normally in an unconditioned equipment bay?
Note: °K = °C + 273.19
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(a)
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(b)
(40+273.19)(1+0.18M*M)=70+273.19
M=0.73

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 Ryerson University Department of Aerospace Engineering

[9] 3. A simplified flight control system is shown below, which uses triple redundant
A629 data buses. There are two ACEs. Each ACE has a single interface with each of the
A629 flight control data buses, and can control all the PCU valves independently. Consider
only the subsystems and components with the reliability data provided in the table.

Component Failure
/Subsystem Rate
(per hour)
ARINC629 1.0x10-5
Data Bus
ACE 1.0x10-7
PCU 1.0x10-14
including all
valves

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[6] (a) Formulate a fault tree to analyze the probability of loss of actuation of

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the given simplified flight control system.

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[3] (b) Calculate the probability of loss of actuation using the fault tree.
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