Advanced Electrical Signature Analysis of Aircraft Electrical Generators

Document Number: 2009-01-3162

Date Published: November 2009

Author(s):
Freeman Rufus - Global Technology Connection Inc.
Seungkoo Lee - Global Technology Connection Inc
Ash Thakker - Global Technology Connection Inc.
Nathan Kumbar - Naval Air Systems Command
Sean Field - Naval Air Systems Command

Abstract:
The electrical and mechanical failures (such as bearing and winding failures) combine to cause premature failures of the generators, which become a flight safety issue forcing the crew to land as soon as practical. Currently, diagnostic/prognostic technologies are not implemented for aircraft generators where repairs are time-consuming and its costs are high. This paper presents the development of feature extraction and diagnostic algorithms to ultimately 1) differentiate between these failure modes and normal aircraft operational modes; and 2) determine the degree of damage of a generator. Electrical signature analysis-based features were developed to distinguish between healthy and degraded generators while taking into account their operating conditions. The diagnostic algorithms were developed to have a high fault/high-hour detection rate along with a low false alarm rate. The feature extraction and diagnostic algorithms were evaluated against P-3 generator data (phase voltages/currents) collected at various loads and operating line frequencies for healthy, low-hour and high-hour generators. The results show that the electrical signature analysis of the generator's phase voltage(s) can be used to detect and track its health.

File Size: 3461K
Product Status: In Stock

See other papers presented at SAE 2009 AeroTech Congress & Exhibition, November 2009, Seattle, WA, USA, Session: Power Systems - Prognostics & Health Management (Part 1 of 2)

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