Automated Model Evaluation and Verification of Aircraft Components 2010-01-1806

The trend of moving towards model-based design and analysis of new and upgraded aircraft platforms requires integrated component and subsystem models. To support integrated system trades and design studies, these models must satisfy modeling and performance guidelines regarding interfaces, implementation, verification, and validation. As part of the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Integrated Vehicle and Energy Technology (INVENT) Program, standardized modeling and performance guidelines have been established and documented in the Modeling Requirement and Implementation Plan (MRIP). Although these guidelines address interfaces and suggested implementation approaches, system integration challenges remain with respect to computational stability and predicted performance over the entire operating region for a given component.

This paper discusses standardized model evaluation tools aimed to address these challenges at a component/subsystem level prior to system integration. These tools are analogous to component hardware acceptance testing, allow impartial and qualitative assessment of component models, and assist in determining if a component model could be successfully integrated in a subsystem- or platform-wide simulation. Further, the results provide an impartial comparison between similar components of different suppliers.

Within INVENT, model evaluation tools have been developed for the high-performance electromechanical actuator system (HPEAS) and the robust electrical power system (REPS). The evaluation tools have been implemented in Matlab/Simulink. The tools provide a straightforward approach for engineers with minimal simulation experience to run, evaluate, and compare models. In this paper, the general approach to the development of these tools is described. Implementation details such as capabilities and underlying algorithms are discussed and example results for representative models are presented. The intent of the paper is to provide the reader with an exposure to standardized model evaluation and to provide an approach or path to setup and execute such evaluations for any component and subsystem model.