Airbus Develops Fuel Management System for the A380 Using Model-Based Design

Challenge

Develop a controller for the Airbus A380 fuel management system

Solution

Use MATLAB, Simulink, and Stateflow for Model-Based Design to model and simulate the control logic, communicate the functional specification, and accelerate the development of simulators

Results

消除了几个月的发展时间
整个开发过程中都重复了
Additional complexity handled without staff increases

“基于模型的设计为我们提供了对系统功能设计的高级可见性。我们还比以前可能完成的要求验证，并模拟了多个同时组件故障，因此我们知道会发生什么，并有信心控制逻辑可以管理它。”
Christopher Slack, Airbus

The Airbus A380.

空中客车A380是目前正在运行的最大商用飞机，范围超过8,000英里。为了实现如此长的不间断航班，A380的11燃油箱的容量为250公吨（320,000升）。

A380的复杂燃油管理系统处理地面上的加油和防御操作，以及机载时燃油流向发动机和坦克之间。该系统可以在水箱之间移动燃料，以优化飞机的重心，减少机翼弯曲，并将燃料保持在可接受的温度范围内。

Airbus engineers used Simulink^®和状态流^®to develop a model of the fuel management system that was reused throughout the project. “With Model-Based Design, the model we used to represent the functional specification enabled us to validate requirements months earlier than was previously possible,” says Christopher Slack, computational analysis expert in fuel systems at Airbus.

Challenge

The A380’s fuel management system must be able to safely handle any failure in the system’s 21 pumps, 43 valves, and other mechanical components. In a complex system, it’s challenging for engineers at the requirements stage to predict problems that can result from combinations of relatively minor failures.

A380的前身A340的燃油系统规范文件具有1000多个书面要求。“文本要求可能会为歧义和误解留出空间。当您有很多要求时，任何人都很难理解它们之间的所有可能交互，例如，第20页上的要求与第340页的要求发生冲突。” Slack说。

Solution

Airbus used Model-Based Design to model the A380’s fuel management system, validate requirements through simulation, and clearly communicate the functional specification.

空中客车工程师使用Simulink和stat金宝appeFlow对系统的控制逻辑进行建模，该逻辑包括45个顶级图表，近6000个州和8700多个过渡。该模型定义了地面上的操作模式（包括加油，防御和地面转移）和飞行（包括普通发动机饲料，重心控制中心，减轻负载和燃油抛弃）。

The functionality within each top-level mode is grouped into subcharts, enabling engineers to work independently on individual components in the hierarchy.

The team developed a parameterized plant model of the tanks, pumps, valves, and electrical components using Simulink. Engineers can set parameter values to configure this model to represent fuel systems for any Airbus aircraft.

在Simulink中对单个操作组件进行了闭环模拟后，该团队将它们集成到了系统级仿真的完整模型中。金宝app

使用Parallel Computing Toolbox™和MATLAB Parallel Server™，该团队在50工厂的计算集群上执行了Monte Carlo模拟。在一个周末，他们可以在各种环境条件和飞机操作场景下运行100,000架模拟航班。

The team created a desktop simulator by generating code from the plant and control logic models with Simulink Coder™. A MATLAB^®based user interface enables suppliers, airline customers, maintenance engineers, and other Airbus teams to visualize how the fuel management system works and interacts with other aircraft systems.

该团队还使用Simulink型号开发了硬件（H金宝appIL）测试，并在可用的真实硬件之前委托其HIL测试钻机。

在成功进行了A380的飞行测试之后，该团队使用系统标识工具箱™使用测量的飞行测试数据来调整其工厂模型。他们使用Signal Processing Toolbox™来消除测试数据中的噪声，并曲线拟合工具箱™评估测量数据和预测结果之间的差异，并预测超出常规飞行包络的系统性能。在完善植物模型的同时，他们使用SIMSCAPE Electrical™结合了电力系统的继电器和其他元素。

基于为A380实施基于模型的设计的成功，空中客车工程师现在正在使用这种方法来开发空中客车A350XWB的燃油管理系统，从而将该飞机的开发时间减少了一年。

Results

消除了几个月的发展时间. “On earlier projects, it took up to nine months to integrate our fuel system design with the simulated cockpit, or iron bird. Using Model-Based Design on the A380, it took less than a month,” says Slack. “Similarly, by reusing the model to commission the HIL rig, we saved three months of development and shortened the time from initial concept to first flight.”
整个开发过程中都重复了. “The Simulink and Stateflow models enabled us to validate requirements early and communicate the functional specification to our suppliers, complementing the written requirements in conformance with ARP 4754,” says Slack. “These models were reused to create desktop simulators, commission our HIL test rig, run on our virtual integration bench, and demonstrate system functionality to customers.”
Additional complexity handled without staff increases. “The fuel system of the A380 is three to four times more complex than that of the A340,” notes Slack. “Model-Based Design enabled us to handle a substantially more complex project with the same size engineering team.”

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