Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

The modern aircraft is an extremely complex machine comprised of many systems. These systems include propulsion, engine management, flight management, flight control, navigation, life support and flight data recorders to name a few. The safe and reliable operation of all these systems is required to conduct a single flight. The modern avionics engineer requires an understanding of all these systems and how they operate on modern civil and military aircraft. This is a core unit that provides the basis of aircraft design and simulation. It is also the foundation material for the flight control and navigation units that follow.

Aims

The aim of this unit is to develop your foundational skills in designing aircraft, and more specifically aircraft control systems. It introduces you to all the key components/frameworks of control and navigation for aerospace dynamic analysis and stability.

Objectives

On completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. Analyse and solve aircraft stability and control problems.
2. Solve problems related to classical control theory
3. Understand some of the practical aspects of PID compensators
4. Demonstrate skills in technical writing based on inter/national standards appropriate to the aircraft control systems design
5. Communicate and present ideas and specialised information effectively with aerospace professionals and co-workers, both informally and formally in a variety of formats

Content

The unit has six weeks on theory and introduction to flight control systems followed by six weeks of classical control theory

• Review of flight control surfaces.


• The six-degrees-of-freedom model. Euler angles and translational and rotational transformations. Concepts of measured variables - pitch, rollyaw, velocity vectors, angle of attack. Control input variables - rudder, elevator, ailerons, canards.


• Longitudinal and lateral modes of behaviour. Short period and phugoid oscillations, spiral divergence, Dutch roll. The development of the static and dynamic behaviour of flying vehicles in terms of transfer functions (but not state-space).


• History and overview of automatic control systems. Terminology and definitions. Typical non-linearities and their sources. Introductory concepts of open- and closed-loop systems.


• Rapid review of ordinary linear differential equations and Laplace Transforms. Transfer functions, block-diagram representations of linear systems and block diagram reduction.


• Open- and closed-loop control systems; parameter sensitivity and transient response. Disturbance signals and feedback system steady-state and transient errors.


• Time-domain performance specifications. The s-plane root location and the relation to transient response for first, second and higher order systems.


• Concepts of stability, relative stability. The Nyquist stability criterion and Nyquist plots. Resonance and stability analysis including the use of s-plane methods, gain and phase margins, Bode diagrams, Routh-Hurwitz criteria, Nichols charts and Root-Locus. Frequency response measurements. Performance specification.


• Basic principles and approaches of compensation. Series and feedback compensation. Compensation design using s-plane, Bode diagram. Lead/Lag networks, PID controllers. Time domain design.


• Introduction to Digital Simulation and Control

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

Teaching Mode: Hours per week: 6
Lecture: 4
Tutorials/Mentoring Sessions: 2
Self studying: 2-3 hours.

Learning Approaches:
This is a highly technical unit and an emphasis will be put on the solution of technical problems and the knowledge required to solve these problems. Simulation techniques will be taught where applicable, particularly using MATLAB. The lectures will be based on industry practice and experience and these will be underpinned by demonstrations, reading and the application of knowledge to solving problems. Tutorial sessions will involve individual questioning as well as group work and student-centred learning rather than guided problem solving, with feedback coming from the whole group. This will enhance the group nature of systems design.

Assessment

Assessment consists of problem solving exercises, a lab with a written report and a final exam.You will receive peer and teacher verbal feedback on individual as well as group progress during tutorials and lectures throughout the semester as well as written feedback on problems.

Assessment name: Final Examination
Description: 2 hour written examination with questions based on knowledge of materials covered in lectures. Application of problem identification and problem solving.
Relates to objectives: 1 - 5.
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Examination period.

Assessment name: Problem Solving Task
Description: To get practical experience in the design and implementation of a stability analysiys of an aircraft flight control system.
Relates to objectives: 1 - 5.
Weight: 22%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: Week 5

Assessment name: Laboratory/Practical
Description: A PID Compensators Prac followed by a written report.
Relates to objectives: 1 - 5.
Weight: 15%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 8

Assessment name: Problem Solving Task
Description: A prolem soving task to get practical experience in the design and implementation of a stability analysiys of an aircraft flight control system
Relates to objectives: 1-5
Weight: 13%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: Week 8

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Control Systems:

1. Ogata, K, 'Modern Control Engineering', (2001) 4th Edition, Prentice Hall
2. Dorf, R C, Bishop, R.H. 'Modern Control Systems', Addison Wesley, (2001)
3. Kuo, B C, Golnaragh, F., 'Automatic Control Systems', Prentice Hall, (2003)


Aircraft Systems and Flight Control:

1. Etkin, B, Reid, L D, 'Dynamics of Flight', 3rd Ed, Wiley, (1996)
2. Nelson, R. C. 'Flight stability and automatic control' McGraw-Hill, (1989)
3. McCormick, B W, 'Aerodynamics, Aeronautics & Flight Dynamics', 2nd Edition, Wiley, (1995)


This will be supplemented by conference material, journals and relevant websites.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.

You will undertake lectures in the traditional classrooms and lecture theatres. As such, there are no extraordinary workplace health and safety issues associated with these components of the unit.

The unit will require you to work in the laboratories at QUT and you will be required to perform the safety inductions for these laboratories. You are also to be aware of the Health and Safety protocols associated with laboratory work.

Academic Integrity Statement:
You are expected to display complete integrity in all your academic work. In particular, activities such as plagiarism and cheating or any activity designed to defeat the purposes of assessment are breaches of academic integrity. There are other actions or practices which undermine fairness in assessment, such as recycling an item of assessment from one unit or course and using it in another, fabricating or falsifying data, experimental results or sources of information, collaborating with another student about assessable work and representing that as individual work when this has not been contemplated by unit outlines or assessment requirements. QUT's policy on academic dishonesty is at Student Rule 29 ().
Details of university definitions of cheating and plagiarism and range of penalties will be provided in the documentation you receive in Week 1.

Additional Costs
Minor costs of copying and presentation materials.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 24-Oct-2012