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Procedia
Engineering
Procedia Engineering
Procedia 00 (2011)
Engineering 000–000
15 (2011) 2533 – 2537
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

Advanced in Control Engineering and Information Science

Simulation and Fault Detection for Aircraft IDG System

Tao JING, Chengyu YANG, Yaowen Yang, Xudong SHI a*
a
Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin, 300300, China

Abstract

The research of the simulation and fault detection for Aircraft Integrated Drive Generators (IDG) is shown in the
paper, the working principle of IDG is analyzed in detail and the simulation system is established in Matlab. The
method of Short-Time-Fourier Transforms (STFT) is used for the aircraft IDG fault detection by checking the aircraft
IDG voltage-output swing.

© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.

Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of [CEIS 2011]
Keyword: Aircraft IDG; Simulation system; STFT; fault detection system

1. Established Simulation model of the aircraft main power

With the great development of aviation industry, the aircraft’s flight speed, altitude, range and other
properties were greatly improved. With the increasing of electronic equipment on the aircraft and power
consumption, the structure and controlling of aircraft power system become more and more complex.
Therefore, the reliability and operating efficiency of aircraft IDG systems become more and more
important, the increasingly optimized solutions and fault detection for aircraft is necessary. However, the
present test method for IDG system often has to spend lots of manpower, material and time. The aircraft
IDG systems will be simulated while an aircraft electrical loads changes in various stations with computer
is effective and convenient, and the model of IDG system will be established based on actual working
conditions.

* Xudong SHI. Tel.: +86-022-24092617.

E-mail address: jingtao100000@yahoo.com.cn.

1877-7058 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2011.08.476
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1.1. Modeling and Analysis

Aircraft power system is a special type of independent power supply system, its power generation
capacity of the system close to capacity of electrical equipment, so some analysis of power systems for
aircraft power systems are not fully applicable.
With three-stage of an aircraft alternator structure, which by the pilot exciter, exciter and main
generator components. Main generator is a rotating pole synchronous generator; AC exciter is a rotating
armature synchronous generator; Pilot exciter is a rotating pole type permanent magnet synchronous
generator. AC exciter is equipped with a rotating rectifier. The main generator’s field winding power
supply is the DC supply rectified the AC supply generated by the exciter armature; Figure.1 shows the
block diagram of main generator:

Fig. 1 Block diagram of main generator

1.2. Modeling based on Matlab

Based on the above analysis, we can get the three-stage generators simulation model in Matlab, is
shown as Figure.2:

Fig. 2 Simulation model of main generator

Where: N is the figure for the three brushless AC synchronous generator input speed. The relationship
between n and ωs is: ωs=2πn/60. Pilot exciter output three-phase power is rectified and then after the first
modulated, to the AC exciter field winding.

1.3. Aircraft IDG fault detection

The aircraft power supply systems will be affected by climate, mechanical, chemical and
electromagnetic environmental as multiple factors that caused the fault of IDG, which are as follows:
• CSD fault will mainly lead to electrical power signal frequency sustained deviation from the 400HZ.
The fault of hydraulic pump-hydraulic motor mounted system within CSD, which caused by oil
pressure or temperature anomalies and some mechanical failure.
• The harmonic current in the AC exciter armature will produce harmonics armature reaction magnetic
field. It will lead to additional losses in the core, while field winding in the exciter will induce
harmonic electromotive force.
• The most common failure is the excitation device failure as the main fault in the aircraft generator.
Excitation device failure was mainly caused by rotating rectifier short circuit (open circuit).
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This system is mainly for power generation during short circuit (or open circuit) fault analysis. As the
synchronous motor by a number of the winding magnetic coupling relationship composition and there is a
relative motion between the rotor winding and stator winding, the synchronous motor suddenly short
circuit (open circuit) of the transient process is a complex process.

2. The method of Aircraft IDG fault detection based on STFT

2.1. Fault signal acquisition and detection system architecture

According to HB6448-1990, the requirements of digital test method with performance parameters of
power supply system (voltage sampling frequency is not less than 20KHZ, the current sampling
frequency is not less than 6.67KHz), the experimental system is built. The system has been controlled
either with an Industrial Personal Computer via a data acquisition system AgilentU1071A when the
arbitrary waveform generators ZTC530 send incident signal to the aircraft cable.
Detection system structure diagram is shown as Figure.3:

Fig. 3 Block diagram of Detection system

2.2. Fault detection method for analysis and testing process

The method of Short-Time-Fourier Transforms (STFT) is used for the aircraft IDG fault detection. The
STFT method is used for the following signal simulation analyzing: abnormal baseband voltage signal,
abnormal voltage with harmonic signal and an abnormal voltage signal caused by two different faults.
Compare with wavelet transformation, the result of fault detection shows that STFT method is better
suitable for detecting the abnormal voltage. Specific detection process is shown as Figure.4.

Fig. 4 Block diagram of the method based on STFT

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2.3. Fault detection method for analysis and testing process

Define x as the original signal, the time-frequency transformation is:

+∞
S ( jω ) = ∫ S (t )e− jωt dt (1)
−∞

Define D°(t ) and F°(t ) as interference signal and baseband signal of the original signal. The signal
separation as follow:
+∞
S ( jω ) = ∫ S (t )e− jωt dt
−∞ (2)
The original signal baseband signal processing by STFT:
+∞ ~
F ~ (t , f ) = ∫ F (u ) g * (u − t )e − j 2π fu du (3)
STFT F −∞

The most common types of fault signal processing results is shown as Figure.5:

(a) Overvoltage Fault (b) Undervoltage

(c) Underfrequency Fault (d) Over-frequency Fault

Fig. 5 Fault signal processing results
STFT is used for identify clear reasons for its failure, the voltage without prolonged abnormal situation
is found, and then calculated the interference signal D °(t ) for STFT:
+∞ ~
D ~ (t , f ) = ∫ D(u ) g * (u − t )e− j 2π fu du
STFT D 0
(4)
Get the voltage amplitude curve of the Interference signal. Then observe the time domain amplitude
curve of the original signal formula:
T
t0 +
ES = ∫ T
2
S (t )dt
t0 −
2 (5)
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Procedia 2533 – 2537 00 (2011) 000–000 2537

Define the period with the largest ES as power quality index period T0. Then calculate the value of PE
and PNE, which means the ratio of transient distortion power and the normalized ratio of instantaneous
electrical power distortion. Finally calculate the functional relationship between PE and PNE:
1
⎡ T0 D 2 ⎤2
∫0
PE = ⎢⎢ T0 STFT D
~ (t ) dt
⎥ × 100% (6)
⎥
⎢⎣ ∫0
2
F ~ (t )dt ⎥⎦
STFT D
1
⎡ T0
⎤2
⎢
PNE = ⎢ T0
∫0
D2 ~ (t ) dt
STFT D ⎥ × 100% (7)
T0 ⎥
⎣⎢ ∫0 ∫0 F STFT D~ (t )dt ⎦⎥
2 2
D ~ (t ) dt +
STFT D

PE2 (8)
PNE 2 =
1 + PE2
The calculations indicate that as the value of PE gets smaller, the value of PNE and PE will slowly get
closer. The similarity coefficient of the value of PNE and PE A ( A = PE − PNE ) is defined, which is the
instantaneous mass index of the electrical power, means the higher quality of the electrical power as the
value of A is smaller.

3. Conclusions

The simulation of the system is completely established according to the real working principle and
structure of aircraft IDG. The model of various faults is effective and simulated in the actual operation;
the method of STFT is used for fault detection part, which can effectively locate and analyze the
abnormal voltage and the reasons for abnormal voltage. The system also can calculate the quality of the
IDG power in case of no obvious fault on IDG.

References

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