Aircraft Vehicle Systems Modeling and Simulation under Uncertainty

Abstract: In aircraft development, it is crucial to understand and evaluate behavior, performance, safety and other aspects of the systems before and after they are physically available for testing. Simulation models are used to gain knowledge in order to make decisions at all development stages.Modeling and simulation (M&S) in aircraft system development, for example of fuel, hydraulic and electrical power systems, is today an important part of the design process. Through M&S a problem in a function or system is found early on in the process.An increasing part of the end system verification relies on results from simulation models rather than expensive testing in flight tests. Consequently, the need for integrated models of complex systems, and their validation, is increasing. Not only one model is needed, but several interacting models with known accuracies and validity ranges are required. The development of computer performance and modeling and simulation tools has enabled large-scale simulation.This thesis includes four papers related to these topics. The first paper describes a modeling technique, hosted simulation, how to simulate a complete system with models from different tools, e.g. control software from one tool and the equipment model from another. The second paper describes the use of M&S in the development of an aircraft. The third and fourth papers describe how to increase knowledge of the model’s validity by sensitivity analysis and the uncertainty sources.In papers one and three an unmanned aerial vehicle is used as an example and in paper four a pressure regulator is the application.