AAE Colloquium: Dr. Robert Bitmead
Event Date: | October 11, 2018 |
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Hosted By: | AAE |
Time: | 3:00pm |
Location: | ME 1061 |
Priority: | Yes |
School or Program: | Aeronautics and Astronautics |
College Calendar: | Hide |
AirCraft Engine Certification: The Role of Theory in Practice
Dr. Robert Bitmead
Cymer Corporation Endowed Chair
Mechanical & Space Engineering
University of California, San Diego
Abstract
The Joint Strike Fighter engine controller is a fully multi-input multi-output design with nine output signals and five inputs, fully coupled. The certification of the engine-controller pair required the development and application of tools from multivariable robust control. The result was an accepted certification procedure which was applied to the controlled first engines in a test-stand prior to their use in flight. This development process will be described without too much math – just the good stuff – in this presentation but with the real focus being on what is the role of control theory in practice and on how do the practical requirements influence the development of theory. That is, what drives new theory. For the speaker, who considers himself a theoretician, this certification problem’s dance between theory and practice provided a head-slapping realization. Hopefully, the audience will be driven to slap their own heads too.
Bio