Aerospace Sensor Systems And Applications

Aerospace Sensor Systems and Applications

This book is about aerospace sensors, their principles of operation, and their typical advantages, shortcomings, and vulnerabilities. They are described in the framework of the subsystems where they function and in accordance with the flight mission they are designed to serve. The book is intended for students at the advanced undergraduate or graduate level and for research engineers who need to acquire this kind of knowledge. An effort has been made to explain, within a uniform framework of mathematical modeling, the physics upon which a certain sensor concept is based, its construction, its dynamics, and its error sources and their corresponding mathematical models. Equipped with such knowledge and understanding, the student or research engineer should be able to get involved in research and development activities of guidance, control, and navigation systems and to contribute to the initiation of novel ideas in the aerospace sensor field. As a designer and systems engineer, he should be able to correctly interpret the various items in a technical data list and thus to interact intelligently with manufacturers' representatives and other members of an R&D team. Much of the text has evolved from undergraduate and graduate courses given by the author during the past seventeen years at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology and from his earlier research and development experience in flight control, guidance, navigation, and avionics at the Ministry of Defense Central Research Institute.

Aerospace Sensor Systems and Applications

Aerospace Sensors

Modern air and space craft demand a huge variety of sensing elements for detecting and controlling their behavior and operation. These sensors often differ significantly from those designed for applications in automobile, ship, railway, and other forms of transportation, and those used in industrial, chemical, medical, and other areas. This book offers insight into an appropriate selection of these sensors and describes their principles of operation, design, and achievable performance along with particulars of their construction. Drawn from the activities of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), especially its Aerospace Technical Committee, the book provides details on the majority of sensors for aircraft and many for spacecraft, satellites, and space probes. It is written by an international team of twelve authors representing four countries from Eastern and Western Europe and North America, all with considerable experience in aerospace sensor and systems design. Highlights include: • coverage of aerospace vehicle classification, specific design criteria, and the requirements of onboard systems and sensors; • reviews of airborne flight parameter sensors, weather sensors and collision avoidance devices; • discussions on the important role of inertial navigation systems (INS) and separate gyroscopic sensors for aerospace vehicle navigation and motion control; • descriptions of engine parameter information collection systems, including fuel quantity and consumption sensors, pressure pick-ups, tachometers, vibration control, and temperature sensors; and • descriptions and examples of sensor integration.