Safety Critical Systems & Systems Engineering Department
EFCS Rig
This test bench is used to investigate the behaviour of electromechanical flight control actuators with artificially introduced damage. The recorded measurement values are used for the validation of highly accurate actuator models and condition monitoring procedures.
The department Safety Critical Systems & Systems Engineering focuses on design processes and methods, concepts and technologies for a safe control of aircraft. By providing appropriate design and evaluation methods, flight control architectures and technologies including control and monitoring concepts, safe, functional, and, in terms of the overall aircraft, optimal control concepts and systems are provided.
Our research focuses on the development of safe flight control and computing systems, realized with advanced design methods. This enables us to foster the development of innovative systems and components across all areas of functional safety, for example with regard to climate-friendly propulsion systems.
The department’s goal is to create technological building blocks and powerful methods that enable the safe and reliable implementation of new functions such as active flutter suppression and autonomous flight. At the same time, we support the transition to environmentally friendly propulsion technologies while maintaining the highest safety standards. The design process of future aircraft systems is increasingly automated by our methods and supported by modern artificial intelligence techniques to achieve safe and efficient solutions quickly.
For early testing and effective verification, the department develops virtual integration environments. In addition, we design methods for the early detection of damage to prevent failures of safety-critical components, as well as procedures for the rapid diagnosis of complex damage cases. Our research is supported by the intensive use of state-of-the-art laboratory infrastructure, which ensures a scientifically sound validation of the results.
In contrast to aircraft and non-geostationary satellites, high-altitude platforms should be permanently deployable at any location and can be used for many tasks in the field of Earth observation. These include the monitoring of shipping routes, reconnaissance in the event of flooding events and forest fires or the monitoring of ice surfaces.
