Plant Model-Based Fault Detection during Aircraft Takeoff Using Non-Deterministic Finite-State Automata

In this note, the application of a plant model-based fault detection method for nonlinear control systems on aircraft takeoff is introduced. This method utilizes non-deterministic finite-state automata, which approximate the fault-free dynamics of the plant. The aforementioned automaton is computed in a preliminary step while during evolution of the plant the automaton is continually evaluated to detect discrepancies between the actual and the nominal dynamics. In this way the fault detection module itself can be implemented on simpler hardware on board of the plant. Moreover, an implementation technique is presented that allows the use of the proposed fault detection method when the plant dynamics is given only by means of a graphical programming script. The great potential and practicality of the used method are demonstrated on a simulated takeoff manoeuvre of a battery-electrically driven aircraft.