Aventech AIMMS-20 User manual

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Rev: 1.00

Date: 11.22.2013

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AIMMS-20

OPERATING MANUAL

Document-P/N: AIMMS20-OM

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AIMMS-20

Aircraft Integrated Meteorological

Measurement System

OPERATING MANUAL

Document-P/N: AIMMS20-OM

Aventech Research Inc.

110 Anne Street South, Unit 23

Barrie, Ontario, Canada L4N 2E3

Tel: (705) 722-4288

Fax: (705) 722-9077

Web: www.aventech.com

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Issued

Date Name Signature Function

21.11.2013 Bruce H. Woodcock DE

Checked

Date Name Signature Function

22.11.2013 Bruce H. Woodcock DE

Approved

Date Name Signature Function

22.11.2013 Bruce H. Woodcock HD

Customer Approval (as required)

Date Name Signature Function

Table of Functions

CUST Customer

DE Design Engineer

HD Head of Design Engineering

PM Production Manager

QM Quality Manager

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NOTICES

WARRANTY

Aventech Research Inc. products are warranted to be free from defects in material and

workmanship under normal use and service for a period of one year beginning on the

date of shipment. This warranty extends only to the original buyer or end-user customer

of an Aventech Research Inc. authorized reseller. This warranty does not apply to any

product which, in Aventech Research Inc’s opinion, has been misused, altered,

neglected, contaminated, or damaged by accident or abnormal conditions of operation

or handling.

Aventech Research Inc’s warranty obligation is limited, at Aventech Research Inc’s

option, to refund of the purchase price, free of charge repair, or replacement of a

defective product which is returned within the warranty period.

To obtain warranty service, return the product to the nearest Aventech Research Inc.

authorized reseller, or direct to the address provided below:

Aventech Research Inc.

110 Anne Street South, Unit 23

Barrie, Ontario, Canada L4N 2E3

Tel: (705) 722-4288

Fax: (705) 722-9077

E-mail: [email protected]

Shipping costs to Aventech Research Inc. are the responsibility of the end customer

(FOB Destination). Aventech Research Inc. assumes no risk for damage in transit.

Following warranty repair, the product will be returned to Buyer, transportation prepaid

(FOB Destination). If Aventech Research Inc. determines that failure was caused by

neglect, misuse, contamination, alteration, accident, or abnormal condition of operation

or handling, including overvoltage failures caused by use outside the product’s specified

rating, or normal wear and tear of mechanical components, Aventech Research Inc. will

provide an estimate of repair costs and obtain authorization before commencing the

work. Following repair, the product will be returned to the Buyer transportation prepaid

and the Buyer will be billed for the repair and return transportation charges (FOB

Shipping Point).

Aventech Research Inc. warrants that product firmware will operate substantially in

accordance with its functional specifications. Aventech Research Inc. does not warrant

that firmware will be error free or operate without interruption.

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The material contained in this document is provided “as is,” and is subject to being

changed, without notice, in future editions. Further, to the maximum extent permitted by

applicable law, Aventech Research Inc. disclaims all warranties, either express or

implied, with regard to this manual and any information contained herein, including but

not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular

purpose. Aventech Research Inc. shall not be liable for errors or for incidental or

consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, use, or performance of this

document or of any information contained herein. Should Aventech Research Inc. and

the user have a separate written agreement with warranty terms covering the material in

this document that conflict with these terms, the warranty terms in the separate

agreement shall control.

THIS WARRANTY IS BUYER'S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY AND IS IN LIEU OF

ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED

TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A

PARTICULAR PURPOSE. AVENTECH RESEARCH INC. SHALL NOT BE LIABLE

FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR

LOSSES, INCLUDING LOSS OF DATA, ARISING FROM ANY CAUSE OR THEORY.

or by any means (including electronic storage and retrieval or translation into a foreign

language) without prior agreement and written consent from Aventech Research Inc. as

governed by Canadian and international copyright laws.

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RECORD OF REVISIONS

Date Issue Page Paragraph Firmware

Revision Comments

21.11.2013 1.00 All All Preliminary Draft

22.11.2013 1.00 All All Release

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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1 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................8

2 SYSTEM OVERVIEW..............................................................................................................9

2.1AirDataProbe(ADP)...........................................................................................................................9

2.2InertialMeasurementUnit(IMU).....................................................................................................10

2.3GPSPhaseModule(GPS)..................................................................................................................11

2.4CentralProcessingModule(CPM)....................................................................................................12

2.5Communications...............................................................................................................................13

3 AIMMS-20 SETUP AND CALIBRATION ...............................................................................14

3.1PreparationofLaptop/Computer...................................................................................................14

3.2Measurements..................................................................................................................................14

3.3CalibrationFlightProcedure.............................................................................................................15

3.3.1Pre‐FlightProcedure..................................................................................................................15

3.3.2AerodynamicCalibrationManoeuvres......................................................................................15

3.3.3InertialSystemCalibrationManoeuvres....................................................................................17

3.3.4PostFlightProcedure.................................................................................................................18

4 AIMMS CONFIGURATION UTILITY SOFTWARE USER’S MANUAL (aimcfg.exe) .............19

4.1Installingaimcfg................................................................................................................................19

4.2Startingaimcfg..................................................................................................................................19

4.3MainProgramWindow.....................................................................................................................21

4.4FileMenu..........................................................................................................................................21

4.4.1LogDownload............................................................................................................................21

4.4.2ErrorLogDownload...................................................................................................................23

4.4.3ViewBroadcastData..................................................................................................................23

4.4.4RawDataCapture......................................................................................................................24

4.4.5COMPort....................................................................................................................................24

4.4.6UpdateFirmware.......................................................................................................................25

4.5Setup.................................................................................................................................................27

4.6AirDataCalibrationParameters.......................................................................................................28

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4.7Cross‐AxisAlignmentErrors..............................................................................................................29

4.8Version..............................................................................................................................................30

5 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS............................................................................................31

5.1AIRDATAPROBE(ADP).....................................................................................................................31

5.2INERTIALMEASUREMENTUNIT(IMU)..............................................................................................31

5.3CENTRALPROCESSINGMODULE(CPM)............................................................................................31

5.4METEOROLOGICAL............................................................................................................................32

5.4.1Temperature..............................................................................................................................32

5.4.2RelativeHumidity.......................................................................................................................32

5.4.3Three‐DimensionalWind...........................................................................................................32

5.5ELECTRICAL........................................................................................................................................32

5.6ENVIRONMENTAL.............................................................................................................................33

5.7WEIGHT.............................................................................................................................................33

APPENDIX A: AIMMS-20 SERIAL COMMUNICATION FORMAT .............................................34

A.1Introduction......................................................................................................................................34

A.2HardwareConfiguration...................................................................................................................34

A.3PacketFormat...................................................................................................................................34

A.3.1DataBlock,StandardMeteorologyPacket(ID=0)...................................................................35

A.3.2DataBlock,Aircraft‐StateDataPacket(ID=1)..........................................................................36

A.3.3DataBlock,PurgeFlowPacket(ID=4)......................................................................................37

A.3.4DataBlock,InternalProbeTemperaturePacket(ID=5)..........................................................37

A.3.5DataBlock,CANMessageForwarding(RawData)Packet(ID=22)..........................................38

A.4Packet‐BasedCommandInputtoAIMMS‐20CPM..........................................................................39

A.4.15‐HoleProbePurgeInitiation....................................................................................................39

A.4.2ChangeProbeInternalBlock‐HeaterSet‐Point.........................................................................40

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1 INTRODUCTION

The Aventech Research Inc. AIMMS-20 (Aircraft Integrated Meteorological

Measurement System) is an integrated, turn-key system for measuring accurate,

real-time meteorological data on airborne platforms. The meteorological data set

includes temperature, humidity, three-dimensional winds (speed, direction and

vertical) and turbulence. The data generated by the system is broadcast in real-time

via an RS-232 serial communications link to either a GPS navigation system or data

acquisition system.

This document provides a step by step description on how to setup and calibrate

the AIMMS-20 instrumentation for your aircraft or helicopter airframe. Section 2

provides an overall description of the components of the AIMMS-20 system. Section

3 provides detail on how to perform the initial setup of the system followed by a

description of the flight manoeuvres that must be performed in order to calibrate the

system. In order to set up and calibrate the system, the user will utilize Aventech’s

aimcfg PC-based software utility. A user’s guide for the aimcfg software utility is

provided in Section 4. Technical specifications for the system are provided in

Section 5. If the end user wishes to integrate the AIMMS-20 serial broadcast data

stream into their dedicated data acquisition system, details of the broadcast format

can be found in Appendix A.

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2 SYSTEM OVERVIEW

The AIMMS-20 system consists of four modules: an Air Data Probe (ADP) which is

mounted external to the aircraft, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), a GPS Phase

Module (GPS) and a Central Processing Module (CPM). The following section of

this manual describes each of the system components in order to familiarize you

with the system.

2.1 Air Data Probe (ADP)

The Air Data Probe is mounted external to the aircraft and is the component of the

AIMMS-20 which measures static pressure, the three-dimensional flow vector

relative to the aircraft frame of reference, Outside Air Temperature (OAT), Relative

Humidity (RH) and turbulence.

The three-dimensional flow vector is measured using a series of five pressure ports

located on the hemispherical nose of the ADP’s measurement boom and a ring of

static pressure ports slightly aft of the measurement boom nose. Using this set of

pressure ports measurement of the barometric, pitot-static, differential angle-of-

attack and differential side-slip pressure measurements can be obtained which

define the three-dimensional flow vector.

OAT and RH measurements are made using a small 0.038” diameter bead

thermistor and thermoset polymer RH sensor respectively. Both sensors are located

in a reverse-flow chamber at the aft end of the probe to protect them from direct

impact with particulates and larger objects in the free stream flow.

With your AIMMS-20 system you will have received one of two Air Data Probe types

depending on the airframe for the planned installation, an under-wing version as

shown in Figure 1 or a sting-mount version as shown in Figure 2.

The under-wing ADP is typically utilized for fixed-wing installations while the sting-

mount ADP is typically utilized in rotary-wing installations. In some cases end users

have also used the sting-mount probe for fixed-wing installations with their own

mounting bracket design.

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Figure 1: AIMMS-20 Under-Wing Air Data Probe Installation

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Figure 2: AIMMS-20 Sting-Mount Air Data Probe Installation

2.2 Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)

The IMU is a six-degree of freedom inertial measurement unit consisting of three

MEMS accelerometers and three MEMS rate gyros. Utilizing inexpensive MEMS-

based measurement devices provides a high-accuracy, low cost method of

measuring the dynamic, high-frequency motion of an airborne platform. However,

the compromise is that MEMS-based measurement devices have poorer long term

DC stability. The AIMMS-20 system compensates for this DC instability using a

single-axis GPS carrier-phase system which is described in Section 2.3.

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