Dynamics sensor validation for reusable launch vehicle propulsion
Jim Herzog, Y. Yue, Randall L. Bickford · 34th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit · 1998
Expert Microsystems teamed with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), a DOE contractor, to develop an innovative dynamics sensor validation system under a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I contract with NASA. The project improves launch vehicle mission safety and system dependability by enabling rapid development and cost effective maintenance of embeddable real-time software to reliably detect process-critical sensor failures. The project focused on verifying the feasibility of two innovative software methods developed by ANL to provide high fidelity sensor data validation for nuclear power generating stations, the Sequential Probability Ratio Test (SPRT) algorithm and the Multivariate State Estimation Technique (MSET) algorithm, as core elements of a commercial Dynamics Sensor Validation System (DSVS). The research verified that ANL algorithms enable highly reliable data validation for high frequency Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) dynamics sensors, such as accelerometers and strain gauges. Phase I culminated in production of a prototype run-time module which validates SSME flight accelerometer data with very high reliability. The resulting sensor validation development system is widely applicable to reusable launch vehicle (RLV) and ground support control and monitoring systems.