Automated software design and synthesis for distributed control of aircraft fuel systems

Abstract

There is an increasing interest to develop methodologies to reduce costs and risks in the development process of control software systems. A suitable solution is a shortcut in the classical development V-diagram to verify and validate the software requirements at early development stages, and automation of the code generation from models. This paper presents the simulation outcomes of a Helicopter Distributed Fuel Control System (HDFCS) that is developed by following the above software design methodology. It involves Smart Fuel Components (SFCs), and deals with an automated design tool and a simulation process for SFCs. The methodological approach chosen addresses the functional aspects of a HDFCS as to design and synthesis automation, and simulation. The software synthesis automation is carried out by the design computer tool that captures the behavior of the SFCs and system in flowchart diagrams. The software code generated by the above tool is utilized by the simulator for functional verification and validation. This paper also shows procedural aspects of the methodology for the automated software design and synthesis, illustrative test case studies showing how the control software code is tested, and simulation results.