Dynamic activation of pumps of a fluid power system

A vehicle comprising:

• a fluid power system comprising a plurality of pumps, wherein the plurality of pumps includes at least a first pump, a second pump, and a third pump;
• a control system communicatively coupled to the fluid power system, wherein the control system includes logic to:
• receive pump designation data associated with the fluid power system;
• based on the pump designation data having a first value, activate the first pump as a primary pump;
• based on the pump designation data having a second value, activate the second pump as the primary pump;
• activate the third pump as a secondary pump for each value of the pump designation data, the secondary pump operational when the fluid power system is in a multiple-pump operating mode;
• receive a failure indication, wherein the failure indication is associated with a particular pump being in an inoperative state, and wherein the particular pump is determined to be in the inoperative state based on one or more monitored parameters that are indicative of the particular pump being unable to operate when commanded, a failure of the particular pump to operate when commanded, or a combination thereof;
• when the failure indication is received from the first pump, activate the second pump as an alternate primary pump when the pump designation data has the first value;
• when the failure indication is received from the second pump, activate the first pump as the alternate primary pump when the pump designation data has the second value;
• when the failure indication is received from the third pump:
• activate the second pump as an alternate secondary pump when the pump designation data has the first value;
• and
• activate the first pump as the alternate secondary pump when the pump designation data has the second value;
• and
• when the failure indication is received from more than one pump, communicate a fault message to indicate that inadequate fluid power is available.

A method comprising:

• receiving information associated with an aircraft at a control system, wherein the control system is communicatively coupled to a fluid power system of the aircraft, and wherein the fluid power system includes at least three pumps;
• determining, based on the information associated with the aircraft, pump designation data associated with the fluid power system;
• based on a first value of the pump designation data, designating a first pump of the at least three pumps as a primary pump during operation of the aircraft;
• based on a second value of the pump designation data, designating a second pump of the at least three pumps as the primary pump during operation of the aircraft;
• designating a third pump of the at least three pumps as a secondary pump during operation of the aircraft regardless of the pump designation data;
• receiving a failure indication, wherein the failure indication is associated with a particular pump being in an inoperative state, and wherein the particular pump is determined to be in the inoperative state based on one or more monitored parameters that are indicative of the particular pump being unable to operate when commanded, a failure of the particular pump to operate when commanded, or a combination thereof;
• when the failure indication is received from the first pump, activating the second pump as an alternate primary pump when the pump designation data has the first value;
• when the failure indication is received from the second pump, activating the first pump as the alternate primary pump when the pump designation data has the second value;
• when the failure indication is received from the third pump:
• activating the second pump as an alternate secondary pump when the pump designation data has the first value;
• and
• activating the first pump as the alternate secondary pump when the pump designation data has the second value;
• and
• when the failure indication is received from more than one pump, communicating a fault message to indicate that inadequate fluid power is available.

A control system for a fluid power system, the control system comprising:

• a first pump controller, a second pump controller, and a third pump controller associated with at least a first pump, a second pump, and a third pump, wherein each pump controller includes logic to:
• receive pump designation data associated with the fluid power system;
• based on the pump designation data having a first value, cause the first pump controller to activate the first pump as a primary pump;
• based on the pump designation data having a second value, cause the second pump controller to activate the second pump as the primary pump;
• cause the third pump controller to activate the third pump as a secondary pump for each value of the pump designation data, the secondary pump operational when the fluid power system is in a multiple-pump operating mode;
• receive a failure indication, wherein the failure indication is associated with a particular pump being in an inoperative state, and wherein the particular pump is determined to be in the inoperative state based on one or more monitored parameters that are indicative of the particular pump being unable to operate when commanded, a failure of the particular pump to operate when commanded, or a combination thereof;
• when the failure indication is received from the first pump, activate the second pump as an alternate primary pump when the pump designation data has the first value;
• when the failure indication is received from the second pump, activate the first pump as the alternate primary pump when the pump designation data has the second value;
• when the failure indication is received from the third pump:
• activate the second pump as an alternate secondary pump when the pump designation data has the first value;
• and
• activate the first pump as the alternate secondary pump when the pump designation data has the second value;
• and
• when the failure indication is received from more than one pump, communicate a fault message to indicate that inadequate fluid power is available.