Method and system for detecting jamming and/or uncontrolled movement of an aircraft control surface

A device for detecting jamming and/or uncontrolled movement of an aircraft control surface which is controlled in position by a feedback loop, said feedback loop forming part of an electrical flight control system of the aircraft and including:

• said control surface, which is movable and of which the position with respect to the aircraft is adjusted by at least one actuator;
• said actuator which adjusts the position of said control surface, as a function of at least one actuating command received in the form of a feedback command;
• at least one sensor which measures the effective position of said control surface;
• and
• a computer which produces a control command for the control surface, which receives said measured effective position and which deduces therefrom an actuating command which is transmitted to said actuator in the form of a feedback current,
• the device comprising:
• first means for estimating the value of at least one parameter of an equation simulating the feedback loop dynamic of the control surface, according to a recursive autoregressive method with exogenous variable of RARX type in a recursive least squares way;
• and
• second means for detecting jamming and/or uncontrolled movement of said control surface, according at least to the estimated parameter value by the application of a decision test in the parametric space.

An electrical flight control system of an aircraft, said system comprising:

• at least one means in order to generate a control surface control command for at least one control surface of the aircraft;
• at least one feedback loop for controlling the position of the at least one control surface;
• wherein said control surface, which is movable and of which the position with respect to the aircraft is adjusted by at least one actuator,
• wherein said at least one actuator adjusts the position of said control surface, as a function of at least one actuating command received;
• at least one sensor which measures the effective position of said control surface;
• and
• a computer which produces said control command for the control surface, which receives said effective position and which deduces therefrom an actuating command which is transmitted to said actuator;
• and
• a detection device comprising:
• first means for estimating the value of at least one parameter of an equation simulating the feedback loop dynamic of the control surface, according to a recursive autoregressive method with exogenous variable of RARX type in a recursive least squares way;
• and
• second means for detecting jamming and/or uncontrolled movement of said control surface, according at least to the estimated parameter value by the application of a decision test in the parametric space.