A Nonlinear Observer-Based Strategy for Aircraft Oscillatory Failure Detection: A380 Case Study

Robust and early detection of oscillatory failures in the electrical flight control system of an aircraft is a crucial issue. Oscillatory failures, if not detected and passivated in time, can lead to strong interactions with loads and aeroelasticity and may potentially lead to structural damages. A nonlinear observer-based solution to detect such failures with small amplitude at a very early stage is presented. The stability and convergence proofs are given and experimental results with real A380 flight data are presented.