Breaking The Code Aerospace AA V8 I1

AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE Simulation@Work
BREAKING
THE CODE
Turbomeca reduces development time by using ANSYS SCADE Suite for helicopter engine control
software development.
By Didier Bernard, Head of Software System Group, Turbomeca, Bordes, France
T
he engine control system rithms or subsystems. They validate the turbines to power helicopters. Turbomeca
is a critical part of today’s model and use it to automatically gener- turbines propel civil, parapublic (such as
helicopter engines that con- ate embedded code. Turbomeca engineers police and fire department) and defense
trols fuel injection and other have developed control systems that are helicopters for all the leading helicopter
engine functions. In devel- powering the company’s two latest engines manufacturers. Including its joint pro-
oping the embedded soft- using the new method. The new process grams with other manufacturers, 18,200
ware that runs the engine control system, has demonstrated the ability to substan- of its turbines are now in operation, and
Turbomeca switched from manual cod- tially reduce errors and development time. its engines have provided 90 million oper-
ing to a model-based design approach Turbomeca, part of the Safran group, is ating hours.
that involves the creation of an executable the world’s leading producer of helicopter
model in a block diagram design environ- engines and has produced 70,000 engines DIGITAL ENGINE CONTROL UNIT
ment. Engineers define the functionality since its founding in 1938. The company Turbomeca’s engines are organized into
of the control system within ANSYS SCADE specializes in the design, production, sale engine families based on the level of
Suite using blocks that represent algo- and support of low- to medium-power gas power output. Each family of engines
Turbomeca switched from manual coding

to a model-based design approach.
© 2014 ANSYS, INC. ANSYS ADVANTAGE Volume VIII | Issue 1 | 2014 46

Development time was
reduced by 30 percent.
includes several different variants that meet the specific

requirements of different types of helicopters. The engines have
a modular architecture with the key modules being the com-
pressor, combustion chamber and turbine. The digital engine
control unit, called the full-authority digital engine control
(FADEC), regulates the engine’s speed by modulating fuel flow
based on the environment, torque evolution and use case.
The FADEC includes two identical control channels, each
of which is capable of independently controlling the engine.
The FADEC can transfer control from one channel to the other
Full-authority digital engine control unit
if a channel is not functioning correctly. Each FADEC platform
consists of hardware and an operating system, and it is speci-
fied to be compliant with several engine families. Application
software is developed for each engine variant to take into
account helicopter characteristics and customer needs. There
are many commonalities between engine control units of differ-
ent variants, and a modular architecture has been defined with
re-usable components to encourage re-use between different
variants.
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES

Since 1985, Turbomeca has progressed through four distinct
software development processes for developing application
software for its FADECs to address improved technological solu-
tions, evolution in airworthiness requirements, and increased
software functionality.
In 2005, Turbomeca developed the G4 software process
by implementing a development environment that includes
requirements management, model-based design, simulation,
automation of tests, and qualified code generation in com-
pliance with DO-178B (the standard used to qualify all avi- Arriel 2D engine
onics software by the FAA, EASA and other certification
authorities). SCADE Suite is used in the new software process
because model-based development is clearer and more under-
standable than working with source code for systems teams and
promotes co-engineering between systems and software teams.
Model simulation provides an efficient method of detect- methods that are clearer and more understandable than source
ing functional faults at the earliest possible moment. SCADE code and by reducing the code integration phase. Defects are
Suite delivers an efficient model checker that enables engineers checked at the design level so that they are detected at the ear-
to detect problems early in the design phase rather than later liest possible stage. Using a qualified code generator, SCADE
in the integration phase. Test cases can be run in the PC envi- KCG guarantees compliance between the design model and the
ronment rather than in the much more expensive and compli- code, and strongly reduces formal verification at code level.
cated target hardware environment that is deployed on the air- Consistency of modules integration is verified at the model
craft. SCADE Suite incorporates a reusable symbol library that level before generating the C code, eliminating the need for
promotes re-use and commonality of design within and across integration verification at the code level. The code generator
software projects. is qualified as a DO-178B development tool (cf. section 12.2 of
SCADE Suite helps reduce development duration and cost DO-178B), so the conformance of the code to the input model
by enabling efficient codesign engineering between control law is trusted, eliminating the need for verification activities
and software teams through the use of formal language and related to the coding phase.

AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE
The development team achieved a decrease of

50 percent in the number of open problems
on certified versions.
G4 process overview
CODE SHARING AND RE-USE helicopters in the world in the 700-to- time also was reduced by 30 percent by
The G4 process incorporates a generic 900 shaft horsepower (shp) power class. taking advantage of G4 process improve-
modular software architecture based on The dual-channel FADEC provides engine ments, including SCADE Suite. FADEC
configurable functions that can be eas- state monitoring, including fuel and oil software for five more engines is currently
ily re-used for multiple software devel- filter clogging. It also regulates gas gen- under development at Turbomeca using
opment projects. It has enabled teams to erator speed and power turbine inlet the G4 process. The company is also eval-
focus on activities for which they have temperature for better power optimiza- uating the latest version of SCADE Suite
specific skills and easily share data with tion and increases mean time between for future projects because of its potential
other teams working on other parts of the unscheduled removal. The time between to bring improvements in compute time
project. The application software devel- overhaul at initial entry into service is and language capability.
oped by the G4 process is independent 4,000 hours, but the target for engines in
from the target hardware platform, which service is 6,000 hours.
reduces the time and expense associated Turbomeca engineers first used the G4
with changing hardware platforms. process in developing embedded software ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The G4 process was first used in the for the Arriel 2D engine that was certified
development of the FADEC for the Arriel in 2011 and the subsequent Arriel 2E that REDUCING PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
RISK AND COMPLEXITY WITH MODEL-
2D engine, which is designed for light, was certified in 2012. The development BASED SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND
EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
single-engine helicopters in the 5,000- team achieved a decrease of 50 percent in ansys.com/81code
pound weight class and currently pow- the number of open problems on certified
ers Eurocopter AS350 B3e and EC130T2 versions by detecting problems earlier in
helicopters. The Arriel family of engines the development process and correcting
is used on more than 60 percent of all them prior to certification. Development

SCADE model for control function that determines whether electricity produced by engine is used to power accessories
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AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE Simulation@Work

By Didier Bernard, Head of Software System Group, Turbomeca, Bordes, France

Turbomeca switched from manual coding

© 2014 ANSYS, INC. ANSYS ADVANTAGE Volume VIII | Issue 1 | 2014 46

includes several different variants that meet the specific

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES

© 2014 ANSYS, INC. ANSYS ADVANTAGE Volume VIII | Issue 1 | 2014 47

The development team achieved a decrease of

© 2014 ANSYS, INC. ANSYS ADVANTAGE Volume VIII | Issue 1 | 2014 48

Simple-to-use HPC systems

© 2014 ANSYS, INC. ANSYS ADVANTAGE Volume VIII | Issue 1 | 2014 49

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