TEDANN: Turbine engine diagnostic artificial neural network

The initial focus of TEDANN is on AGT-1500 fuel flow dynamics: that is, fuel flow faults detectable in the signals from the Electronic Control Unit`s (ECU) diagnostic connector. These voltage signals represent the status of the Electro-Mechanical Fuel System (EMFS) in response to ECU commands. The EMFS is a fuel metering device that delivers fuel to the turbine engine under the management of the ECU. The ECU is an analog computer whose fuel flow algorithm is dependent upon throttle position, ambient air and turbine inlet temperatures, and compressor and turbine speeds. Each of these variables has a representative voltage signal available at the ECU`s J1 diagnostic connector, which is accessed via the Automatic Breakout Box (ABOB). The ABOB is a firmware program capable of converting 128 separate analog data signals into digital format. The ECU`s J1 diagnostic connector provides 32 analog signals to the ABOB. The ABOB contains a 128 to 1 multiplexer and an analog-to-digital converter, CP both operated by an 8-bit embedded controller. The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) developed and published the hardware specifications as well as the micro-code for the ABOB Intel EPROM processor and the internal code for the multiplexer driver subroutine. Once the ECU analog readings are converted into a digital format, the data stream will be input directly into TEDANN via the serial RS-232 port of the Contact Test Set (CTS) computer. The CTS computer is an IBM compatible personal computer designed and constructed for tactical use on the battlefield. The CTS has a 50MHz 32-bit Intel 80486DX processor. It has a 200MB hard drive and 8MB RAM. The CTS also has serial, parallel and SCSI interface ports. The CTS will also host a frame-based expert system for diagnosing turbine engine faults (referred to as TED; not shown in Figure 1).