Patent Publication Number: US-2013246008-A1

Title: Cabin airflow modeling

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The subject matter described herein relates to airflow modeling in confined spaces and more particularly to computer-based systems and methods for airflow modeling of cabins. Vehicles such as commercial air, marine and land vehicles may include one or more cabins to house crew, passengers and/or cargo. Owners and operators of such vehicles may specify varying cabin configurations to accommodate different types of travel and different classes of passengers, branding, and the like. 
     For example, commercial aircraft may include a cockpit, passenger cabin, and a storage compartment. The passenger cabin may be divided into a first-class section, business class section, and an economy section. As part of the design process, aircraft designers and engineers may need to model airflow parameters through the cabin for health and safety reasons. Accordingly, systems and methods for cabin airflow modeling may find utility. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of systems and methods in accordance with the present disclosure may provide improved cabin airflow modeling. In one embodiment, a computer based method to model airflow dynamics in a controlled cabin environment comprises creating a data store comprising a template of the controlled cabin environment and a plurality of logical objects which represent physical objects, wherein the logical objects comprise airflow characteristics associated therewith, constructing a two-dimensional layout of the cabin environment, and generating, from the two-dimensional layout of the cabin environment, a script to construct a three-dimensional airflow model for the cabin environment. 
     In one embodiment, a computer based system to model airflow dynamics in a controlled cabin environment, comprises a data store in a tangible computer readable memory which stores a template of the controlled cabin environment and a plurality of logical objects which represent physical objects, wherein the logical objects comprise airflow characteristics associated therewith and a processor to construct a two-dimensional layout of the cabin environment, and generate, from the two-dimensional layout of the cabin environment, a script to construct a three-dimensional airflow model for the cabin environment. 
     Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of methods and systems in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a system for cabin airflow modeling according to embodiments. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of a computing device which may be adapted to implement systems and methods for cabin airflow modeling in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating operations for creating a mission in a system for cabin airflow modeling according to embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration of an aircraft cabin layout, according to embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Systems and methods for cabin airflow modeling are described herein. Specific details of certain embodiments are set forth in the following description and in  FIGS. 1-5  to provide a thorough understanding of such embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand, however, that alternate embodiments may be practiced without several of the details described in the following description. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a system  100  for cabin airflow modeling according to embodiments. Referring to  FIG. 1 , in one embodiment the system  100  comprises multiple data stores, or databases, including a cabin template data store  110 , and a logical object data store  112 . In some embodiments, the system  100  further comprises a configuration module  120 , which in turn comprises a cabin layout module  122 , and a script generator  124 . The system  100  further comprises a modeling script  140 , an execution environment  142 , and one or more simulations  146 . The system  100  further comprises a data parser/loader  150 , a reporting module  152  capable of generating one or more reports  154  and may comprise a user interfaces  104 ,  160  to interact with components cabin template data store  110  may comprise data identifying cabin layouts for one or more particular vehicles. 
     In the context of an aircraft, cabin template data store  110  may comprise one or more templates for layouts for a specific aircraft associated with aircraft data such as, e.g., an aircraft identifier, data pertaining to the aircraft operator, flight operations, and data related to one or more of the aircraft systems. The cabin layout module  122 , the script generator module  124 , the data parser/loader  150 , and the reporting module  152  may be implemented as logic instructions stored on a computer readable medium and executable by a processor, e.g., software. 
     In some embodiments the various data stores  110 ,  112  may be implemented as databases or as flat files stored on a computer readable medium. The cabin template  110  may be used to store various aircraft cabin layouts, while the logical object database  112  may be used to store logical objects which represent physical objects that reside in an aircraft cabin. By way of example, logical objects may include fixtures such as seats, partitions, walls, stationary and mobile galley equipment, luggage equipment, occupants (i.e. passengers and crew), and the like. Logical objects may further include systems such as ventilation and airflow systems. Logical objects may further include human or animal objects. The data in databases  110  and  112  may be stored in a suitable computer readable storage medium, e.g., a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, or combinations thereof. 
     The modeling script  140  and the execution environment  142  may be embodied as modular components which are functionally separate from the configuration module  120 . In some embodiments the modeling script  140  may be implemented as logic instructions encoded in a computer readable medium and executable on a processor. By way of example, in one embodiment the execution environment  142  may comprise hardware and software on which the modeling script may be executed. 
     In some embodiments the simulation(s)  146  may be used to simulate air flow modeling under varying cabin configurations and conditions in accordance with one or more predetermined models. The simulation(s)  146  may utilize parameters provided by a user of the system or derived from operational data for an aircraft fleet as inputs. The simulation(s)  146  may interface with a reporting module  152 , which may create one or more reports  154  accessible via a user interface  160 . 
     In some embodiments the system depicted in  FIG. 1  may be implemented in a computer system environment.  FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of a computing system environment  200  which may be adapted to implement systems and methods for cabin airflow modeling in accordance with some embodiments. In one embodiment, system  200  includes a computing device  208  and one or more accompanying input/output devices including a display  202  having a screen  204 , one or more speakers  206 , a keyboard  210 , one or more other I/O device(s)  212 , and a mouse  214 . The other I/O device(s)  212  may include a touch screen, a voice-activated input device, a track ball, and any other device that allows the system  400  to receive input from a user. 
     The computing device  208  includes system hardware  220  and memory  230 , which may be implemented as random access memory and/or read-only memory. A file store  280  may be communicatively coupled to computing device  208 . File store  280  may be internal to computing device  208  such as, e.g., one or more hard drives, CD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM drives, or other types of storage devices. File store  280  may also be external to computer  208  such as, e.g., one or more external hard drives, network attached storage, or a separate storage network. 
     System hardware  220  may include one or more processors  222 , a two graphics processor(s)  224 , network interfaces  226 , and bus structures  228 . As used herein, the term “processor” means any type of computational element, such as but not limited to, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or any other type of processor or processing circuit. 
     Graphics processor(s)  224  may function as adjunct processors that manage graphics and/or video operations. Graphics processor(s)  224  may be integrated onto the motherboard of computing system  400  or may be coupled via an expansion slot on the motherboard. 
     In one embodiment, network interface  226  could be a wired interface such as an Ethernet interface (see, e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers/IEEE 802.3-2002) or a wireless interface such as an IEEE 802.11a, b or g-compliant interface (see, e.g., IEEE Standard for IT-Telecommunications and information exchange between systems LAN/MAN—Part II: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications Amendment 4: Further Higher Data Rate Extension in the 2.4 GHz Band, 802.11G-2003). Another example of a wireless interface would be a general packet radio service (GPRS) interface (see, e.g., Guidelines on GPRS Handset Requirements, Global System for Mobile Communications/GSM Association, Ver. 3.0.1, December 2002). 
     Bus structures  228  connect various components of system hardware  228 . In one embodiment, bus structures  228  may be one or more of several types of bus structure(s) including a memory bus, a peripheral bus or external bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available bus architectures including, but not limited to, 11-bit bus, Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA), Micro-Channel Architecture (MSA), Extended ISA (EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Universal Serial Bus (USB), Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory Card International Association bus (PCMCIA), and Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI). 
     Memory  230  may include an operating system  240  for managing operations of computing device  208 . In one embodiment, operating system  240  includes a hardware interface module  254  that provides an interface to system hardware  220 . In addition, operating system  240  may include a file system  250  that manages files used in the operation of computing device  208  and a process control subsystem  252  that manages processes executing on computing device  208 . 
     Operating system  240  may include (or manage) one or more communication interfaces that may operate in conjunction with system hardware  220  to transceive data packets and/or data streams from a remote source. Operating system  240  may further include a system call interface module  242  that provides an interface between the operating system  240  and one or more application modules resident in memory  230 . Operating system  240  may be embodied as a Windows® brand operating system or as a UNIX operating system or any derivative thereof (e.g., Linux, Solaris, etc.), or other operating systems. 
     In various embodiments, the computing device  208  may be embodied as a computer system such as a personal computer, a laptop computer, a server, or another computing device. 
     In one embodiment, memory  230  includes a cabin layout module  122 , a script generator module  124 , one or more simulation modules  146 , and a reporting module  152  to implement the operations described with reference to  FIG. 3 . Having described the various components of a system  100  for vehicle condition monitoring and reporting, various operations of the system will now be described.  FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating operations in a method for cabin airflow modeling according to embodiments. Referring now to  FIG. 3 , at operation  305  a data store is created which comprises one or more templates of a controlled cabin environment. By way of example, in some embodiments the data store of cabin templates  110  may be populated with templates of cabin layouts for cabins of various aircraft. In some embodiments the cabin templates may define an empty cabin space. In other embodiments the templates may include preset cabin configuration features such as, e.g., specific seating layouts, lavatory locations, exit doors, cockpit configurations, galley layouts and configurations, and the like. The cabin layout templates may be stored in any type of data file structure in the cabin layout data store  110 . 
     At operation  310  an aircraft cabin may be selected. By way of example, in some embodiments one or more aircraft types may be presented on a user interface  104  and one or more users of the system  100  may select an aircraft cabin from the choices presented on the user interface  104 . The aircraft cabin template for the selected aircraft cabin may be retrieved from the data store and presented on the user interface for manipulation and configuration. 
     At operation  315  a two-dimensional internal configuration for the selected aircraft is constructed. By way of example, in some embodiments one or more logical objects may be retrieved from the logical object data store  112  and positioned in the cabin template selected in operation  310 . As described above, in some embodiments the cabin configuration may define the dimensions of various cabin measurements and fixture such as exit doors  402 . Logical objects may represent the lavatories  404 , galley fixtures  406 , first class seats  408  and economy seats  410 . Additional logical objects may be added to represent overhead luggage compartments and airflow systems not visible in the floor plan view depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
     The various logical objects have physical properties associated with them. By way of example, the objects may have physical dimensions and shapes associated with them. In addition, a user may specify one or more physical and material properties such as, e.g., airflow rates, angles, temperatures, heat flux parameters, viscosity and thermal conductivity of fluids, etc., associated with the objects. 
     In some embodiments the various logical objects may be added to the template using a drag and drop technique. By way of example, logical objects stored in the logical object data store  112  may be represented by icons which may be selected, dragged and dropped onto the template in desired positions and quantities. As the graphical user interface is populated the system generates a file structure  420  corresponding to the layout. 
     A user of the system may populate one or more of the seats with a human object. A human object may have physical characteristics associated with it, e.g., height weight, shape, etc., and may have airflow characteristics associated with them. In addition, human objects may be assigned a mobile capability in which an object can move about aisles in the cabin. 
     In some embodiments the user interface allows a user to generate a three-dimensional view of the cabin. The three dimensional view may be viewed from various perspectives to evaluate the cabin layout. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 3 , once the cabin layout has been finalized control passes to operation  320  and the two-dimensional cabin layout may be used to generate a script for one or more three-dimensional cabin simulations. The script may include cabin geometry parameters and adequate boundary conditions for a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) pre-processor to generate a three-dimensional CFD model. At operation  325  the simulation may be executed using the CFD model. By way of example, in some embodiments the system may implement one or more of a single-phase airflow and thermal simulation, a multiphase pathogen dispersion simulation, or a multi-species gas/vapor phase dispersion simulation. The simulation(s) may accommodate changing environmental conditions such as, e.g., changes in air temperature and pressure inside the cabin, breathing patterns of the occupants, movement of the occupants within the cabin, airflows throughout the cabin, and the like. 
     At operation  330  results of the simulation may be presented to a user of the system. By way of example, referring back to  FIG. 1 , the simulations  146  may present one or more reports  154  via a reporting module  152 . The reports  154  may be made accessible to a user via a user interface  160 . 
     Thus, described herein is a computer based system and method for cabin airflow modeling. In brief, the system enables a user to select a two-dimensional cabin template and design a cabin layout by populating the template with objects. The two-dimensional module may then be used to construct a three-dimensional CFD model, which may be input to a simulation processor. 
     In the foregoing discussion, specific implementations of exemplary processes have been described, however, it should be understood that in alternate implementation, certain acts need not be performed in the order described above. In alternate embodiments, some acts may be modified, performed in a different order, or may be omitted entirely, depending on the circumstances. Moreover, in various alternate implementations, the acts described may be implemented by a computer, controller, processor, programmable device, firmware, or any other suitable device, and may be based on instructions stored on one or more computer-readable media or otherwise stored or programmed into such devices (e.g. including transmitting computer-readable instructions in real time to such devices). In the context of software, the acts described above may represent computer instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, perform the recited operations. In the event that computer-readable media are used, the computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a device to implement the instructions stored thereon. 
     While various embodiments have been described, those skilled in the art will recognize modifications or variations which might be made without departing from the present disclosure. The examples illustrate the various embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Therefore, the description and claims should be interpreted liberally with only such limitation as is necessary in view of the pertinent prior art.