Developing Modular Vehicle and Flight Control Management Functions for eVTOL Aircraft: From Conceptual Design to Embedded Design Models

We present the practical application of the Behavioral Specification Model that enables the simulation of an aircraft operation in the early conceptual phases of a project's development. This modeling method is enabled by the utilization of the Design Reference Modeling strategy developed at the Institute of Flight System Dynamics at the Technical University of Munich. On the one hand, an example is provided that validates the Concept of Operation of a novel Electrical Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft. On the other hand, the Behavioral Specification Model is used to derive the automation functions that the Flight Control System of such an aircraft must implement. This paper presents the model architecture and the artifact structure that implement the behavioral specification model. It furthermore shows examples of the abstraction level that enables time-efficient modeling while allowing for a realistic system response and provides examples of where the modeling method identified deficiencies in the initial operational strategies. In the second part of this publication, a modular development method for Embedded Design Models of the above-mentioned functions is presented. The approach implements a multi-level finite state machine at its core. However, the modularity allows for fast adaptation in changing requirements on the one hand. On the other hand, 'incremental code generation' ensures that the artifacts of previously tested safety-critical embedded design modeling remain untouched. The paper presents the application of the strategy for the automation functions of two successive prototype stages.