Abstract: A process plant and industrial control system architecture includes a generalized compute fabric that is agnostic or indifferent to the physical location at which the compute fabric is implemented, includes one or more physical control or field devices located at one or more specific sites at which a product or process is being manufactured and further includes a transport network that securely provides communications between the compute fabric and the pool of physical devices. The compute fabric performs various control, monitoring, diagnostics, simulation, and configuration activities with respect to a plurality of devices at the one or more specific sites.

Abstract: A method for performing performance prediction with respect to a vertical flight plan. A system performs performance prediction with respect to a vertical flight plan of an aircraft that includes determining which vertical flight plan rules of a plurality of vertical flight rules that have been loaded in a predictions processor are active by monitoring for criteria that are used to initiate or terminate one or more of the vertical flight plan rules. Aircraft state is predicted at waypoints along a lateral flight path in view of active vertical flight plan rules, and the predicted aircraft state is updated within an integrated flight plan database that stores prediction performance data associated with the aircraft's flight.

Abstract: The accuracy of flight management systems, based on mathematical prediction models calculated from aircraft specific data, are improved by adding engine sensor data to the calculations, checking sensor and pilot entered data, and comparing data measured from redundant sensors. A thrust estimate, calculated from available engine sensors, is added to the thrust-minus-drag aircraft model allowing prediction parameters to be accurately calculated even in a cruise condition. Sensor data and pilot entered data used in calculating predication parameters are checked to improve accuracy. Redundant sensor data is compared to determine the level of agreement. Redundant sensor data is also compared with a valid data range to find the sensor with the most accurate data.