Abstract: An integrated circuit thermal management system includes an enclosure, a heat exchanger, an integrated circuit, a slide having a moveable slide body, an electromagnetic coil, a magneto caloric material and controller circuitry. The heat exchanger is positioned on a first side of the enclosure, and the integrated circuit is positioned on a second side of the enclosure with a temperature sensor configured to generate a temperature signal indicative of a temperature of the integrated circuit. The slide is disposed in the enclosure extending between the heat exchanger and the integrated circuit. The electromagnetic coil and the magnetocaloric material are included on the slide body. The controller is configured to control energization of the magnetic coil and movement of the magnetocaloric material on the slide body between the heat exchanger and the integrated circuit based on the temperature signal.

Abstract: Control systems and methods for securely authenticating and validating a control system. The control system may include a plurality of dependent control nodes and master control nodes. Each dependent control node is communicatively coupled to one or more peripheral devices. Each control node maintains a unit level distributed ledger, where each unit level distributed ledger includes information from corresponding peripheral devices. Each control node may transmit a portion of the unit level distributed ledger to a master control node. Each master control node may maintain a system level distributed ledger that includes information from the corresponding unit level distributed ledgers. Each master node may transmit a portion of the system level distributed ledger to a central node that maintains a separate secure distributed ledger. The master node may authenticate the control system based on the received portion of the system level distributed ledgers and the secure distributed ledgers.

Abstract: A system is described that includes a controllable component of an engine configured to regulate fuel flow to the engine, a digital control unit configured to control the engine by at least communicating with the controllable component of the engine, and a protection component configured to disable communication between the digital control unit and the controllable component of the engine. The system further includes an analog control unit configured to control the engine by at least communicating with the controllable component of the engine in response to the protection component disabling communication between the digital control unit and the controllable component of the engine.

Abstract: A receiver in a communication system may include a buffer and hardware. The buffer may be configured to store a communication signal comprising one or more pulses representative of data. The hardware may be configured to determine whether a data authentication pulse has been superimposed over at least one of the one or more pulses, and authenticate, based on the determination of whether the data authentication pulse has been superimposed over at least one of the one or more pulses, the one or more pulses as a valid representation of the data.

Abstract: Control systems and methods for securing software images to be executed by the control system. In some examples the control system includes a control node, a concentrator node, and a security module. The security module may include a secured memory area that can hold software images. The security module may load a first executable image from the secured memory area to the control node. The security module may also load a second executable image from the secured memory area to the concentrator node. In some examples, rather than having a security module load the software images, the control node and concentrator node each include a secured area of memory where their respective software images reside. Each of the control node and concentrator node may load the software images from their respective secured areas of memory.

Abstract: An integrated circuit thermal management system includes an enclosure, a heat exchanger, an integrated circuit, a slide having a moveable slide body, an electromagnetic coil, a magneto caloric material and controller circuitry. The heat exchanger is positioned on a first side of the enclosure, and the integrated circuit is positioned on a second side of the enclosure with a temperature sensor configured to generate a temperature signal indicative of a temperature of the integrated circuit. The slide is disposed in the enclosure extending between the heat exchanger and the integrated circuit. The electromagnetic coil and the magnetocaloric material are included on the slide body. The controller is configured to control energization of the magnetic coil and movement of the magnetocaloric material on the slide body between the heat exchanger and the integrated circuit based on the temperature signal.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided that use a tip clearance control apparatus comprising a mechanical iris, where the tip clearance control apparatus controls a distance between a tip of a blade and a ring of abradable material positioned in an adjustable opening of the mechanical iris.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for controlling a component of an aircraft engine by communicating data over an inner control loop portion of a distributed engine control network for an aircraft; and controlling an operation of the aircraft engine by communicating encrypted data over an outer control loop portion of the distributed engine control network, wherein the data communicated over the inner control loop portion is unencrypted or encrypted with weaker encryption than the data communicated over the outer control loop portion.

Abstract: A patch antenna array sensor is provided. The patch antenna array sensor includes a ceramic matrix composite body in which a patch antenna array is embedded, wherein the patch antenna array sensor is configured to detect blade tip clearance or some other aspect of one or more blades in a gas turbine engine.

Abstract: Control systems and methods for securely loading software in a power control system. In some examples, the control system includes a computing device and a plurality of security modules. The computing device may obtain and divide an executable image into a plurality of images. The computing device may generate a control hash as a function of the plurality of images, and record the control hash. The computing device may store each of the plurality of images in a plurality of security modules. At boot up, the computing device may load, from each security module, the stored image, and store each image to a memory device. The computing device may generate a hash based on the stored images, and compare the generated hash to the recorded control hash. Based on the comparison, the computing device may allow execution of the executable image.

Abstract: A gas turbine engine fuel additive control system includes a sensor positioned to sense an operational parameter of a gas turbine engine that includes a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section. The system also includes a control valve positioned to supply a fuel additive to a fuel line. The fuel line contains fuel for supply to the combustion section of the gas turbine engine to which the fuel additive is selectively added by injection into the fuel line. The system also includes a controller configured to monitor the operational parameter in real time during operation of the gas turbine engine and adjust the control valve to dynamically modulate an amount of the fuel additive being supplied in the fuel in accordance with operation of the gas turbine engine.

Abstract: A distributed fiber optic communication network for controlling a gas turbine engine includes a computation module and an input/output (I/O) module. The computation module and the I/O module are connected via the communication network. The communication network comprises multi-mode fiber optic cables, wherein data is transferred thereon on multiple frequency bands. The frequency bands range from about 300 nm to about 1550 nm. A method of frequency hopping is provided in which communication band instructions are stored locally on nodes of the communication network and may include communication band instructions transmitted to nodes of the communication network on a dedicated band.

Abstract: Control systems and methods to secure maintenance access to aircraft control system. The aircraft control system includes a control node operably coupled to an engine health monitoring node that includes a maintenance port. The aircraft control system also includes an enclosure preventing physical access to the maintenance port. The enclosure includes a key lock that, when activated, allows for physical access to the maintenance port. The engine health monitoring node can determine whether to allow a maintenance port data transfer access request to transfer data across the maintenance port based on the validity of received credentials, such as a password. The engine health monitoring node can also determine whether to allow or disallow encrypted or unencrypted data transfers based on whether a keep alive message is periodically received. The engine health monitoring node can also store data related to the maintenance port data transfer access request to memory.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for cyber security using light polarization. Data may be encoded in an optical signal. A seed may be converted to a target degree of polarization. The optical signal may be polarized to have the target degree of polarization and transmitted. The polarized optical signal may be received at a receiver and a degree of polarization of the received polarized optical signal measured. A seed may be converted by the receiver to an expected degree of polarization. The received polarized optical signal may be determined to be compromised based on a difference between the expected degree of polarization and the degree of polarization of the received polarized optical signal.

Abstract: Control systems and methods to secure communications within the control system. The control system includes a control node operably coupled to a concentrator node via a first data link. The control node can communicate with the concentrator node over the first data link at a first communication frequency and first communication rate. The control node can also change the first communication frequency in response to an event, such as a cyber-security threat. The concentrator node can communicate with the control node at the changed first communication frequency in response to receiving a frequency change indication. In some examples, the control node is also operably coupled to the concentrator node via a second data link. The second data link may operate at a second communication rate that is different from the first communication rate. The control node may send redundant data on the first data link and the second data link.

Abstract: A distributed fiber optic communication network for controlling a gas turbine engine includes a computation module and an input/output (I/O) module. The computation module and the I/O module are connected via the communication network. The communication network comprises multi-mode fiber optic cables, wherein data is transferred thereon on multiple frequency bands. The frequency bands range from about 300 nm to about 1550 nm. A method of frequency hopping is provided in which communication band instructions are stored locally on nodes of the communication network and may include communication band instructions transmitted to nodes of the communication network on a dedicated band.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for controlling a component of an aircraft engine by communicating data over an inner control loop portion of a distributed engine control network for an aircraft; and controlling an operation of the aircraft engine by communicating encrypted data over an outer control loop portion of the distributed engine control network, wherein the data communicated over the inner control loop portion is unencrypted or encrypted with weaker encryption than the data communicated over the outer control loop portion.

Abstract: A system may include a receiver configured to receive a communications signal from a transmitter and processing circuitry configured to: determine at least one frequency characteristic of the communications signal and compare the at least one frequency characteristic to at least one verified frequency characteristic stored by a memory associated with the processing circuitry to determine whether the transmitter is a verified transmitter. In some examples, the transmitter, receiver and communications signal are an optical transmitter, and optical receiver, and an optical signal, respectively.

Abstract: In some examples, a method includes determining, by a controller in a system, a result of a first control loop based on a first sensed signal in a first instance and determining, by the controller, a result of a second control loop based on a second sensed signal in a second instance. The method also includes clamping, by the controller, the result of the second control loop to be equal to the result of the first control loop in the first instance and clamping, by the controller, the result of the first control loop to be equal to the result of the second control loop in the second instance. The method further includes outputting, by the controller and to a component of the system, a control signal based on the result of the first control loop.

Abstract: A patch antenna array sensor is provided.