Cessna Citation X Engine Model Identification from Flight Tests

During aircraft development, mathematical models are elaborated from our knowledge of fundamental physical laws. Those models are used to gain knowledge in order to make decisions in all development stages. Since engine model is one of the most important items in aircraft simulation, the aviation industry has recently developed a high interest on them. With the power capacities development in the last years, numerical simulations have been widely used for predicting engine response. In this paper, a methodology to identify an engine model from flight tests is presented. A Cessna Citation X Level D Flight Simulator designed and manufactured by CAE Inc. was used to sample the engine thrust force data. More than 500 flight tests were made for different flight conditions expressed in Mach numbers (M = 0 to M = 0.9), altitudes (h = 0 ft to h = 50,000 ft) and different throttle positions (idle to maximum). The engine mathematical model was developed from analysis and comparison of several existing engine models in the literature. Two estimation algorithms were created to identify the parameters defining the model. To validate the model, simulations were performed and compared. Results have shown that the obtained model was accurate and could be further used to estimate the engine thrust forces for any flight conditions.