Tracking Performance of a Recoverable Flight Control System in Neutron Environments

This paper analyzes the output tracking performance of a Boeing 737 aircraft in closed loop with a Recoverable Computer System (RCS) operating in a high intensity neutron environment at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. A stochastic hybrid model, validated by simulated-neutron experiments done at the NASA Langley Research Center, is used to theoretically predict the outcome of the experiment. In particular, this model predicts and the data confirms that the recoverable digital flight control system, when functioning as designed, will provide accurate output tracking performance in the presence of neutron-induced single-event upsets (SEUs) at normal atmospheric levels.