btec hnc - microprocessor systems - investigate microprocessor based systems

8/2/2019 BTEC HNC - Microprocessor Systems - Investigate Microprocessor Based Systems

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Investigate Microprocessor

Based SystemsMicroprocessor SystemsBy Brendan Burr


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Brendan Burr BTEC Higher National Certificate in ElectronicsMicroprocessor Systems

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................... 2

TASK 1 ................................................................................ 4

1.1 Choose 3 different microprocessor device families fromeither the Intel, Motorola, AMD, range of manufacturers e.g.Intel Pentium and Motorola 68000 (or any other) .................. 4

Solution:- .........................................................................................4

1.2 Where possible obtain manufacturers data sheets of themicroprocessor devices and use these to make a comparisonin the form of a table for each microprocessor, based upon

the following:- .................................................................... 4Solution:- .........................................................................................4

TASK 2 ............................................................................... 5

2.1 Choose 3 different typical applications of microprocessorbased systems. ................................................................... 5

Some examples of typical applications are:- ........................ 5

(a) Control systems (e.g. Car engine management, robotics) . 5Solution:- .........................................................................................5

(b) Instrumentation systems (e.g. Test equipment, data andlogging systems, display systems) ....................................... 5

Solution:- .........................................................................................5

(c) Communication systems (e.g. GPS, mobile phones,broadband) ......................................................................... 5

Solution:- .........................................................................................5

(d) Commercial systems (e.g. ATMs, PCs, laptops, printers,hand held stock loggers) ..................................................... 5

Solution:- .........................................................................................5

2.2 Evaluate your 3 chosen systems in the form of a technicalinvestigation. The investigation should be between 2000 and3000 words i.e at least 3 sides of A4 per applicationminimum, including diagrams etc. ........................................ 6

Control System - Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS):- .............6Communication System - Global Positioning System (GPS):- .......... 12

EVALUATION ..................................................................... 15

CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 15

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Books ............................................................................... 16

Catalogues ........................................................................ 16

Websites ........................................................................... 16

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Task 1

1.1 Choose 3 different microprocessor device families from either theIntel, Motorola, AMD, range of manufacturers e.g. Intel Pentium andMotorola 68000 (or any other)

Solution:-

I have chosen the following Microprocessor device families:

Intel Core i7 Processor

AMD Phenom II Processor

Motorola 68000

1.2 Where possible obtain manufacturers data sheets of the microprocessordevices and use these to make a comparison in the form of a table foreach microprocessor, based upon the following:-

Solution:-

ProcessingSpeed

Addressand Data

Sizes

InstructionSet

PhysicalSize

Intel Corei7 Processor 3.2GHz 64 Bit x86-64 42.5mm X45.0mm

AMDPhenom IIProcessor

3.2GHz 64 Bit x86-6440.0mm X40.0mm

Motorola68000

10MHz 32 Bit 56 Types33.8mm X15.8 mm

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Task 2

2.1 Choose 3 different typical applications of microprocessor basedsystems.

Some examples of typical applications are:-

(a) Control systems (e.g. Car engine management, robotics)

Solution:-

I have decided to use the Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) inAircraft.

(b) Instrumentation systems (e.g. Test equipment, data and loggingsystems, display systems)

Solution:-

I have decided to use Display Systems in Aircraft.

(c) Communication systems (e.g. GPS, mobile phones, broadband)

Solution:-

I have decided to use the Global Positioning Systems in Aircraft.

(d) Commercial systems (e.g. ATMs, PCs, laptops, printers, hand heldstock loggers)

Solution:-

N/A

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2.2 Evaluate your 3 chosen systems in the form of a technical investigation.The investigation should be between 2000 and 3000 words i.e at least 3sides of A4 per application minimum, including diagrams etc.

Control System -Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS):-

IntroductionThe AFCS is a system which can control numerous aspects of an aircraft. Itwas originally created to aid the pilot and relieve him/her during the tediousstages of flight, such as high altitude cruising. The system prevents the needfor constant human intervention, reducing the workload considerably andmaking standard manoeuvres much safer.Advances to the system have resulted in aircraft which can practically flythemselves, using basic human data entry. Inevitably the need for a pilot will

disappear entirely and the AFCS will control everything from flyingmanoeuvres to climate control inside the cabin for its passengers.

System RequirementsThe most standard AFCS will need to carry out calculations to control threebasic surfaces on an aircraft. The first area is the elevators, which aredevices on the tail of the aircraft that control pitch; this moves the aircraft on ahorizontal axis perpendicular to the direction of motion. The second area isalso at the tail of the aircraft; when the rudder is tilted to the right the aircraftyaws (twists on the vertical axis) in that direction, when the rudder is tilted tothe left the aircraft yaws in the opposite direction. The third area is the

ailerons, which are located on the rear edge of each wing; these roll theaircraft from side to side.

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A three-axis AFCS is required to meet the control requirements of the abovethree elements. This will fundamentally control the aircraft flyingcharacteristics to a level where the Pilot can program a number of settingsand the aircraft will compute and adjust to meet those requirements.

System ComponentsIn the core of any modern AFCS, there is a computer with several high speedprocessors. The computer receives its data from numerous inputs situatedaround the aircraft in the form of sensors. The sensors will commonly befound on the three areas of the aircraft defined in the system requirements(elevators, rudder and ailerons).Information is also fed into the system via the on-board instruments which arealso monitoring the environment, such as the altimeter, airspeed indicator,gyroscopes, accelerometers and compasses.The Avionics software will carry out a large number of calculations using theinput data. Those calculations will then determine if the aircraft is flying to therequested setting. If the aircraft is not flying as requested then the AFCSprocessors will send signals to Servo units, which will automatically adjust theelevators, rudder and ailerons to remove any error.

The simplified Feedback Loop for control of the rudder is shown in the aboveimage, where the Control Mode is entered by the Pilot, which provides aspecification of parameters for the Autopilot Processor to follow. Parallel tothe Control Mode is the input data being received by the Sensors. These two

data sets are compared and the adjustment signal is sent to the RudderServo, which will, either using hydraulics or motors, adjust the Rudderposition. The new Rudder Deflection changes the flying characteristic of theaircraft and provides a new data set, received by the sensors, which is thensent back into the Autopilot Processor, in a continuous loop.

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Reliability of PartsThe problem with such a complex system is that the reliability of parts isparamount to maintaining the safety levels acquired from using the system inthe first place.If, during flight, a Servo malfunctioned, the signal being sent from the

Autopilot Processor may not change the angle of the Rudder and thereforecause an altercation to the course or the aircraft. This malfunction wouldrequire the intervention of the Pilot, who may not notice the changeimmediately.For the reason of requiring reliable parts to ensure safety, the expense of theparts inevitably increases. There are numerous lengthy maintenanceschedules which need to be carried out to ensure all parts of the AFCS are inworking order, before each flight.

Microprocessor UsageThe microprocessors used in the AFCS have to be relatively powerful andable to number crunch large data sets extremely quickly.An Airbus A380 has a cruise speed of 680mph, which is effectively 11 milesevery minute. Because of the high speed, any adjustment created by theAFCS system needs to be recorded and sent back to the processing unit asquickly as possible. The consequence of having a feedback loop in thecontrol system which takes a minute to provide a new data set would result inthe aircraft having moved 11 miles through space before another change ismade. The end result could be catastrophic meaning that it is crucial to havea fast processor to be able to provide new adjustments as soon as possible.

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Instrumentation System - Display Systems in Aircraft:-

IntroductionThe weight of an aircraft has always been a considered factor in theengineering design stages. This is because of the basic principles in flight

which state that the heavier an object is, the more lift will be required to get itoff of the ground. This will then have a knock on effect with the type ofengines used and the overall cost of the aircraft.The introduction of lighter components used in the aircraft decreases theoverall weight and results in major benefits in performance. Because of thismajor weight reductions are achieved by integrating newer technology into theaircraft, due to the common miniaturisation that takes place through time. Forexample Moores Law describes the general trend of microchips becomingsmaller and yet more powerful every year and a half. So more can beprovided for less!In aircraft a lot of weight is added because of the numerous mechanicalinstruments, with each displaying a maximum of a few pieces of information.Recently to save weight the instruments have all been integrated into a digitalformat and are now commonly displayed in a Glass Cockpit. This is where acockpit coaming panel has several screens, with each being controlled by theFlight Management Systems, displaying all aspects of the aircraft.

System RequirementsInformation being gathered by the analogue sensors will need to be convertedand conditioned to a digital format and then sent to the screens. This processwill need to take place in an extremely quick time, as the information that the

Pilot works from is crucial in defining the required actions needed to keep theaircraft and its passengers safe.The refresh time of the instrumentation system will have to be very frequent toensure that the data being supplied to the Pilot is the most recent.

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Airbus_A380_cockpit.jpg


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Above is an image taken inside the cockpit of an Airbus A380, as you can seethere are numerous LCD displays which can display highly detailedinformation, such as weather reports.The LCD displays will have to be capable of working in high vibrationenvironments, as the vibration caused in the take-off and landing phases, as

well as turbulence during flight can have adverse effects on electroniccomponents.

System ComponentsThe Flight Management System processes and provides all the informationwhich is to be supplied to the displays. Within this system there needs to benumerous Analogue to Digital converters, this is because there will behundreds of sensors located around the aircraft providing an analogue signal.For example a Barometer in aircraft, used to measure the Altitude will requirea transducer with a diaphragm, the atmospheric pressure will flex thediaphragm and provide a voltage out. The voltage output will require atransformation into data, so that the Flight Management System canunderstand its value. This is just one of many of the common aircraftinstruments which will require analogue to digital conversion.

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Unlike the AFCS the Flight Management System used in the display screens,has a basic open system:

However when the Pilot uses the information to control the aircraft, the systembecomes a closed loop system:

Reliability of PartsIt has been pointed out that the display systems in modern aircraft are far lessreliable than the older mechanical concepts. This is likely due to the fact thatthere are a lot more components involved in the standard display systems, so

there is a greater chance of something going wrong.Nevertheless the safety issues concerned with this are a matter of life anddeath, so need to be considered intricately.Like the AFCS it is of paramount importance that there is no failure in thesystem. Unlike the AFCS where problems would arise autonomously throughcorrupt data sets, it would be down to the two Pilots in the cockpit to makedecisions whilst flying blind, should the display system fail.The cost would increase when aircraft manufacturers buy in parts which havea better life expectancy and reliability rate. The cost will also increase due tothe LDC displays themselves, needing to be vibration proof, and unlikely todisplay dead pixels.

Microprocessor UsageIt has only been since the turn of the millennium that the need for GlassCockpits has arisen. There is an ever increasing problem with air traffic, soclear and precise data gathering systems have never been so important. TheGlass Cockpit allows calculations to be easily worked out, ensuring fuelconsumption is kept to a minimum when waiting in line to land.The requirement of better display systems has only been possible because ofthe increase in technological performance. The microprocessors used in astandard Smartphone have more processing power than the computer thatput the first man on the moon.

The display system will have a frequent refresh rate, say 50Hz. This willrequire high processing speeds to ensure that data changes are displayed tothe Pilots.

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Sensors ADC Flight

ManagementSystem

Displays

Sensors ADC FlightManagement

System

Displays

PilotsActions

AircraftPositionChanges


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Communication System - Global Positioning System (GPS):-

IntroductionThe expanse of air travel over the last century has led to long distance flyingbecoming the norm. Within 24 hours, a standard large aircraft can transportyou to the other side of the world, with such accuracy that it will even land ona 2 mile stretch of tarmac, after waiting in a queue of other aircraft, preciselyand safely.I personally find it fascinating that information about each aircraft, of whichthere are approximately 27,047 in flight a day, is so complex and yet so easilymonitored and it is practically down to one technology; GPS.It increases the safety in flight considerably, as information can be monitoredby Air Traffic Control Towers, which will warn Pilots of unforeseen dangersand direct them on a safe flight path. It also increases the accuracy, asexplained in my example above. Aircraft can now navigate to such precise

levels that they can travel the entire planet with ease. Looking back at a timebefore GPS, Pilots often got lost over areas with limited landmarks, such asthe sea. You would have had to have used the map, compass, speed,heading, wind speed and direction and many other variables, to get a roughapproximation on your location in the sky, with the hope that you had enoughfuel to make it to dry land before sinking into the vast ocean.The GPS does not just increase the survival rate, but also promotes economicflying, as flying direct to the destination, rather than getting lost and making aU turn will inevitably save money and emissions from fuel usage.

System Requirements

The Global Positioning System allows aircraft to provide position reports overa satellite network. The systems can be integrated into aircraft in many forms,for example they can be implemented within the Glass Cockpit or they canbe handheld devices which the Pilots carry around with them. Either systemwill have the same system requirements.

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The system will need to be able to send and receive data through antenna;receivers and transmitters. This information needs to be sent at frequentintervals to help in the tracking of the aircraft if there are ever any Air CrashInvestigations, and to help in the Search and Rescue activities that will take

place after the accident. Previous Air Crash Disasters have resulted in searchteams spending days on end trying to locate the missing aircraft. In myexample with the AFCS, an Airbus will travel 11 miles a minute at its usualcruising speed, so if 15 minutes of flight have gone by, before noticing theaircraft has crashed, the search and rescue team will have a 165 mile crashradius where the aircraft could be. GPS takes this factor away, as constantupdates are provided so the aircrafts last known position can be easilylocated.

System ComponentsThe concept of a Global Positioning System is relatively simple. It involveshaving a receiver, transmitter and software to help you decode the informationin terms of your position.The receiver is the device in the aircraft, its job is to locate three satellites outof the 24 which are in orbit around the earth. The satellites are constantlytransmitting their location to the earths surface, these are the transmitters.Once the receiving device has located three satellites, it measures thedistance from each by comparing the time (set on an atomic clock in eachsatellite). A simple time and speed calculation will determine the distance.The trilateration calculation can then begin, where all three satellites areencased in hypothetical spheres, the spheres will intersect in two places, one

is in space (which is discarded) and the other is on earth (which is the locationof the receiver). Finally the software on the receiver will help decode all ofthis and provide the user with their location in space.

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In aircraft, especially with the new Glass Cockpits, the location of the aircraftis implemented on a map layer, this provides a visual reference over terrainmaps. Implementing the GPS information with the altitude can allow amazingthree dimensional images, allowing pilots to visualise their surroundings, evenin zero visibility. These functions increase the safety aspect of flight

considerably, by helping prevent special disorientation during low visibilityscenarios.

Reliability of PartsThe Transmitter is located in orbit around the earths atmosphere, so if itbreaks down mechanically it would be extremely costly and difficult to fix. Asa precaution there are actually 27 satellites in orbit, but only 24 areoperational. So if a satellite goes out of action for whatever reason, it can bereplaced using one of the three reserve satellites.The area which is in the hands of the Pilots is the Receiver. The antenna canbe damaged during flight if a piece of ice falls off a wing and hits it. For thisreason, the Pilots do a pre-flight check of a large number of things, ensuringthat there is no damage and if there is an operational report will be filled out toget the problem fixed.The parts in the receiver, such as the antenna, will need to be serviceable tokeep costs to a minimum when there are problems.As with the other systems, the receiver will need to be able to work inenvironments which have high levels of vibration. This is likely to increase thecost, however another cause of cost increase is likely to be the need of havinghigh precision information, resulting in high precision and reliable componentsin the receivers circuitry.

Microprocessor UsageMicroprocessors have enabled the production of GPS, because they are ableto number crunch large data sets quickly and accurately. With the satellitespositions (in consideration to the earths surface) constantly moving, there is aneed for calculations to take place within a second of receiving the informationpacket. This could not happen if it wasnt for the use of microprocessors.The processors required will need to be fast and reliable to prevent anycorruption of the data received by the satellite of sent to the user. This isespecially important in an aircraft where the wrong information will potentiallybe fatal.

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Evaluation

This assignment forced me to look at aspects of an aircraft which I knewexisted, but didnt know much about.

For Task 1.1 and 1.2, I managed to complete each task relatively easily. Ittook me some time to find the Data Sheets for the processors, but I soonmanaged to complete Task 1 having found them.The only difficulty I had in Task 1 was finding the Data Sheets, however I didget confused on what the Address and Data Size meant and what theInstruction Set meant, as I got confused between the two.Task 2 was a lot more in depth. It took me numerous hours to locate, extractand organise a lot of information about the three systems. I decided toresearch three applications that were related, as this enabled me to integratea whole product, an aircraft, rather than three individual ones.The task appeared daunting and extremely time consuming at first, but once I

got into the first application I quite enjoyed learning new things about atechnology that I will, hopefully, one day be operating. This enjoymentcontinued through all three applications, as they are all implemented into themost basic of aircraft.I worked out a number of basic headings for Task 2, which I covered througheach application. This helped me evaluate them and maintained continuitythroughout the each of the applications.

Conclusion

I feel I have covered all of the areas necessary in this assignment. I took a

long winded approach to it, however all of the work is my own and to astandard that I usually perform. I understand that the time taken on theassignment was due to my personal requirement to include examples whenexplaining things, this meant that I had to search the little details to ensure mywhole investigation was accurate. A few examples of this are the cruisespeed of the Airbus A380 and the average length of a runway.

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Bibliography

Through guidance from my lecturer, the following text books, catalogues andwebsites I was able to complete this assignment:

Books

N/A

Catalogues

N/A

Websites

1. http://download.intel.com/products/processor/corei7/prod_brief.pdf

2. http://www.amd.com/uk/products/desktop/processors/phenom-ii/Pages/phenom-ii.aspx

3. http://www.intel.com/cd/products/services/emea/eng/processors/corei7/overview/405796.htm

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_68000#5. http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/autopilot.htm6. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_cruising_speed_of_airbus_a38

07. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_cockpit8. http://aviationglossary.com/wp-content/uploads/Kollsman-window-

glass-cockpit.gif

9. http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100905051436AAyZdsF

10.http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_length_of_runway11.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS_Aircraft_Tracking12.http://www.ahmadmedix.com/aircraft/aircraft_gps.jpg13.http://www.howstuffworks.com/gps-phone1.htm14.http://shop1.actinicexpress.co.uk/shops/partsforaircraft/images/catalog/

3large.jpg

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http://download.intel.com/products/processor/corei7/prod_brief.pdfhttp://download.intel.com/products/processor/corei7/prod_brief.pdfhttp://www.amd.com/uk/products/desktop/processors/phenom-ii/Pages/phenom-ii.aspxhttp://www.amd.com/uk/products/desktop/processors/phenom-ii/Pages/phenom-ii.aspxhttp://www.intel.com/cd/products/services/emea/eng/processors/corei7/overview/405796.htmhttp://www.intel.com/cd/products/services/emea/eng/processors/corei7/overview/405796.htmhttp://www.intel.com/cd/products/services/emea/eng/processors/corei7/overview/405796.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_68000#http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/autopilot.htmhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_cruising_speed_of_airbus_a380http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_cruising_speed_of_airbus_a380http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_cockpithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_cockpithttp://aviationglossary.com/wp-content/uploads/Kollsman-window-glass-cockpit.gifhttp://aviationglossary.com/wp-content/uploads/Kollsman-window-glass-cockpit.gifhttp://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100905051436AAyZdsFhttp://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100905051436AAyZdsFhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_length_of_runwayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS_Aircraft_Trackinghttp://www.ahmadmedix.com/aircraft/aircraft_gps.jpghttp://www.howstuffworks.com/gps-phone1.htmhttp://shop1.actinicexpress.co.uk/shops/partsforaircraft/images/catalog/3large.jpghttp://shop1.actinicexpress.co.uk/shops/partsforaircraft/images/catalog/3large.jpghttp://shop1.actinicexpress.co.uk/shops/partsforaircraft/images/catalog/3large.jpghttp://download.intel.com/products/processor/corei7/prod_brief.pdfhttp://www.amd.com/uk/products/desktop/processors/phenom-ii/Pages/phenom-ii.aspxhttp://www.amd.com/uk/products/desktop/processors/phenom-ii/Pages/phenom-ii.aspxhttp://www.intel.com/cd/products/services/emea/eng/processors/corei7/overview/405796.htmhttp://www.intel.com/cd/products/services/emea/eng/processors/corei7/overview/405796.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_68000#http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/autopilot.htmhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_cruising_speed_of_airbus_a380http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_cruising_speed_of_airbus_a380http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_cockpithttp://aviationglossary.com/wp-content/uploads/Kollsman-window-glass-cockpit.gifhttp://aviationglossary.com/wp-content/uploads/Kollsman-window-glass-cockpit.gifhttp://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100905051436AAyZdsFhttp://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100905051436AAyZdsFhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_length_of_runwayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS_Aircraft_Trackinghttp://www.ahmadmedix.com/aircraft/aircraft_gps.jpghttp://www.howstuffworks.com/gps-phone1.htmhttp://shop1.actinicexpress.co.uk/shops/partsforaircraft/images/catalog/3large.jpghttp://shop1.actinicexpress.co.uk/shops/partsforaircraft/images/catalog/3large.jpg

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