Integrative physiology-coupled pilot-centered flight simulation

Abstract

Maintaining the pilot’s physiological performance envelope within the limits of human capabilities may be crucial for avoiding hazardous physiological episodes in fighter aircraft that compromise safety. The main physiological episode of interest is impaired pilot respiration, better known as hypoxia, caused by a high fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO₂) at high altitudes and variation in accelerative gravitational forces (g-forces). This research focuses on coupling FlightGear and Pulse Physiology Engine (Pulse) simulations to recreate and understand hypoxic events related to a combination of high g-forces and high-FiO2. By coupling interactive simulations based on FlightGear and Pulse, hypoxia was recreated from two scenarios: simulated accelerative atelectasis, achieved by using high g-forces output from FlightGear with a modified Pulse tension pneumothorax scenario, and the combination of high g-forces and high-FiO2, based on a prototype OBOGS simulation. Each scenario resulted in hypoxic events after executing three consecutive simulations, validated by the ratio mismatch of pulmonary ventilation ( ${\stackrel{·}{V}}_A$ ) and perfusion ( $\stackrel{·}{Q}$ ) rates, ${\stackrel{·}{V}}_A/\stackrel{·}{Q}$ , due to a reduction in ventilation. Eventually, a detailed atelectasis simulation founded on multi-physics finite elements (FE) is planned in future work, where real-time efficiency is feasible through a deep neural network implementation trained on FE experiments. Using neural networks based on biometrics and pre-existing health conditions, if any, will result in the development of a predictive analytics model to determine whether pilots are susceptible to hypoxia prior to flight.