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E Rudder
E Rudder
(e‐Rudder)
Advanced Flight control system – Design Development and
Manufacturing of an Electro Mechanical Actuator with
associated Electronic Control Unit and dedicated Test
Bench
State of the art – Background The benefits of the electric A/C are clear and
some applications are being already targeted
with the introduction of electric motors as a
The use of electrical Power On Demand replacement to hydraulic ones or even the
systems in place of hydraulic systems are removal of a complete hydraulic system. Such
becoming the norm in all new aircrafts achievement has recently been accomplished
developments. The continuing need to reduce in A380 and A350 aircrafts with 2 electric 2
overall fuel burn on the aircraft leads to the use hydraulic circuits architecture (2H2E).
of more electrically powered systems.
The absence of hydraulics also greatly reduces
Current aircrafts rely on one or several costs and simplifies maintenance activities [1].
hydraulic systems to provide the hydraulic Diminution of operating costs will be patent in
power required to operate the different con- the forthcoming years as these A/Cs operate on
sumers installed throughout the A/C. These a regular basis. The objective in a midterm is to
systems go from utility consumers, such as the eliminate another hydraulic circuit (1H2E) using
landing gear, cargo doors, etc… to primary and the remaining one for landing gear and some
secondary flight control surfaces. primary flight control actuation until the AEA is
achieved in a long-term horizon.
In an attempt to reduce weight and cost -by
diminishing fuel consumption-, improve Despite all the improvements achieved to date,
environmental impact –reducing use of the industry is still reluctant to rely exclusively
hydraulic fluids and lowering fuel burnt on electrical actuators on critical flight surfaces.
particles-, and to some extent increase safety In the example for the A380, only the rudders
and reliability, A/C designs are leaning towards have all the actuators powered by electricity,
the “All Electric Aircraft (AEA)” concept. but just as a backup solution, being the main
Although, this concept may seem feasible source of energy still hydraulic (EBHA).
nowadays, AEA major challenges need to be
overcome: Electro-Hydrostatic Actuation (EHA) is the
current state of the art for electrical flight control
· Safety and reliability: prove electrical systems systems in operation. EHA are used as passive
maturity and assure the operation in the event actuators until servo-control becomes
of any possible failure. inoperative or there is a loss on the hydraulic
· Mass and Volume optimization: miniaturizing circuit. Electromechanical Actu-ators (EMAs)
devices such as IC, gears or motors. have already been implemented for some
· Harsh environment including: secondary flight surfaces like flaps or slats in
- Thermal constraints: as there is no fluid A350 and A380.
which could be used as a natural
refrigerator, need to evacuate heat An EMA consists of the association of a
through other methods arise. mechanical assembly (comprised by
- High Vibrations. mechanical components and an electric motor)
- EMI / EMC: adequate electrical and an Electric Control Unit (ECU) for power
protections are necessary to protect and control management.
electronic circuits.
The EMA concept is similar to EHA but uses a
gearbox to connect the motor and actuator rod Description of work
instead of hydraulics. Therefore, main
advantage of EMAs compared to EHA is the During the whole duration of the project CESA
simplicity due to the reduction of necessary have been managing the consortium and
components (essentially hydraulics) with the relationship with Alenia by means of
consequent increase in reliability and weight teleconferences as well as internal meetings.
savings
FLIGHT-EMA system (EMA, ECU, Test
Electric redundancy requirement could lead to a Benches) was tested and validated at several
configuration of two motors and an ECU, which stages: Virtual validation at model level and
needs also a double power supply redundancy finally experimental validations of the complete
in order to segregate completely the electric system through both on-ground and in-flight test
failure mode. For high load applications, as a campaigns.
primary flight control actuation system, this
electric redundancy has a heavy weight penalty After EMA and Test Benches set-up, tuning and
in the EMA and therefore a single electric motor qualification campaign in Tecnalia, MDU and
is considered a reasonable option if a CESA facilities, the Consortium priority was to
separated emergency extension procedure can perform all validation and qualification tests in
be included. order to comply with Copper-Bird and Flight
demonstrator time windows available, in close
collaboration with the Topic Manager, Labinal
Objectives and ATR personnel.
Once the integration of the In-Flight Test bench
The FLIGHT-EMA project objective is to design, Assembly had been correctly checked, final In-
develop, manufacture, tune and validate an Flight testing took place on March 7th 2016. It
innovative and smart Electro-Mechanical Flight consisted of a batch of tests performed in the
Control system primary Actuator focused ATR72-600 aircraft during more than one
towards the study and validation of a future oil month of work and on-site support. FLIGHT-
less Power by Wire aircraft. FLIGHT-EMA (E- EMA In-Flight Test bench assembly was tested
RUDDER) actuator is based on a modular and integrated in the aircraft. Performances when
efficient approach that integrate easily supplied and commanded by the aircraft electric
exchangeable electric and mechanical supply was successfully demonstrated.
components with sensors and control strategies
that will allow automatic and autonomous safety EMA with On-Ground Test Bench performances
control. were validated at Copper-Bird installations at
Labinal Power Systems facilities in Paris.
Volume, mass, electrical consumption, power to
mass ratio, reliability, durability and safety are These sequential and complementary
concepts that will drive the development. The validations assures a reliable, safe and efficient
FLIGHT-EMA system will be tested and performance of the demonstrator and provide
validated at several stages: Virtual validation at data for a deep concept evaluation.
model level and finally actual experimental
validations of the complete system through both The actuator implements three different control
on-ground and in-flight test campaigns. modes commanded by the ECU: Active,
Damping and Antijamming mode. Active mode
These sequential and complementary controls the actuator in position according to the
validations assure thus a reliable, safe and demand from FCC, Flight Control Computer,
efficient performance of the prototype and having internal close loops as position, speed,
provide data for a deep concept evaluation. current and flux-weakening
When ECU sets the operation of EMA to application. This test bench was used to fix the
Damping mode, actuator is not controlled in parameters related to inertia and flux
position close loop any more. Therefore, weakening.
actuator is controlled to act as a damper in
which a force close loop is controlled as a Results reveal the real effects of main
function of the speed imposed by the rest of parameters of system as inertia, backlash,
actuators installed in aerodynamic surface. This frictions, death bands, precision and resolutions
mode of operation is possible thanks to the in the curves of speed and current. A careful
reversible capability of actuator with a low study of these effects have been done in order
backdrive force tested in a wide range of to optimize the current consumptions avoiding
speeds. In this way, motor/generator is able to peaks of current that can constraint the
impose the force required to avoid any flattering performance of the EMA and also the
of aerodynamic surface or to extend the characteristics of the power flow from power
Landing gear with a limited speed. During these supply
operations, electrical energy is generated in
actuator. This power is managed internally to The very demanding requirements needed a
control the HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current huge number of tuning and validation tests,
Bus) including the constant frequency control being a big effort from both technical and
and the redistribution of power flow. managerial point of view. It included parameters
control tuning with no load, sinusoidal,
Last mode of operation is the antijamming trapezoidal and constant load, at different
scenario. In case of EMA for Rudder, the amplitudes and speed, with the aim to validate
antijamming system allows disconnecting the control stability, performances, limits, frequency
actuator from the Rudder surface in case of a response and load actuator effectiveness.
non-recoverable failure in actuator keeping the Demonstration campaign also included Anti-
control by the other actuators installed in jamming system, Vibration test, EMI/EMC,
architecture working in Active mode. voltage spikes, and other environmental
conditions for airborne equipment according to
In order to design an EMA/ECU device for aeronautical standards.
safety-critical applications, the commonly used
solution is the device redundancy. However, in
high load application, the electric redundancy
has a heavy weight penalty in the EMA. To Results
solve this issue without compromising the
safety, a single electric motor with a separated a) Timeline & main milestones
emergency actuations approach has been
adopted. The project had a total duration of 40 month.
The complete specifications were agree
between the consortium and Alenia by month
A static test bench based on a spring load 10. The Preliminary design review took place
equivalent to the real one was also used for a on month 11 and the final design review on
preliminary adjustment of the main parameters month 21. The EMA with the In-Flight test
of control without influence of the dynamics and Bench delivery took place on Jan-16 (M34) to
inertias. ATR for in-light test campaign. The On-Ground
system delivery took place on April 2016 (M37)
Flight control EMA requires a complex control and the consortium gave all requested on-site
based on the three internal loops included in support at Labinal Power Systems facilities in
ECU, current, speed, position, flux weakening Paris.
and inertia compensation. Therefore, a dynamic
test bench was used with servo loading
actuator to control the force profile according to b) Environmental benefits
the kinematic and inertias of the real Rudder
The technologies presented will open the door controls anti-jamming electromechanical
to high performance, environment friendly and system allowing always Gear extension.
economic aircraft operation by better exploiting
available weight reduction potentials of new The dedicated test bench is able to apply a
design philosophies without compromising the programmable counter load on a linear actuator
existing, high aerospace safety requirements. by means of a hydraulic actuator ensuring
These technologies are also enabling steady loads in high dynamic load curves, as
contributions to sustain or even improve safety well as in static load applications.
of aircraft operation by means of more
affordable and efficient integrated sensing / Taking into account the activities and results
actuating technologies. FLIGHT-EMA project obtained, the Technology Readiness Level
will contribute to achieve the objectives of (TRL) achieved within the project is TRL5 with
reducing the aircraft operational cost and only some performances tests pending. A
reducing the environmental impact by providing demonstrator has been developed and
manufacturing capabilities to fabricate metallic manufactured, and the different components
system and equipment components and (EMA and ECU) were integrated and tested in a
structures. IATA figures show that if an aircraft simulated environment. A dedicated test bench
reduces its weight by 100 kg, it will save four kg has been developed to test performance and
of fuel in each flying hour, and that every operational conditions of the system. Part of
kilogram of fuel saved reduces CO2 emissions tests for TRL 6 has also been partially achieved
by 3 to 3.3 kg, that is, 0,12kg CO2 emissions through functional and environmental testing
are produced per kg of weight of the aircraft and in-flight activities described.
and flying hour.
c) Maturity of works performed
Main characteristics for FLIGHT-EMA actuator
is a linear actuator with inverted ballscrew
architecture with an anti-jamming system
located inside screw able to disconnect the
actuator from the surface avoiding in this way,
any possible mechanical single failure (even
screw jamming) assuring the manouver of the
flight control by means of a second actuator in
parallel. Its dedicated electronics (ECU) is
connected to a DC power supply network at
270VDC for normal extension/retraction
operation. ECU also includes the necessary
electronics to control the BLDC motor and to
manage the auxiliary 28V BLDC motor that
Picture, Illustration
Image 1. Flight-EMA demonstrator assembled for the first time
Image 2. Flight-EMA demonstrator and In-Flight test bench performing vibration test
Image 3. Flight-EMA and In-Flight TB performing validation test in the ATR aircraft cabin
Image 4. Flight-EMA and On-Ground TB performing validation test in Copper-Bird installation at LBS
facilities
Project Summary
Acronym: FLIGHT-EMA (e-Rudder)
Name of proposal: Advanced Flight control system – Design Development and Manufacturing of
an Electro Mechanical Actuator with associated Electronic Control Unit and dedicated Test
Bench
Technical domain:
Call: JTI-CS-2012-1-GRA-03-009
Duration: 40 month