A Generic Mission-Level Flight Control Surface EMA Power Consumption Simulation Tool

Abstract

The use of electromechanical actuators (EMAs) for aeronautical applications promises substantial benefits regarding efficiency and operability. To advance the design of power electronics and secondary power supply, there is a need for the ability to swiftly study the effects of aircraft mission and operational aspects on the actuator energy consumption. Pursuant to this, the aim of the work presented in this paper is twofold: (i) to build a generic mission-level flight control surface EMA power consumption simulation framework and (ii) to apply this framework to a case study involving a small all-electric aircraft, in which selected factors that impact energy consumption are investigated. The core of the framework comprises physics-based EMA power estimators, linked with a six-degree-of-freedom flight dynamics and control simulation module. The case study results show that the actuator power consumption correlates positively with the proportional gains in the flight control system but is inversely proportional to the trajectory radius and linearly dependent on turbulence intensity. The developed framework could aid in the selection of the actuator, as well as in the optimisation of airborne electronics and secondary power supply.