Modelling and building of experimental rig for high redundancy actuator

Abstract

The high redundancy actuator (HRA) concept is a novel approach to fault tolerant actuation. It refers to an actuator that consists of relatively large number of actuation elements, connected both in series and parallel to form a single actuator. This configuration improves the reliability and availability of the actuator and thus provides a high degree of fault tolerance. The HRA also reduces the need for over-sizing an actuator especially in safety-critical applications such as aerospace. HRA is suitable to a wide range of actuation technology but this paper focuses on a linear electromechanical actuator (EMA) due to its extensive application not only in industrial machinery but in aircraft and the aerospace industry in general. This paper presents ongoing and future work to demonstrate the concept of a fault tolerant system high redundancy actuator through a 3-by-4 series-in-parallel linear electromechanical actuator.