Design of PMSM for EMA Employed in Secondary Flight Control Systems

Giangrande, P.; Al-Timimy, A.; Galassini, A.; Papadopoulos, S.; Degano, M.; Galea, M.

Abstract

The more electric aircraft (MEA) initiative aims to improve weight, fuel consumption and maintenance costs of the aircraft, by increasing the use of electric power in actuation systems. Considering this scenario, electromechanical actuators (EMAs) for flight control (FC) systems represent a key technology in future aircraft. The paper presents a linear geared EMA for secondary FC systems, where the safety and availability requirements are fulfilled by duplicating the electric drive acting on the EMA drive-train (i.e. two power converters feeding as many electrical machines coupled to the same mechanical system). The design of the permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) integrated into the EMA is addressed. Preliminary results on the PMSM prototype are also provided and compared to the finite element (FE) outcomes obtained at the design stage. The EMA performance at system-level is evaluated in Dymola environment, analyzing three operating modes, such as active-active, active-standby and active-shorted. Finally, some thermal considerations regarding the active-shorted configuration are outlined.

Citation

Giangrande, P., Al-Timimy, A., Galassini, A., Papadopoulos, S., Degano, M., & Galea, M. (2018, November). Design of PMSM for EMA Employed in Secondary Flight Control Systems. Presented at 2018 IEEE International Conference on Electrical Systems for Aircraft, Railway, Ship Propulsion and Road Vehicles & International Transportation Electrification Conference (ESARS-ITEC), Nottingham

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (Published)
• Conference Name: 2018 IEEE International Conference on Electrical Systems for Aircraft, Railway, Ship Propulsion and Road Vehicles & International Transportation Electrification Conference (ESARS-ITEC)
• Start Date: Nov 7, 2018
• End Date: Nov 9, 2018
• Acceptance Date: Nov 9, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jan 4, 2019
• Publication Date: Jan 4, 2019
• Deposit Date: Aug 19, 2019
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• ISBN: 9781538641927
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/esars-itec.2018.8607467
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/1800150