PROGNOSTICS OF AEROSPACE ELECTROMECHANICAL ACTUATORS USING THE FAILURE MAPS TECHNIQUE

The gradual deployment of Electro Mechanical Actuators (EMAs) as primary flight controls actuators, driven by the “more electric” approach, must be paired up with a solid prognostic background in order to overcome the limited experience and to support the system during his lifecycle. In fact, assessing EMAs actual states thanks to Prognostic and Health Monitoring (PHM) systems and detecting potential failures is crucial to guarantee the compliance to the relative safety requirements. The research activity described in this paper focuses on the development of a model-driven deterministic methodology based on Failure Modes Maps (FMMs). Thanks to data obtained through a Numerical Test Bench (NTB) and a Simplified Model (SM), the proposed prognostic algorithm is proved capable of detecting and identifying the source and magnitude of two different failures: rotor eccentricity and increased friction. After a short description of the implemented models and a general overview of typical EMA failure modes as well as FMMs development, the proposed algorithm is explained in detail. This is followed by a comprehensive study of the two simulated failures as well as the creation of the relative FMMs. Finally, the proposed prognostic algorithm is successfully applied on the obtained FMMs.