USE OF OPTICAL SENSORS FOR ELECTRO-MECHANICAL ACTUATORS TORQUE ESTIMATION

The transition to extended electrical power feeds for subsystems in commercial aircraft has led to the adoption of new actuation systems for both primary and secondary flight controls. Electromechanical actuators (EMAs) are emerging as the most viable choice for these applications. Alongside this technological shift, there is a growing interest in developing innovative methods for monitoring the operational state and assessing the health of EMA systems during normal use. Currently, the evaluation of a system's condition relies on simulation models. For this study, the EMA system was validated using an experimental test bench designed to replicate the structure and operation of an electromechanical actuator. The primary focus of the work was on exploring new sensor technologies, specifically optical fiber-based sensors. These sensors' ability to measure the load applied to mechanical components was evaluated using the aforementioned experimental bench. A key challenge addressed was distinguishing the mechanical characteristics from the thermal effects in the sensor data. Both factors were present simultaneously, and their influence on the data analysis was not immediately clear due to experimental uncertainties and varying test conditions. The study aimed to develop methods for isolating these contributions, enabling more accurate monitoring of EMA system performance during operation.