The basic components of electromechanical actuators include geartrains, prime movers, bearings, shafts, sensors, cooling components, and fasteners. A common requirement that drives a typical actuator design process is providing the output torque and speed needed for the given actuator task in a minimum volume/weight geometry. Two important questions to be answered in this research relate to the scaling and configuration management of an electromechanical actuator design. The first question is: "Given an electromechanical actuator design, how can it be scaled to produce another design that meets a different set of requirements (e.g., torque, speed, weight, life)?" The second question is: "Given an electromechanical actuator design, how can a designer change the configuration to obtain another design that meets the same set of requirements in a different geometric package/shape?" The answers to these questions rely on the development of a science of design process for electromechanical actuators to replace the current design process, which is based primarily on designer experience and often requires multiple design iterations. The Robotics Research Group (RRG) is currently working on this science of design process, which includes parametric design rules that can be used to reveal how actuator design parameters affect its key performance indicators. To improve this science, this research develops a detailed parametric model of the primary actuator components for a standard actuator, summarizes the design rules available from this model, formally defines the concepts of scaling and configuration management, and lays out a step-by-step process to implement these concepts. The parametric model used in this research builds on the existing models of previous RRG researchers. The design rules are developed based on the fundamental modeling equations that govern the design of the actuator components. The concepts of scaling and configuration management are defined as two of the fundamental design operations that can be applied to an electromechanical actuator. A scaling and configuration management process, which requires the parametric model, is developed and applied to an existing set of baseline actuator designs. The result of this process is the creation of actuator designs of intermediate size between the sizes of existing actuators, which makes it suitable for populating an actuator family. To handle the size and complexity of the actuator parametric model, this research introduces the model reduction technique of monotonicity analysis and illustrates how it is well suited for the electromechanical actuator design problem. A future goal of the RRG is to create a software tool that will contain a complete actuator parametric model, component design rules (of this and future research), and scaling and configuration management options, which will allow users to design actuators with a minimum amount of time, cost, and knowledge

This book presents recent results on fault diagnosis and condition monitoring of airborne electromechanical actuators, illustrating both algorithmic and hardware design solutions to enhance the reliability of onboard more electric aircraft. The book begins with an introduction to the current trends in the development of electrically powered actuation systems for aerospace applications. Practical examples are proposed to help present approaches to reliability, availability, maintainability and safety analysis of airborne equipment. The terminology and main strategies for fault diagnosis and condition monitoring are then reviewed. The core of the book focuses on the presentation of relevant case studies of fault diagnosis and monitoring design for airborne electromechanical actuators, using different techniques. The last part of the book is devoted to a summary of lessons learned and practical suggestions for the design of fault diagnosis solutions of complex airborne systems. The book is written with the idea of providing practical guidelines on the development of fault diagnosis and monitoring algorithms for airborne electromechanical actuators. It will be of interest to practitioners in aerospace, mechanical, electronic, reliability and systems engineering, as well as researchers and postgraduates interested in dynamical systems, automatic control and safety-critical systems. Advances in Industrial Control reports and encourages the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.

This book presents recent results on fault diagnosis and condition monitoring of airborne electromechanical actuators, illustrating both algorithmic and hardware design solutions to enhance the reliability of onboard more electric aircraft. The book begins with an introduction to the current trends in the development of electrically powered actuation systems for aerospace applications. Practical examples are proposed to help present approaches to reliability, availability, maintainability and safety analysis of airborne equipment. The terminology and main strategies for fault diagnosis and condition monitoring are then reviewed. The core of the book focuses on the presentation of relevant case studies of fault diagnosis and monitoring design for airborne electromechanical actuators, using different techniques. The last part of the book is devoted to a summary of lessons learned and practical suggestions for the design of fault diagnosis solutions of complex airborne systems. The book is written with the idea of providing practical guidelines on the development of fault diagnosis and monitoring algorithms for airborne electromechanical actuators. It will be of interest to practitioners in aerospace, mechanical, electronic, reliability and systems engineering, as well as researchers and postgraduates interested in dynamical systems, automatic control and safety-critical systems. Advances in Industrial Control reports and encourages the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.

Nonlinear Control Techniques for Electro-Hydraulic Actuators in Robotics Engineering meets the needs of those working in advanced electro-hydraulic controls for modern mechatronic and robotic systems. The non-linear EHS control methods covered are proving to be more effective than traditional controllers, such as PIDs. The control strategies given address parametric uncertainty, unknown external load disturbance, single-rod actuator characteristics, and control saturation. Theoretical and experimental validations are explained, and examples provided. Based on the authors' cutting-edge research, this work is an important resource for engineers, researchers, and students working in EHS.

Mechanical systems are becoming increasingly complex, containing hundreds of design parameters where the imperative is to increase performance while reducing costs. To meet these demands will require a paradigm shift away from trial and error procedures for monolithic structures and one-off designs towards an open architecture where global technology diffusion and systems on demand can become the accepted basis for significant economic return on investment. To achieve this goal, the design process must be more completely understood for the designer to handle increasingly complex systems in a manner that improves design. It is the goal of this work to convey the need for improved design science and to lay a foundation for the design of electromechanical actuators using fundamental principles and parametric formulations. Overall, this research provides the electromechanical actuator designer with a framework and some initial tools to aid in the design synthesis process with the ultimate goal of improving actuator design. This entails the development of a step by step process beginning with the selection of the actuator architecture based on specified design priorities. This is followed by the development of a parametric model of the chosen actuator configuration based on the design priorities and including the most important design parameters. Given this model, a method for extracting useful information in the form of design tradeoffs is developed. This work uses a method called algebraic reduction to manipulate the parametric model and gain design insights. An example demonstrating this design synthesis framework is given and includes the application of algebraic reduction to polynomial systems.

The unavoidable element in the development of flight control systems (to date) has been in hydraulic actuators. This has been the case primarily because of their proven reliability and the lack of alternative technologies. However, the technology to build electromechanically actuated primary flight control systems is now available, which may mark the end of the hydraulic actuation systems - an important step for the development of the future 'all-electric' aircraft.

This practical text features computer-aided engineering methods for the design and application of magnetic actuators and sensors, using the latest software tools. John Brauer highlights the use of the electromagnetic finite element software package Maxwell? SV and introduces readers to applications using SPICE, MATLAB?, and Simplorer?. A free download of Maxwell? SV is available at the Ansoft site, and the software files for the examples are available at ftp://ftp.wiley.com/public/sci_tech_med/magnetic_actuators. The text is divided into four parts: * Part One, Magnetics, offers an introduction to magnetic actuators and sensors as well as basic electromagnetics, followed by an examination of the reluctance method, the finite element method, magnetic force, and other magnetic performance parameters * Part Two, Actuators, explores DC actuators, AC actuators, and magnetic actuator transient operation * Part Three, Sensors, details Hall effect and magnetoresistance as they apply to sensing position. Readers are introduced to many other types of magnetic sensors * Part Four, Systems, covers aspects of systems common to both magnetic actuators and sensors, including coil design and temperature calculations, electromagnetic compatibility, electromechanical finite elements, and electromechanical analysis using system models. The final chapter sets forth the advantages of electrohydraulic systems that incorporate magnetic actuators and/or sensors A major thrust of this book is teaching by example. In addition to solved examples provided by the author, problems at the end of each chapter help readers to confirm their understanding of new skills and techniques. References, provided in each chapter, help readers explore particular topics in greater depth. With its emphasis on problem solving and applications, this is an ideal textbook for electrical and mechanical engineers enrolled in upper-level undergraduate and graduate classes in electromechanical engineering.