Aircraft Actuator Fault Detector Based on Non Linear Inverse Dynamics

Abstract

Control allocation compute the commands that are applied to the actuators so that a certain set of forces or moments are generated by the control effectors. In this communication we consider the problem of the design of an airborne system whose function is to solve the problem of allocation of transportation aircraft actuators during manoeuvres. The case of a roll manoeuvre, which may be quite demanding for the wings structure, is more particularly considered. The aim of this supervision function, similar to the load alleviation function, is to control the bending and flexion moments of the wings while performing a manoeuvre which can turn to be extreme. The wings actuators considered are the ailerons, the spoilers and the flaps, but the other aerodynamic actuators, elevators and rudders, must be considered to take into account the existing coupling effects between the three body axis. The proposed approach may be applied specially in the case in which some of the actuators are failed (stuck to a particular deflection or flapping in the wind stream) while theirs limitations, such as position, speed and response time, are considered explicitly in this study.