The aircraft primary flight surfaces are actuated mainly by Hydraulic Actuators (HA) when Electro-Hydrostatic Actuators (EHA) are used as a backup (e.g. Airbus A380 and Gulfstream G650). Electro-Mechanical actuators (EMA) are used mainly for actuating secondary flight surfaces (e.g. Boeing B787). To reduce the weight and power consumption of actuation systems, the more electric actuation is becoming demanded. The latest programs and activities (e.g. Smart Wing by SAGEM, More Electric Initiative or All Electrical Wing by CASA) are heading to a wing without hydraulic pipes supplying actuators that means using EMA/EHA instead of HA. The electric actuators are further step on the path from Fly-By-Wire to Power-By-Wire system where the central hydraulic supply and several hydraulic circuits are not needed at all.
The TAIRA is linked to the work plan of Regional Aircraft IADP within Clean Sky 2, specifically to the Work Package 2.4 Innovative Flight Control System. The project results will enable reliable electro-mechanical aileron actuation, the last step needed to dispose of the aircraft hydraulic system. This will significantly reduce the aircraft weight and fuel consumption, and in addition it will reduce energy reserves inherently needed in each power system leading to lower specific fuel consumption. Elimination of the hydraulic system has many advantages:
• Reduced maintenance costs
• No hydraulic oil (no need of replacement and disposal)
• Increases modularity of the aircraft, enabling wider component sourcing
• No risk of oil leakage, with positive environmental and airport safety implications
The overall project objective is to develop an aileron actuation subsystem for regional aircraft consisting of two EMAs, planned for active-active operation of single aileron, and two dedicated Electronic Actuator Control Units (EACU), and to demonstrate its maturity. The subsystem is being designed to achieve the following high-level objectives:
1. Compact & Lightweight EMA Design
2. Safe Actuation System
3. Easy & Cost-Effective Maintenance
3pcs of aileron actuation subsystem meeting the above-mentioned high-level objectives, and the Test Bench (TB) were delivered and installed at Topic Manager (TM) in 2021. Honeywell team will provide TM with a further technical support during demonstration activities on the TB and Iron Bird also in 2022 and 2023. The TAIRA project is considered as successfully accomplished.
