Analysis of Toroidal Actuation Systems for Aerospace Vehicles

This paper presents Lycoming's approach to a mechanical servo actuator for an all-mechanical flight control system. A history of traction transmissions and their effects on the toroidal actuator development is given. A description of the actuator, with basic design criteria, is presented. Component and system test results, including parametric and theoretical analyses, substantiate the feasibility of the approach. Techniques for tailoring performance to a specific requirement are discussed, including a unique approach to mechanical cascading for control power amplification.