Reducing Complexity in Fly-By-Wire Flight Control Actuators

Since the inception of fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control systems on high-performance aircraft, the need for highly reliable flight control actuators has been evident. Actuators capable of handling multiple failures in electronics and hydraulics have been specified as necessary to obtain high mission reliability and safety. With the recent advances in several technology areas (namely, magnetic materials, electronics, and software capability), it seems to be time to reassess these stringent actuator requirements for future aircraft. Concepts such as control law reconfiguration, new techniques of actuation, aerodynamic redundancy, and systems integration offer the control system designer new ways of obtaining mission reliability with simpler actuators.