Locking Actuators Today and Beyond

Hydraulic actuators with internal mechanical locks are attractive when safe repeatable positioning is required along with insensitivity to load and hydraulic pressure variations. Internal locking designs generally offer a lighter, smaller, better protected solution than external locks for applications such as: landing gear, doors, highlift devices, inlet/exhaust geometry control, and armament positioning. The evolution of higher pressure hydraulic systems imposes design challenges because of smaller areas, higher stresses, and high release loads. This paper looks at the experience of one supplier of locking actuators, Dowty Decoto, Inc. (DDI), and at the technology that is, and will be, required to provide the industry with functional, reliable locking actuators.