Feasibility study of a large switched reluctance spoiler actuator system

The flight control surfaces, such as ailerons and spoilers, of present day large civil aircraft are controlled by hydraulic actuators. At present, there is considerable interest in the concept of the 'all- or more-electric aircraft' in which traditional technologies, such as hydraulic actuators, are replaced by their electromechanical counterparts. Potential advantages include savings in weight (and hence reduced fuel consumption) and improved reliability and maintainability. The work described in the paper forms part of a broader two year feasibility study of electromechanical actuation of flight control surfaces based on a case study of a spoiler application. Its specific focus is the suitability of switched reluctance (SR) motor technology. SR motor drives are considered to be robust and fault tolerant: these are important attributes given the hostile environment of an aircraft in flight and the safety critical nature of the application. In the case of the spoiler application it was found that the dynamic requirements were modest and that thermal issues dominated the motor and converter design. Detailed simulation studies indicate that the proposed system can meet the performance requirements.