Motor speed reconstruction in a compact EMA for primary flight controls via sensor-fusion technique

The paper deals with the development and the performance characterisation of a sensor-fusion technique aiming to the reconstruction of the motor speed feedback in a compact EMA for primary flight control applications. The technique is based on the combination of the measurements of a LVDT and the Hall-effect sensors of the BLDC motor of the actuator. Firstly, the nonlinear dynamic model of the EMA used for the performance analysis is presented, successively the speed reconstruction technique is described, explaining the rationale underlying the design concept. The performances of the speed reconstruction are finally characterised in both frequency and time domains, by evaluating the errors of the speed estimates in both open-loop mode (directly imposing speed inputs) and closed-loop mode (simulating the position tracking response of the EMA).