Preliminary design of aerospace linear actuator housings

Fabien Hospital (1) , Marc Budinger (1) , Aurelien Reysset (1) , Jean-Charles Maré (1)

1 ICA - Institut Clément Ader

Purpose-Aerospace actuation systems are currently tending to become more electrical and fluid free. Methodologies and models already exist for designing the mechanical and electrical components but the actuator housing design is still sketchy. This paper proposes preliminary design models of actuator housing that enable various geometries to be compared without requiring detailed knowledge of the actuator components. Design/methodology/Approach-The approach is dedicated to linear actuators, the most common in aerospace. With special attention paid to mechanical resistance to the vibratory environment, simplified geometries are proposed to facilitate the generation of an equivalent formal development. The vibratory environment imposes the sizing of the actuator housing. Depending on the expected level of details and vibration boundary conditions, three levels of modeling have been created. Practical Implications-This approach is applied to a comparison of six standard designs of linear actuator geometries after validation of the consistency of the different models. Early conclusions can be drawn and may lead to design perspectives for the definition of actuator architecture and the optimization of the design. Finding-This article shows that the vibrations induced by aircraft environment are not design drivers for conventional hydraulic actuators but can be an issue for new electromechanical actuators. The weight of the latter can be optimized through a judicious choice of the diameter of the housing. Originality/value-This article has demonstrated the importance of the vibratory environment in the design of linear actuator housing, especially for electro-mechanical actuators with important strokes. Developed analytical models can be used for the overall design and optimization of these new aerospace actuators.

Mots clés: modeling Article Classification Research paper; electro-mechanical actuator; housing; preliminary design; vibration; Modelica

Domaines: Energie électrique

Fabien Hospital, Marc Budinger, Aurelien Reysset, Jean-Charles Maré. Preliminary design of aerospace linear actuator housings. Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, 2015, 87 (3), pp.224 - 237. ⟨10.1108/AEAT-02-2013-0046⟩. ⟨hal-01861797⟩