Suitability of using closed-loop current controls on EMAS for aircraft applications

The paper deals with the control design and the performance analysis of Electro-Mechanical Actuators (EMAs) for aircraft application. In particular, the study is focused on evaluating the suitability of using the closed-loop current controls, depending on the application the EMA is addressed for. Current loops, implying additional sensors and digital processing at high frequency rates, significantly impact on EMA development costs, and their use must be settled by correctly balancing related advantages and drawbacks. In the work, two EMA applications are analysed via modelling and simulation: position-controlled (e.g. flight control) and speed-controlled (e.g. landing gears, flaps, airbrakes). For both cases, two control strategies are developed, by implementing or not the closed-loop control on the motor currents. The dynamic behaviour of the EMA solutions are thus characterised in terms of command tracking and power absorption, highlighting and discussing the effects of the current loops on actuator performances.