Prognostic Health Management (PHM) of Electromechanical Actuation (EMA) Systems for Next-Generation Military Aircraft

ABSTRACT: The topic objective is to demonstrate Prognostic and Health Management (PHM) technology integrated with an aircraft Electro-Mechanical Actuator (EMA) system. The goal is to improve EMA reliability, safety, and maintainability by detecting and diagnosing equipment failure modes and remaining useful life. Frontier Technology, Inc. (FTI), in partnership with the Moog Aircraft Group, will demonstrate in real-time, on an embedded EMA controller and actuator, under realistic operational conditions PHM technology that can detect indicators of future failures, diagnose the cause of the problem, predict mission and component impact and cause corrective action to be taken. The PHM technology developed will be compatible with sixth-generation energy optimized aircraft. The engineering team will introduce electronic and mechanical faults as realistically as possible with focus on those failure modes that are of highest priority to users of EMA technology. The assessment of PHM performance will include false alarm rate, missed faults, diagnostic and prognostic accuracy, and computational performance. FTI will also extend the reliability analysis initiated during Phase I to show how goals of 10e-7 per flight hour for Probability of Loss of Function and 1.5x10e-5 per flight hour for Probability of Loss of Control are positively impacted by the application of PHM technology. BENEFIT: The application of PHM technology for real-time, accurate fault detection, diagnosis, prognosis and corrective action can enhance EMA utilization, maximize mission readiness and minimize lifecycle costs. The technology is directly applicable to EMAs used for primary flight control surfaces and engine/nozzle actuation. It is also applicable to any electro-mechanical system critical to successful accomplishment of mission objectives (air, ground or sea) for government and industry. Deployment of the technology begins with developers and integrators of EMAs and by operators of systems that employ them. The Moog Aircraft Group is the projected first user of the technology. Extension of the technology to other aspects of on-board systems such as avionics and accompanying ground support operations will build on the results of this effort and other FTI research to obtain the benefits of PHM technology for electro-mechanical and electronic systems.