Unified Solver Based Real-Time Multi-Domain Simulation of Aircraft Electro-Mechanical-Actuator

Electro-mechanical-actuator (EMA) is the key component to convert electrical power into mechanical power for flight control in next-generation aircrafts. Multi-domain simulation of EMA can benefit its on-going evolution process. This paper presents the real-time multi-domain modeling and simulation of an EMA as elevator for flight control by utilization of a unified solver. Several key issues concerning the computational efficiency and successful implementation of this solver are provided and its relationship with state-variable model is also elaborated. Analysis shows that this solver could be a competitive candidate for multi-domain simulation because of its high computational efficiency and relatively less modeling effort. Electrical, mechanical, and thermal parts of the EMA are modeled and simulated interactively based on the proposed solver. The multi-domain model is implemented on FPGA board and executes in real time. Simulation results from FPGA board and commercial softwares under several test scenarios coincide with each other in very high degree, which showcases the efficacy of the proposed solver with respect to computational efficiency and ability to accommodate multi-domain models. The proposed model and solver are useful for hardware-in-the-loop design and testing of EMA.