Dynamic Models of the Flight Control Actuation System for an All-Electric Regional Transport Aircraft

In the modern technological frame, in order to reduce costs and to obtain advantages in terms of eco-compatibility, a new concept of aircraft is developing: the All-Electric Aircraft, in which all on-board systems are electrically-powered. In the first phases of the aeronautical design, the virtual iron bird is the most modern instrument used for the analysis and the test of new systems and components. In this context, the aim of this thesis is to develop a simulation model of a Flight Control Actuation System, to be used within an overall aircraft systems simulation model designed for the monitoring and the optimization of the power absorption, thermal flows and performance parameters of all the aircraft’s onboard systems. The developed model includes the simulation of the dynamic behaviour of the Electro Mechanical Actuators which move the control surfaces, on which gravity, inertial and aerodynamic loads act. The modelling of the aerodynamic loads is based on the estimation of the aerodynamic hinge moments acting on the control surfaces and on the analysis of the aircraft local airflow-field due to the aerodynamic interference (down-wash, side-wash, engine thrust) and to the A/C manoeuvres. The physical-mathematical model is implemented in the Matlab/Simulink software and some test campaigns have been developed to ensure the validity of the model