Pool architecture for controlling an electromechanical actuator

Abstract

In an electromechanical actuation chain for controlling the movement of mobile loads (22) of an aircraft turbine engine from a control unit (24), one or more of these mobile loads are actuated by electromechanical actuators (30), for controlling this movement a single Ethernet controller (32) with deterministic control is provided which controls a set of transducers (36) selectively acting on the electromechanical actuators using an Ethernet bus (36).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the general field of electrification of aircraft turbine engines. Background Technology

[0002] In this field, moving parts or loads of a turbine engine, such as variable geometries, can be controlled via electromechanical actuator chains. These chains specifically include gates or pumps with variable vent valves (VBVs). This type of actuator chain replaces current hydraulic control systems with mechanical synchronization, as is known, which consists of rings and a set of cranks and rods (also known as bell levers). The principle of this actuator chain is to use an electromechanical actuator for each moving load or for a reduced number of moving loads. This type of architecture is called a distributed type.

[0003] exist Figure 2 The distributed architecture shown consists of an electromechanical actuation chain 20 that ensures the position of the moving load 22 is controlled in an open-loop or closed-loop manner from the turbine engine control unit 24, such as the electronic engine controller (EEC), via electromechanical actuators 30, depending on the type of control desired. This architecture is made possible by the use of power electronics (controllers 26 and converters 28). However, this electromechanical actuation chain requires a converter 28 and a controller 26 for each actuator 30.

[0004] The driving of moving loads (such as VBV gates) assumes a doubling of the number of actuators involved, either by assigning actuators to each VBV gate or by reducing the number of VBV gates (e.g., two to four gates). This results in a doubling of power electronics, which, given the criticality of the actuation system, leads to a lack of reliability or robustness against its environment, which requires system redundancy of the controller within such a distributed architecture.

[0005] However, in the field of aeronautics, the significant increase in mass / volume balance makes the integration of power electronics impossible due to the system redundancy of the controller. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Therefore, the main objective of this invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks by proposing a novel architecture for controlling moving loads, thereby allowing for optimization of the total mass / volume balance of the electromechanical actuation chain while ensuring acceptable availability of the aircraft turbine engine.

[0007] This objective is achieved through an electromechanical actuation chain for controlling the movement of a moving load of an aircraft turbine engine from a control unit, one or more of which are actuated by electromechanical actuators. The chain is characterized in that, for controlling the movement, it further includes a single Ethernet controller with deterministic control, which uses an Ethernet bus to control a set of converters that selectively act on the electromechanical actuators.

[0008] Therefore, by significantly reducing the number of controllers in the electromechanical actuation chain and by introducing an ultra-high-speed communication protocol, redundancy of existing controllers is avoided.

[0009] Preferably, the electromechanical actuator is a permanent magnet synchronous motor, an asynchronous motor, a stepper motor, or a variable reluctance motor, regardless of whether it is coupled to a linear or rotating mechanical transmission device.

[0010] Advantageously, the converter is a chopper or an inverter.

[0011] Preferably, the Ethernet controller is configured to manage as many current, speed, and position loops as the electromechanical actuator.

[0012] Advantageously, the information transmission speed at the current and speed loops is at least one hundred times faster than the speed at the corresponding position and speed loops that drive the motion of the moving load.

[0013] Preferably, the information transmission speed at the current loop corresponds to a transmission time of less than 15 microseconds, typically 10 microseconds.

[0014] Advantageously, the speed of information transmission at the location or speed loop driving the movement of the moving load corresponds to a transmission time within a range of 15 milliseconds.

[0015] In one proposed implementation, the moving load may be a variable relief valve whose movement is driven by a position loop, or it may be a pump whose movement is driven by a speed loop, or it may be any other similar component whose movement is driven by a position or speed loop.

[0016] The present invention also relates to an aircraft turbine engine comprising an electromechanical actuation chain for controlling the movement of moving loads such as those described above. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the invention in a non-limiting manner, and in which:

[0018] Figure 1A flowchart illustrating a novel architecture of power electronics in an electromechanical moving load actuation chain according to the present invention, and

[0019] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the conventional architecture of power electronic devices in an electromechanical moving load actuation chain. Detailed Implementation

[0020] This invention proposes a pooled control architecture for controlling electromechanical actuators of aircraft turbine engines. For this purpose, an electromechanical actuation chain 20 for controlling the movement of aircraft moving loads 22 from a control unit 24, wherein one or more of these moving loads 22 (e.g., gates of a variable vent valve (VBV) or other variable geometries such as pumps) are actuated by electromechanical actuators 30, includes a single Ethernet controller 32. In this invention, this single Ethernet controller uses an Ethernet bus 34 to control a set of converters 36 (the number of which is no greater than the number of actuators) selectively acting on the electromechanical actuators 30. To allow control of the moving loads 22, the controller 30 transmits feedback (typically position, here Pm, or velocity) to the control unit 24, which returns a position (Pc) or velocity command. This command uses a deterministic type of fast communication protocol to allow parallel management of the control loop for each electromechanical actuator 30. Deterministic means that for each piece of information, the Ethernet controller is provided with the precise time required to transmit it.

[0021] The control loop is typically a current (i), speed (V), and position (P) loop. When the movement of the moving load is position-controlled (as shown in the case of the VBV gate), the primary loop is the position loop, and then the speed and current loops are considered secondary loops. On the other hand, when the movement of the moving load is speed-controlled (e.g., in the case of a pump), the primary loop is the speed loop, and then the position and current loops are considered secondary loops.

[0022] A deterministic Ethernet controller can be a dedicated component (e.g., an integrated speed and current loop for vector modulation type control) or a microprocessor configured with an Ethernet communication protocol.

[0023] The Ethernet protocol allows information to be transmitted at a sufficiently fast rate (transmission time < 15 μs, and typically < 10 μs) in either the current and speed loop (in the case of position command) or the current and position loop (in the case of speed command) so that it is considered instantaneous at the (position or speed) control loop, which has a transmission rate at least one hundred times faster, and advantageously about one hundred times faster (i.e., a transmission time in the range of 15 ms).

[0024] For example, converter 36 is a single-phase chopper or a three-phase inverter (or even a six-phase inverter for redundancy at the actuators), which carries AC current from DC current (typically derived from a DC 270V bus), and when the number is the same as the number of actuators, it is advantageously mechanically integrated into these actuators. When the moving load is a VBV gate, the actuator is integrated into each VBV gate (in the so-called "booster" region), and thus there are as many actuators as there are VBV gates. This actuator is preferably a permanent magnet synchronous motor (however, a variable reluctance motor, stepper motor, or asynchronous motor can also be envisioned), which can be coupled to a linear (e.g., ball or ball screw type) or rotary mechanical transmission that operates directly with the load to be driven.

Claims

1. An electromechanical actuation chain for controlling the movement of a moving load (22) of an aircraft turbine engine from a control unit (24), wherein one or more of the moving loads are actuated by an electromechanical actuator (30), characterized in that, To control the motion, the electromechanical actuation chain also includes a single Ethernet controller (32) with deterministic control, which uses an Ethernet bus (34) to control a set of converters (36) that selectively act on the electromechanical actuator, the determinism being that, for each piece of information, the Ethernet controller is provided with the accurate time required to transmit it.

2. Electromechanical actuation chain according to claim 1, characterized in that, The electromechanical actuator is a permanent magnet synchronous motor, an asynchronous motor, a variable reluctance motor, or a stepper motor, whether or not it is coupled to a linear or rotating mechanical transmission device.

3. An electromechanical actuation chain according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that, The converter is a chopper or an inverter.

4. The electromechanical actuation chain of claim 1, wherein, The single Ethernet controller with deterministic control is configured to manage as many current, speed, and position loops as the electromechanical actuator.

5. An electromechanical actuation chain according to claim 4, characterized in that, At the current and speed loops, the information transmission speed at the current and position loops is at least one hundred times faster than the transmission speed of the corresponding position and speed loops that drive the motion of the moving load.

6. An electromechanical actuation chain according to claim 5, characterized in that, The information transmission speed at the current loop corresponds to a transmission time of less than 15 microseconds.

7. An electromechanical actuation chain according to claim 6, characterized in that, The information transmission speed at the current loop corresponds to a transmission time of less than 10 microseconds.

8. The electromechanical actuation chain of claim 5, wherein, The speed at which information is transmitted at the location or speed loop of the driving load corresponds to a transmission time within a range of 15 milliseconds.

9. The electromechanical actuation chain of claim 1, wherein, The moving load is a variable relief valve, the movement of which is driven by a position loop.

10. The electromechanical actuation chain of claim 1, wherein, The moving load is a pump, and the movement of the pump is driven by a speed circuit.

11. An aircraft turbine engine comprising an electromechanical actuation chain according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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