Force-Fight Cycle Detection for Redundant Actuator Fatigue
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Solution Overview
Problem
Redundant actuators in vehicle systems can lead to uneven load distribution and resultant fatigue due to force fights, which existing force-equalization algorithms struggle to effectively manage.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a processor and memory to determine and analyze measured forces across redundant actuation systems, identifying force-fight cycles by detecting opposition and relaxation patterns, and indicating these in cumulative data to trigger appropriate failure logic and minimize fatigue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If redundant actuators are used to improve safety and fault tolerance, then reliability is improved, but uneven load distribution and actuator fatigue occur due to force fights
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors forces from multiple actuators and uses this feedback to detect force-fight cycles. By comparing measured forces against threshold values and tracking force differential patterns over time, the system identifies when actuators are fighting against each other and adjusts their operation to eliminate the harmful force fights while maintaining redundant operation for safety
Solution Approach 2:
The force equalization system dynamically adjusts the operation of redundant actuators based on real-time force measurements. The system modifies actuator authority and load distribution on-the-fly to prevent force fights, allowing the load sharing characteristics to adapt to changing operational conditions while maintaining reliability through redundant actuation
2Strength
If force-equalization algorithms are implemented to balance force exertion among actuators, then actuator fatigue is reduced, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The force equalization system is segmented into distinct functional modules: force sensing components, force-fight detection logic with threshold comparisons, cycle counting mechanisms, and authority adjustment algorithms. This modular segmentation allows each component to perform a specific function independently, making the overall complex system more manageable and easier to implement while still achieving force balance to reduce actuator fatigue
3Ease of operation
If redundant actuators operate with equal authority, then simplicity of control is maintained, but uneven load distribution causes increased actuator wear
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the authority parameter of redundant actuators based on detected force-fight patterns. When force fights are detected through force differential analysis, the system adjusts the authority levels of individual actuators to optimize load distribution. This parameter adjustment reduces uneven wear and extends actuator longevity while maintaining relatively simple control through automated authority management
Data Source
AI summary
In an embodiment, a method of managing force equalization (FEQ) on a vehicle utilizing redundant actuation systems for one or more control surfaces includes determining, via a force sensor, a measured force applied by a first actuation system in relation to a control surface, where the control surface is redundantly serviced by a plurality of actuation systems. The method also includes updating a measured-force time series for the first actuation system with the measured force. The method also includes analyzing movement over at least a portion of the measured-force time series. The method also includes identifying a force-fight cycle in the measured-force time series. The method also includes indicating the force-fight cycle in cumulative force-fight cycle data for the first actuation system.