Integrated Actuator Housing in Movable Flight Control Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration and maintenance of electrical actuators for movable flight control surfaces in aircraft are complicated due to size and assembly constraints, as well as the complexity of routing cables and housing mechanical components within the aircraft structure.
Innovation Solution
The actuators are housed entirely within the movable flight control surface skin, with electric motors and control circuits mounted inside, connected to the pivot shaft, and power circuits secured to thermally conductive plates, allowing for easier assembly and maintenance by eliminating the need for external housing and improving cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electrical actuators are mounted in the aircraft structure with external housing, then the actuators are protected and structurally integrated, but the integration becomes complex due to space requirements and assembly constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the actuator housing with the movable flight control surface skin itself. The skin serves dual functions as both the aerodynamic surface and the protective housing for the actuator components. This eliminates separate external housing structures and simplifies integration by combining previously separate elements into a unified assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The skin of the movable flight control surface is given multiple functions: it serves as the aerodynamic surface, the structural housing for the actuator, the mounting structure for electrical components, and the protective enclosure. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies the overall integration process.
2Reliability
If actuators are integrated within the aircraft structure, then structural integration is achieved, but maintenance operations become complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator system is segmented into modular components (motor, power circuit, control circuit) that are independently accessible through the skin structure. This segmentation allows maintenance personnel to access and service individual components without disassembling the entire actuator system or removing the flight control surface from the aircraft.
Solution Approach 2:
The skin structure acts as an intermediary that provides both protection and accessibility. It incorporates access points or removable sections that allow maintenance personnel to reach the actuator components while maintaining the overall structural integrity and aerodynamic function of the flight control surface.
3Volume of stationary object
If multiple electrical components are housed inside the skin, then space within the aircraft structure is freed up, but cooling of the power circuit becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The skin structure itself serves as the cooling mechanism for the power circuit. By incorporating thermal pathways within the skin or using the skin as a heat sink, the system utilizes its own structure to dissipate heat from the electrical components, eliminating the need for separate active cooling systems and freeing up additional space.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This arrangement simplifies the integration and maintenance of flight control surfaces by reducing space requirements within the aircraft structure and enhancing assembly ease, while also providing effective cooling and preventing opposing forces from the actuators through strain gauge detection and correction mechanisms.
Implementation Method 1
At least the power circuit is secured to a plate made of a thermally conductive material, the plate being in contact with the skin. Cooling the power circuit is thus particularly effective.
Data Source
AI summary
A movable flight control surface for aircraft, the movable surface comprising: a skin mounted to pivot on a hinge shaft having at least one end that projects from the skin; at least one electric motor that is mounted inside the skin and that has an outlet shaft coupled to the hinge shaft so as to cause the skin to pivot on the shaft; and a power circuit and a control circuit for powering and controlling the motor, the circuits being housed inside the skin and being connected to connectors leading to the outside of the skin.