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Development of reliable power-by-wire actuation systems for both aeronautical and space applications has been sought recently to eliminate hydraulic systems from aircraft and spacecraft and thus improve safety, efficiency, reliability, and maintainability. The Electrically Powered Actuation Design (EPAD) program was a joint effort between the Air Force, Navy, and NASA to develop and fly a series of actuators validating power-by-wire actuation technology on a primary flight control surface of a tactical aircraft. To achieve this goal, each of the EPAD actuators was installed in place of the standard hydraulic actuator on the left aileron of the NASA F/A-18B Systems Research Aircraft (SRA) and flown throughout the SRA flight envelope. Numerous parameters were recorded, and overall actuator performance was compared with the performance of the standard hydraulic actuator on the opposite wing. This paper discusses the integration and testing of the EPAD electromechanical actuator (EMA) on the SRA. The architecture of the EMA system is discussed, as well as its integration with the F/A-18 Flight Control System. The flight test program is described, and actuator performance is shown to be very close to that of the standard hydraulic actuator it replaced. Lessons learned during this program are presented and discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.

This work proposes an adaptive leastsquares estimation strategy to determine the state of charge (SOC) for an electro-chemical battery. An estimation analysis is presented which proves that under a set of qualifying conditions, that the SOC of the battery can be estimated. This estimate is determined by using only measurements of the battery terminal voltage and current.

Abstract:In this study, an optimum seeking-based robust non-linear controller is proposed to maximise wind energy captured by variable speed wind turbines at low-to-medium wind speeds. The proposed strategy simultaneously controls the blade pitch angle and tip-speed ratio, through the turbine rotor angular speed, to an optimal point at which the power coefficient, and hence the wind turbine efficiency, is maximum. The optimal points are given to the controller by an optimisation algorithm that seeks the unknown optimal blade pitch angle and rotor speed. The control method allows for aerodynamic rotor power maximisation without exact knowledge of the wind turbine model. A representative numerical simulation is presented to show that the wind turbine can be accurately controlled to achieve maximum energy capture.

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