Fault-tolerant electric drive for an aircraft nose wheel steering actuator

This study describes the design and testing of a dual-lane electric drive for a prototype, electromechanically actuated, nose wheel steering system for a commercial aircraft. The drive features two independent motor controllers, each operating one-half of a dual three-phase motor, resulting in an actuator capable of full performance following an electrical fault. An isolated communications link between controllers allows parameter consolidation to identify faults and to synchronise outputs, ensuring even load sharing. A selection of results is presented from motor dynamometer performance analysis and from fully loaded output tests, performed on a hydraulic load rig at Airbus, UK.