07 - Systems, Subsystems and Equipment
SIZING OF LINEAR ACTUATORS FOR SPAN EXTENSION OF HALE UAV
T. Prakash, Larsen and Toubro, India; R.S. Pant, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India
In order to effectively predict the penalties of span extension for HALE UAV wings, there is need of a preliminary model for actuator weight and size estimation. Actuator design is an involved process requiring the use of several detailed design parameters such as operating pressure and mounting arrangement, which are outside the scope of the preliminary aircraft design process.rnrnThree kinds of actuators are considered suitable for span extension morphing of HALE UAV wings, viz., Electromechanical, Hydraulic and Pneumatic. Based on what is already available, each of these types corresponds to a range of force and stroke combinations. For lower values of span extension, lighter Pneumatic actuators are suitable. Hydraulic and Pneumatic actuators have an overlap for medium values of span extension. For longer extensions, telescopic Hydraulic actuators are the only available option, though they are found to be significantly heavy. Two different approaches to actuator modelling are proposed, FINDACT and DESACT, using an actuator selection and design approach respectivelyrnrnThe actuator models were then utilised in a framework for estimation of Endurance of a HALE UAV with span-extended wings. It was found that selecting only existing actuators using FINDACT leads to jerky solutions for actuator mass as the model abruptly switched between different classes of actuators. DESACT is a model which interpolates between existing actuators and generates a notional actuator meeting the force and stroke requirements for each telescopic span morphing scenario. On following this approach, it was found that the results became smoother and less heavy. A representation of variation of actuator weight with increasing span and its effect on Endurance is evaluated and presented.
DOI: 10.71945/icas2026_0807