Being relatively new to the field, electromechanical actuators in aerospace applications lack the knowledge base compared to ones accumulated for the other actuator types, especially when it comes to fault detection and characterization. Lack of health monitoring data from fielded systems and prohibitive costs of carrying out real flight tests push for the need of building system models and designing affordable but realistic experimental setups. This paper presents our approach to accomplish a comprehensive test environment equipped with fault injection and data collection capabilities.

As the aviation industry evolves toward next generation fly-by-wire vehicles, hydraulic and electrohydrostatic actuators (EHA) are replaced with their electro-mechanical counterparts. By eliminating fluid leakage problems while reducing weight and enhancing vehicle control, the feasibility of electromechanical actuators (EMA) in avionic applications has been established. However, due to the inherent nature of electronic components and systems to fail, improved diagnostic and prognostic methods are sought to keep the all-electric aircraft safe.

Actuator systems are employed widely in aerospace, transportation and industrial processes to provide power to critical loads, such as aircraft control surfaces. They must operate reliably and accurately in order for the vehicle / process to complete successfully its designated mission. Incipient actuator failure conditions may severely endanger the operational integrity of the vehicle / process and compromise its mission.

Electrohydraulic servovalves are critical components of the hydraulic servos and their correct operation is mandatory to ensure the proper functioning of the controlled hydraulic servosystem. The servovalve operation is often monitored by measuring the position of its spool and comparing it with the servovalve electrical input. This continuous monitor can detect hardover or oscillating failures of the servovalve, but fails short of detecting other malfunctionings and it can only signal the loss of servovalve operation.