Patent ID: 8567715
Filing Date: 2013-10-29
Classification: B64C,G05D,Y02T

Abstract:
1. A flight control system for an aircraft comprising: a plurality of control surfaces; a plurality of electromechanical actuators associated with said plurality of control surfaces to control flight functions, including roll, yaw, pitching, and aerodynamic braking of the aircraft, at least one of said plurality of control surfaces being a divided control surface that includes at least two independent control surfaces, and each of said at least two independent control surfaces being controlled by at least two of said electromechanical actuators; and control circuitry configured to control the electromechanical actuators controlling said divided control surface, wherein the electromechanical actuators which control said divided control surface are configured to each output a same predetermined maximum amount of power, wherein said divided control surface is configured such that an efficiency thereof is defined according to a ratio between a predetermined maximum amount of available power for an entirety of said divided control surface when one of the electromechanical actuators of said divided control surface fails and a total weight of the electromechanical actuators of said divided control surface compared to a predetermined total amount of required power for the entirety of said divided control surface, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the electromechanical actuators controlling said divided control surface such that: upon failure of said one electromechanical actuator of said divided control surface, total power to a first independent control surface not associated with said failed electromechanical actuator remains at a same value, and total power to a second independent control surface associated with said failed electromechanical actuator decreases to a sum of the predetermined maximum amounts of power for the remaining operational electromechanical actuators associated with the second independent control surface; and when all of the electromechanical actuators which control said divided control surface are operational the electromechanical actuators per independent control surface provide a required amount of power for the corresponding independent control surface less than a sum of their predetermined maximum amounts of power.