Development of a load module for prognostics of electromechanical actuators

The objective of this thesis is the realisation of a load module to be integrated with the actuation module and the braking module already present on a test bench, previously realised by the Politecnico di Torino. The test bench reproduces the operation of an electromechanical servomechanism, typically used to move secondary control surfaces, and it is this type of control surface that will be simulated. The load module must reproduce an external load at the end of the transmission of the electromechanical actuator to which the control surface is subjected. A typical example of a reproduced load is the aerodynamic forces that hinder the movement of the surface during flight. A system of pulleys, ropes and springs has been designed, specially realised through design in the Solidworks environment and production by means of the technique must Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) of the components. The system designed in this way applies a torque to the gearbox of the brushless motor installed on the test bench through the spring recall forces. The operation of the load module was verified through a series of step tests, from which it can be seen that the torque generated by the two springs is proportional to the rotation of the gearbox. Subsequently, the gearbox was sensed through optical fibre sensors with FBG Bragg gratings in order to verify its function for prognostic analysis by comparing their response to the load induced by the load module with the strain readings from the strain gauges installed in the proximity of the FBG Bragg gratings.