Aircraft Hydraulic System Design

Peter A. Stricker, PE
Product Sales Manager Eaton Aerospace Hydraulic Systems Division August 20, 2010

2008 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved.

Purpose
Acquaint participants with hydraulic system design principles for civil aircraft Review examples of hydraulic system architectures on common aircraft

Agenda
Introduction Review of Aircraft Motion Controls

Uses for and sources of hydraulic power

Key hydraulic system design drivers Safety standards for system design

Hydraulic design philosophies for conventional, more electric and all electric architectures
Hydraulic System Interfaces

Sample aircraft hydraulic system block diagrams

Conclusions
3

Introduction
1 As airplanes grow in size, so

do the forces needed to move the flight controls thus the need to transmit larger amount of power
Air Turbine Pump

Hydraulic power is generated mechanically, electrically and pneumatically

2 Hydraulic system

transmits and controls power from engine to flight control actuators

Pilot Inputs

Electric Motorpump
Ram Air Turbine Pump

Hydraulic Storage/Conditioning

Electric Generator Engine Pump

Flight Control Actuators

3 Pilot inputs are

transmitted to remote actuators and amplified

4 Pilot commands move

actuators with little effort

4

Introduction
Aircrafts Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) drives aerodynamic forces that drive control surface size and loading
A380 1.25 million lb MTOW extensive use of hydraulics

Cessna 172 2500 lb MTOW no hydraulics all manual

Controlling Aircraft Motion

Primary Flight Controls
Definition of Airplane Axes
1

1 Ailerons

control roll

2 Elevators
3 Rudder

control pitch
controls yaw

Controlling Aircraft Motion

Secondary Flight Controls
High Lift Devices:

Flaps (Trailing Edge), slats (LE Flaps) increase area and camber of wing
permit low speed flight Flight Spoilers / Speed Brakes: permit steeper descent and augment ailerons at low speed when deployed on only one wing Ground Spoilers: Enhance deceleration on ground (not deployed in flight) Trim Controls: Stabilizer (pitch), roll and rudder (yaw) trim to balance controls for desired flight condition

Example of Flight Controls (A320)

REF: A320 FLIGHT CREW OPERATING MANUAL CHAPTER 1.27 - FLIGHT CONTROLS

PRIMARY SECONDARY
8

Why use Hydraulics?

Effective and efficient method of power amplification
Small control effort results in a large power output

Precise control of load rate, position and magnitude

Infinitely variable rotary or linear motion control Adjustable limits / reversible direction / fast response

Ability to handle multiple loads simultaneously

Independently in parallel or sequenced in series

Smooth, vibration free power output

Little impact from load variation

Hydraulic fluid transmission medium

Removes heat generated by internal losses Serves as lubricant to increase component life

Typical Users of Hydraulic Power

Landing gear
Extension, retraction, locking, steering, braking Rudder, elevator, aileron, active (multi-function) spoiler high lift (flap / slat), horizontal stabilizer, spoiler, thrust reverser Cargo handling, doors, ramps, emergency electrical power generation
HYDR. MOTOR Flap Drive

Primary flight controls

Secondary flight controls

Landing Gear

Utility systems

Spoiler Actuator

GEARBOX

TORQUE TUBE Nosewheel Steering

10

Sources of Hydraulic Power

Mechanical
Engine Driven Pump (EDP) - primary hydraulic power source, mounted directly to engines on special gearbox pads Power Transfer Unit mechanically transfers hydraulic power between systems

Electrical

Engine Driven Pump

Pump attached to electric motors, either AC or DC Generally used as backup or as auxiliary power Electric driven powerpack used for powering actuation zones Used for ground check-out or actuating doors when engines are not running Ram Air Turbine

Pneumatic
Bleed Air turbine driven pump used for backup power Ram Air Turbine driven pump deployed when all engines are inoperative and uses ram air to drive the pump Accumulator provides high transient power by releasing stored energy, also used for emergency and parking brake

AC Electric Motorpump Power Transfer Unit

Maintenance-free Accumulator

11

Key Hydraulic System Design Drivers

High Level certification requirement per aviation regulations:
Maintain control of the aircraft under all normal and anticipated failure conditions

Many system architectures* and design approaches exist to meet this high level requirement aircraft designer has to certify to airworthiness regulators by analysis and test that his solution meets requirements
* Hydraulic System Architecture: Arrangement and interconnection of hydraulic power sources and consumers in a manner that meets requirements for controllability of aircraft
12

Considerations for Hydraulic System Design

to meet System Safety Requirements
Redundancy in case of failures must be designed into system
Any and every component will fail during life of aircraft Manual control system requires less redundancy Fly-by-wire (FBW) requires more redundancy Level of redundancy necessary evaluated per methodology described in ARP4761

Principal failure modes considered

Single system or component failure Multiple system or component failures occurring simultaneously Dormant failures of components or subsystems that only operate in emergencies Common mode failures single failures that can impact multiple systems

Safety Assessment Tools

Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis computes failure rates and failure criticalities of individual components and systems by considering all failure modes Fault Tree Analysis computes failure rates and probabilities of various combinations of failure modes Markov Analysis computes failure rates and criticality of various chains of events Common Cause Analysis evaluates failures that can impact multiple components and systems

Examples of failure cases to be considered

One engine shuts down during take-off need to retract landing gear rapidly Engine rotor bursts damage to and loss of multiple hydraulic systems Rejected take-off deploy thrust reversers, spoilers and brakes rapidly All engines fail in flight need to land safely without main hydraulic and electric power sources

13

Civil Aircraft System Safety Standards

(Applies to all aircraft systems)
Failure Criticality Failure Characteristics Probability of Occurrence Design Standard

Minor
Major Hazardous

Normal, nuisance and/or possibly requiring emergency procedures

Reduction in safety margin, increased crew workload, may result in some injuries Extreme reduction in safety margin, extended crew workload, major damage to aircraft and possible injury and deaths Loss of aircraft with multiple deaths

Reasonably probable
Remote Extremely remote

NA
P 10-5 P 10-7

Catastrophic
Examples

Extremely improbable

P 10-9

Minor: Single hydraulic system fails

Major: Two (out of 3) hydraulic systems fail Hazardous: All hydraulic sources fail, except RAT or APU (US1549 Hudson River A320 2009) Catastrophic: All hydraulic systems fail (UA232 DC-10 Sioux City 1989)
14

System Design Philosophy

Conventional Central System Architecture
LEFT ENG. SYSTEM 3 RIGHT ENG. SYSTEM 2 ADP EMP RAT EDP

Multiple independent centralized power systems

Each engine drives dedicated pump(s), augmented by independently powered pumps electric, pneumatic No fluid transfer between systems to maintain integrity

SYSTEM 1 EDP

System segregation
Route lines and locate components far apart to prevent single rotor or tire burst from impacting multiple systems

ROLL 1 PITCH 1 YAW 1 OTHERS NORM BRK

ROLL 3 PITCH 3

ROLL 2 PITCH 2 YAW 2 OTHERS

YAW 3
LNDG GR EMRG BRK NSWL STRG

Multiple control channels for critical functions

Each flight control needs multiple independent actuators or control surfaces Fail-safe failure modes e.g., landing gear can extend by gravity and be locked down mechanically
EDP Engine Driven Pump EMP Electric Motor Pump

EMP

OTHERS

EMP

PTU Power Transfer Unit RAT Ram Air Turbine

PTU

ADP Air Driven Pump

Engine Bleed Air

15

System Design Philosophy

More Electric Architecture
LEFT ENG.

Two independent centralized power systems + Zonal & Dedicated Actuators

Each engine drives dedicated pump(s), augmented by independently powered pumps electric, pneumatic No fluid transfer between systems to maintain integrity

SYSTEM 1 EDP EMP ROLL 1 PITCH 1

ELECTRICAL ACTUATORS GEN2 GEN1 RAT

RIGHT ENG. SYSTEM 2 EDP EMP

ROLL 3 ZONAL PITCH 3 YAW 3 OTHERS

ROLL 2 PITCH 2

System segregation
Route lines and locate components far apart to prevent single rotor or tire burst to impact multiple systems

YAW 1
OTHERS LNDG GR NORM BRK

YAW 2
OTHERS EMRG BRK

Third System replaced by one or more local and dedicated electric systems
Tail zonal system for pitch, yaw Aileron actuators for roll Electric driven hydraulic powerpack for emergency landing gear and brake

LG / BRK EMERG POWER

NW STRG

Examples: Airbus A380, Boeing 787

EDP Engine Driven Pump EMP Electric Motor Pump GEN Electric Generator RAT Ram Air Turbine Generator Electric Channel
16

System Design Philosophy

All Electric Architecture

Holy Grail of aircraft power distribution .

Relies on future engine-core mounted electric generators capable of high power / high power density generation, running at engine speed typically 40,000 rpm Electric power will replace all hydraulic and pneumatic power for all flight controls, environmental controls, de-icing, etc.

Flight control actuators will like remain hydraulic, using Electro-Hydrostatic Actuators (EHA) or local hydraulic systems, consisting of
Miniature, electrically driven, integrated hydraulic power generation system Hydraulic actuator controlled by electrical input

17

Fly-by-Wire (FBW) Systems

Conventional Mechanical
Pilot input mechanically connected to flight control hydraulic servo-actuator by cables, linkages, bellcranks, etc. Servo-actuator follows pilot command with high force output Autopilot input mechanically summed Manual reversion in case of loss of hydraulics or autopilot malfunction

Fly-by-Wire
Pilot input read by computers Computer provides input to electrohydraulic flight control actuator Control laws include
Enhanced logic to automate many functions Artificial damping and stability Flight Envelope Protection to prevent airframe from exceeding structural limits

Multiple computers and actuators provide sufficient redundancy no manual reversion

PILOT INPUTS

RIGHT WING

AUTOPILOT INPUTS

LEFT WING BOEING 757 AILERON SYSTEM

18

Principal System Interfaces

Design Considerations
Electrical System Flight Controls
Flow under normal and all emergency conditions priority flow when LG, flaps are also demanding flow

Electric motors, Solenoids Power on Demand Electrical power variations under normal and all emergency conditions (MIL-STD-704)

Hydraulic System

Power on Demand Hydraulic power from EDP

Nacelle / Engine
Pad speed as a function of flight regime idle to take-off

Avionics
Signals from pressure, temperature, fluid quantity sensors Signal to solenoids, electric motors

Landing Gear
Flow under normal and all emergency conditions retract / extend / steer

19

Aircraft Hydraulic Architectures

Comparative Aircraft Weights
10,000,000

1,000,000
MTOW - lb

WIDEBODY

SINGLE-AISLE

100,000

LARGE BIZ / REGIONAL JETS MID / SUPER MID-SIZE BIZ JETS / COMMUTER TURBO-PROPS

10,000

VERY LIGHT / LIGHT JETS / TURBO-PROPS GENERAL AVIATION

1,000

ss n Ph a 17 2 en om 1 Ki ng 00 Ai r2 0 L BA ea 0 e J rj et ets 4 tre 5 am Le 4 1 a Ha rj et wk 85 C h er 4 0 all en 00 ge r Fa 605 l co n Gl F7X Gu oba l fs l XR Em tream S br ae G65 r 0 Bo ERJ ein -1 g 7 95 37 Ai -70 0 rb Bo us ein A3 g 7 21 Ai rbu 573 Bo s A3 00 ein 3 g 7 0- 3 00 Bo 7 ein 7-3 g 7 00E R 47 -4 0 Ai 0E rbu R sA 38 0

Ce

Increasing Hydraulic System Complexity

20

Mid-Size Jet

Aircraft Hydraulic Architectures

Example Block Diagrams Learjet 40/45
MTOW: Flight Controls: Key Features One main system fed by 2 EDPs Emergency system fed by DC electric pump Common partitioned reservoir (air/oil) Selector valve allows flaps, landing gear, nosewheel steering to operate from main or emergency system All primary flight controls are manual 21,750 lb Manual MAIN SYSTEM EMERGENCY SYSTEM

Safety / Redundancy
Engine-out take-off: One EDP has sufficient power to retract gear All Power-out: Manual flight controls; LG extends by gravity with electric pump assist; emergency flap extends by electric pump; Emergency brake energy stored in accumulator for safe stopping

REF.: AIR5005A (SAE)

21

Super Mid Size

Aircraft Hydraulic Architectures

Example Block Diagrams Hawker 4000

MTOW: 39,500 lb Flight Controls: Hydraulic with manual reversion exc. Rudder, which is Fly-by-Wire (FBW) Key Features Two independent systems Bi-directional PTU to transfer power between systems without transferring fluid Electrically powered hydraulic power-pack for Emergency Rudder System (ERS)

REF.: EATON C5-38A 04/2003 Safety / Redundancy All primary flight controls 2-channel; rudder has additional backup powerpack; others manual reversion Engine-out take-off: PTU transfers power from system #1 to #2 to retract LG Rotorburst: Emergency Rudder System is located outside burst area All Power-out: ERS runs off battery; others manual; LG extends by gravity

22

Single-Aisle

Aircraft Hydraulic Architectures

Example Block Diagrams Airbus A320/321
MTOW (A321): 206,000 lb Flight Controls: Hydraulic FBW Key Features 3 independent systems 2 main systems with EDP 1 main system also includes backup EMP & hand pump for cargo door 3rd system has EMP and RAT pump Bi-directional PTU to transfer power between primary systems without transferring fluid Safety / Redundancy All primary flight controls have 3 independent channels Engine-out take-off: PTU transfers power from Y to G system to retract LG Rotorburst: Three systems sufficiently segregated All Power-out: RAT pump powers Blue; LG extends by gravity

REF.: AIR5005 (SAE)

23

Wide Body

Aircraft Hydraulic Architectures

Example Block Diagrams Boeing 777
MTOW (B777-300ER): 660,000 lb Flight Controls: Hydraulic FBW Key Features 3 independent systems 2 main systems with EDP + EMP each 3rd system with 2 EMPs, 2 engine bleed airdriven (engine bleed air) pumps, + RAT pump Safety / Redundancy All primary flight controls have 3 independent channels Engine-out take-off: One air driven pump and EMP available in system 3 to retract LG Rotorburst: Three systems sufficiently segregated All Power-out: RAT pump powers center system; LG extends by gravity LEFT SYSTEM CENTER SYSTEM RIGHT SYSTEM

REF.: AIR5005 (SAE)

24

Wide Body

Aircraft Hydraulic Architectures

Example Block Diagrams Airbus A380

MTOW: 1,250,000 lb Flight Controls: FBW (2H + 1E channel) Key Features / Redundancies Two independent hydraulic systems + one electric system (backup) Primary hydraulic power supplied by 4 EDPs per system All primary flight controls have 3 channels 2 hydraulic + 1 electric 4 engines provide sufficient redundancy for engine-out cases

REF.: EATON C5-37A 06/2006

25

Conclusions
Aircraft hydraulic systems are designed for high levels of safety using multiple levels of redundancy Fly-by-wire systems require higher levels of redundancy than manual systems to maintain same levels of safety System complexity increases with aircraft weight

26

Suggested References
Federal Aviation Regulations
FAR Part 25: Airworthiness Standards for Transport Category Airplanes FAR Part 23: Airworthiness Standards for Normal, Utility, Acrobatic, and Commuter Category Airplanes FAR Part 21: Certification Procedures For Products And Parts AC 25.1309-1A System Design and Analysis Advisory Circular, 1998

Aerospace Information Reports (SAE)

AIR5005: Aerospace - Commercial Aircraft Hydraulic Systems

Radio Technical Committee Association (RTCA)

DO-178: Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification (incl. Errata Issued 3-26-99) DO-254: Design Assurance Guidance For Airborne Electronic Hardware

Aerospace Recommended Practices (SAE)

ARP4761: Guidelines and Methods for Conducting the Safety Assessment Process on Civil Airborne Systems and Equipment ARP 4754: Certification Considerations for Highly-Integrated or Complex Aircraft Systems

Text
Moir & Seabridge: Aircraft Systems Mechanical, Electrical and Avionics Subsystems Integration 3rd Edition, Wiley 2008

27