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The Art of the Helicopter John Watkinson - Karatunov.net

The Art of the Helicopter John Watkinson - Karatunov.net

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Fig. 7.40 A power-assisted hydraulic actuator. In <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> loss <strong>of</strong> hydraulic pressure <strong>the</strong> pilot’s input still<br />

operates <strong>the</strong> control but without assistance.<br />

gain. Clearly <strong>the</strong> actuator body moves and <strong>the</strong> hydraulic supply needs to be fed through<br />

flexible hoses.<br />

In hydraulic rams as <strong>the</strong> error becomes smaller <strong>the</strong> orifices through which fluid flows<br />

become very small and <strong>the</strong> viscosity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fluid provides damping. When <strong>the</strong> error is<br />

zero <strong>the</strong> flow is negligible and <strong>the</strong> main ram is effectively locked because <strong>the</strong>re is no<br />

path for fluid to pass around <strong>the</strong> piston. As a result hydraulic actuators tend to be<br />

self-damping and in simple systems no tachometer feedback is needed.<br />

It will be seen from <strong>the</strong> figure that <strong>the</strong> flight load is shared between <strong>the</strong> ram and pilot<br />

effort by <strong>the</strong> proportions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> swinging arm. In <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> loss <strong>of</strong> pressure, <strong>the</strong> input<br />

lever moves until it comes into contact with stops on <strong>the</strong> piston rod. <strong>The</strong> input force is<br />

<strong>the</strong>reby transmitted to <strong>the</strong> output. <strong>The</strong> controls will be much heavier and will display<br />

a slight backlash, but <strong>the</strong>y are still effective.<br />

7.22 Fully powered systems<br />

In a fully powered system a direct mechanical connection between <strong>the</strong> pilot’s controls<br />

and <strong>the</strong> load to be moved is pointless as without power <strong>the</strong> load could not be moved by<br />

<strong>the</strong> pilot alone. Instead <strong>the</strong> control signals from <strong>the</strong> pilot are compared with <strong>the</strong> actual<br />

position <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> load, and any difference causes <strong>the</strong> power system to operate in such a<br />

way that <strong>the</strong> difference is minimized.<br />

Figure 7.41(a) shows an example <strong>of</strong> a fully powered system in which a spool valve<br />

is operated by a balance lever which subtracts <strong>the</strong> load position from <strong>the</strong> commanded<br />

position.<br />

Figure 7.41(b) shows a duplex actuator which consists <strong>of</strong> two hydraulic rams in<br />

tandem on a common pushrod. Each ram is supplied by a different hydraulic system.<br />

If pressure in one system is lost, <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r ram can continue to provide control provided<br />

that <strong>the</strong> failed ram does not obstruct <strong>the</strong> working ram with an hydraulic lock. This can<br />

be arranged by providing valves to allow fluid to flow from one side <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> piston to<br />

Control 303

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