Fault Identification in an Electro-Hydraulic Actuator and Experimental Validation of Prognosis Based Life Extending Control

In this paper we present an application of fault identification and control reconfiguration in the context of a high performance aircraft. A second order divided difference filter is used to identify an internal leakage fault in an electrohydraulic actuator found in the aircraft elevator. The identified fault information is then utilized in the formulation of an aircraft systems model for prognosis-based control. An optimization based reconfiguration strategy is presented to minimize degradation of the fault in presence of performance, actuation, and mission constraints. The strategy is then validated through Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulations.