On-line diagnostics of a self-contained flight actuator

A mathematical model describing the dynamics of a self-contained flight control actuator is established. Typical failures of the actuator are defined in the space of the model parameters in the form of a failure pattern library. A diagnostic model of the actuator, intentionally sensitive to particular failures, is defined. A diagnostic procedure, featuring on-line parameter estimation of the diagnostic model, failure detection, and isolation, is proposed. A failure prediction procedure, utilizing trends exhibited by parameter estimates, is formulated. The results are verified by computer simulation.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>