Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology

Variable feel simulation

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, (1972),"Variable feel simulation", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 44 Iss 8 pp. 8 - 11
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 8 AIRCRAFT
Variable feel simulation
INTRODUCTION
ARIABLE FEEL SYSTEMS were developed to provide the pilots
V of high-performance jet aircraft - equipped with powered flying
controls - with simulated aerodynamic reaction forces at the con-
trols. These systems provide the primary factor in determining the handling
characteristics of the aircraft, and replace the "Natural feel" forces
previously available in low-speed aircraft, through the direct natural
aerodynamic reaction at the controls.
H. M. Hobson Ltd, now incorporated in the Hydromechanical Group of
Lucas Aerospace Ltd, were prominent in the design and development of
systems to replace the direct aerodynamic control forces of 'natural feel'
by equivalent forces supplied by means of hydraulic servo-mechanisms,
commonly described as 'artificial' or 'variable feel' systems.
Over nearly two decades of activity in this field, the company has
installed these systems in seventeen types of civil and military aircraft.
They have been produced in both single and duplex units, also packaged
and non-packaged configurations. They arc designed for applications in
the pitch, role, and yaw axes of control, and have been applied to a wide
range of aircraft currently in world-wide operation. Included in this
impressive range of seventeen aircraft types, is one of the world's largest -
the Lockheed C5A Galaxy. Other well known aircraft featured are from
British Aircraft Corporation the VC-10, One-Eleven, Britannia, Light-
ning, TSR-2, Canberra; from Dornier GmbH, the Do-31; from Hawker
Siddeley Aviation the Javelin, Gnat, Buccaneer; Aerospatiale the Cara-
vclle; Namco the XC-I; and from Mitsubishi the XT-2.
A total of nearly 4,000 units of all types have been manufactured to date.
The utilisation of these systems in civil airline service has already passed
10,000,000 unit hr on four specific aircraft types, with TBO's on some
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units being in the region of 15,000hrt and MTBF's as high as 50,000hr.
BASIC ELEMENTS
The basic elements of the variable feel system comprise a computer
unit and a hydraulic loading jack interconnected, fig 1. A flexible dia-
phragm in the computer unit is subjected, on opposing sides, to the pitot
and static air pressure generated by the aircraft. The resultant force
developed across the diaphragm, which is proportional the pressure 'q' is
transmitted by a pivoting beam to one end of a hydraulic spool valve. This
valve has a three-way configuration comprising a system supply port,
exhaust port and controlled pressure port. The controlled hydraulic
pressure is applied to the lower end of the valve to react and balance the
resultant force from the diaphragm and springs.
Consequently, the computer unit now produces a controlled hydraulic
pressure which is proportional to 'q' as shown in the graph fig 2. The
minimum controlled hydraulic pressure (base pressure) is established by
a small spring bias applied to the valve. Base pressure is usually required
ENGINEERING August 1972
to be maintained over a finite range of 'q', and this is ensured by a spring
reacting on the diaphragm beam.
A relief valve is incorporated as a safety measure, and is situated in the
force path, between the spool valve and beam. It operates in the event of
a spool valve seizure, which would leave the valve open to supply. The
relief valve continues to meter controlled hydraulic pressure at approxi-
mately 135 per cent of the demand value, thus preventing failures due to
the generation of excessively high pressures in the jack which will also
produce an unacceptable high control stiffness.
The controlled hydraulic pressure is applied to one chamber of a piston
jack, where it acts on one face of a balanced area piston. In its simplest
arrangement, the jack cylinder body is attached to the aircraft structure
and the piston rod is connected to the aircraft's control column, to which
it applies a linear spring rate.
The upper end of the spool valve is sensitive to changes in return line
pressure, and causes the controlled hydraulic pressure to vary related to
these changes. However, the equal area piston of the loading jack senses
both the return line pressure and controlled hydraulic pressure; con-
sequently, return pressure variations have a zero effect on the feel forces.
Providing that the supply pressure is marginally in excess of the controlled
hydraulic pressure, fluctuations in supply pressure will have no effect on
metred pressure or feel forces involved.
CONTROL LAW VARIATIONS
The previous paragraphs describe and illustrate the basic elements of
typical Lucas variable feel systems, which are designed to provide an
essentially linear stiffness characteristic at the pilot's control, with the load
being proportional to the aircraft's dynamic pressure.
Next it is necessary to describe and illustrate variations of these basic
elements, which produce more complex control functions for applications
where aircraft control characteristics demand more than a simple 'q' feel
law. In every case, these variants have been fully developed by the com-
pany and are employed in one or more systems currently in service.
By adding another diaphragm and spring to the basic unit element, the
slope of the CHP/q curve (controlled hydraulic pressure) may be changed
 August 1972 AIRCRAFT
above a specific equivalent air speed (EAS). The methodfig.3can be made
to. produce either positive or negative slopes beyond the change point.
There are various ways of achieving this result. For instance, the
diaphragm push rod could be replaced by a collapsible strut which would
cause the diaphragm to settle on a stop at a predetermined value of EAS.
This is particularly applicable where a zero is required beyond the change
point. A similar result can be achieved by using an evacuated capsule to
off-load the diaphragm force. In this case, however, the point at which
the slope change occurs is at a constant Mach number.
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Slope change at constant mach number
With the addition of an evacuated capsule off-load stage to the basic
computer, a characteristic may be obtained having two slopes, in which
the slope change point varies with altitude and occurs at a predetermined
constant Mach number. The ratio of total pressure to static pressure is
proportional to the Mach number, and therefore, the off-load element is
so arranged that the ratio of diaphragm to the differential area of dia-
phragm and capsule is equivalent to the chosen pitot-static pressure ratio,
fig 4 for related illustration and graph. This arrangement provides for a
reduction in feel stiffness as the Mach number increases, thus offsetting
the decrease in control surface effectiveness associated with transonic
flight.
This element can be expanded to provide for restoration of feel forces at
higher Mach numbers.
Double slope change at constant mach number
It has been shown how the feel forces may be reduced to offset the
decrease in control surface effectiveness during transonic flight. For
ENGINEERING 9
•aircraft of supersonic capability it is sometimes desirable to restore the
feel forces at the higher Mach numbers where control surface effectiveness
has partially or wholly returned.
The second Mach sensitive element is similar in function to the first
one, but is now producing a force in the opposite sense of a higher Mach
number. The characteristics shown in fig 5 illustrate the slope changes
during the three phases, together with the reduction of the feel forces at
the critical Mach numbers, as the altitude increases.
Constant slope with change of origin
The evacuated capsule and diaphragm featured fig 6, produce a change
in the origin of the 'q' curve without affecting the slope. This changes the
feel stiffness as a function of altitude and dynamic pressure. Consequently,
the feel forces increase as the altitude and speed of the aircraft increases,
a characteristic which applies to the roll axis of some types of British jet
aircraft. Such a feature has the effect of increasing the control column
loads for specific displacement, altitude and speed. And by reason of the
increased pilot effort needed to pull a particular rate of role, effectively
limits that manoeuvre.
Variable slope
This component provides for a slope variation as a function of a
mechanical input displacement, which enables feel characteristics to be
modified as a function of parameters other than pitot and static pressures,
fig 7 shows details of unit and slope variation graph. A typical application
would be the use of an input, which is a function of horizontal stabiliser
(tailplane) positions which itself reflects changes in the position of the
aircraft's centre of gravity. The input lever can be coupled either directly
to a mechanical control circuit, or an electro-mechanical actuator can be
used. Displacement of the lever varies the mechanical gearing between the
diaphragm and valve to produce proportional changes in the CHP/q slope.
Non-linear output
With the introduction of a cam into the control column lever, this basic
loading system can produce a non-linear output force/displacement
characteristic. Such a function is valuable in shaping the overall feel
characteristics to maintain a specified stick-force per 'q' range. The cam
is a particularly useful element for development purposes, as non-Iinear-
ality can be varied easily (within certain limits), by changing the cam
profile, which is a comparatively simple modification involving only one
 10 AIRCRAFT
item. An example of the use of a cam is shown in fig 8, together with a
graph indicating the torque displacement curve.
DUPLEX VARIABLE FEEL SYSTEMS
To satisfy the necessary built-in safety requirements of today's jet
aircraft, it is essential that some degree of redundancy (fail/safe charac-
teristics) be incorporated in the variable feel control system. To meet these
requirements, the company have developed a number of package units for
such aircraft as the VC-10, BAC 1-11, and Lockheed C-51 'Galaxy'. All
the units are designed on a dual redundancy concept that provides a
failure operating capability.
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The basic system
The system fig 9, consists of two identical computer units and hydraulic
jacks, operated as two completely independent jack/computer combina-
tions. Each half of the combined unit is supplied by separate hydraulic
and pitot static sources.
The two hydraulic jacks have their output rods coupled to each end of
a differential lever, the centre point of which is linked to a lever and cam
mechanism. The cam mechanism is only included as an example and is not
indicative of a typical duplex system, In specific applications it may only
be necessary to use a simple lever-link mechanism. Under normal opera-
ting conditions, the differential lever sums the nominally equal forces
produced in the two jacks, and transmits this total force through the link
to the cam roller lever. The feel forces experienced when displacing the
output lever arc thus determined by the total jack force. It will be seen in
fig 10 that displacement of the output lever in cither direction results in
both hydraulic jacks being displaced in a downward direction, with the
differential lever being translated and not rotated.
Failure effects
Mechanical or hydraulic failure will result in a change of controlled
hydraulic pressure (CHP) in the system. These failures fall into two
categories ie those producing an increase in CHP and those producing
a reduction in CHP, in one of the two hydraulic jacks. A reduction in the
value of the CHP of one system will disturb the balance of the differential
lever, and the piston of the failed system is pushed down until it bottoms
on the end cap fig 11. The geometrical disposition of the differential lever
fulcrum to jack attachment points, is specially chosen so that when a
ENGINEERING August 1972
particular ratio of the two CHP's ensues, the piston on the low pressure
side will bottom on the end cap.
This ensures that normal CHP fluctuations and production tolerance
effects do not cause total unbalance. When this condition is caused by
failures producing a reduction in CHP, no change in the feel force is
experienced by the pilot. This is due to the differential lever fulcrum being
transferred to the jack attachment point of the failed system, thus pro-
ducing a 2 : 1 ratio moment arm which compensates for the loss of half
the hydraulic force, fig 11.
The effect of a failure in the 2nd category is shown in fig 12. Here, the
higher CHP reacts and the differential lever is pushed up by the increase
in hydraulic forces on the piston of the failed system. Equilibrium must
be achieved, so that the piston of the other jack is forced down and
eventually bottoms on the cylinder end cap as previously described. The
variable feel forces are now determined by the failed system, however, the
only possible failure leading to higher than normal CHP is caused by a
seizure of the control valve in an 'open to supply' position. As previously
described, the results of such a failure are limited by a relief valve to an
increase in the CHP of approximately 35 per cent of the desired pressure.
Consequently, in the duplex system, feel forces will be increased in the
same proportion under this failure condition.
Failure detection
As previously described under "Failure effects", the equilibrium
position of the differential lever is altered when a pressure imbalance
 AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING 11
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(Continued from previous page)

occurs between the CHP of one system and that of its counterpart. A
microswitch and actuator arm are shown in fig 13, and are positioned in
such a way that the switch is operated when differential pressures exist of
sufficient magnitude to move the loading jacks to their extreme position.
A time delay ensures that spurious signals do not reach the failure warning
display, and that short term recoveries are ignored. Failure of the beam
seal, which separates static air pressure from hydraulic pressure, is
indicated by oil seepage from a small drain hole on the static side of the
beam seal. Leakage into the static air chamber is prevented by a flexible
gaiter.
Performance aspects
Lucas have produced variable feel systems that satisfy the many different
requirements for feel force characteristics, combined with the ability to
perform efficiently under a wide range of operating conditions. The
following technical data summary illustrates systems designed for opera-
tion with fluid temperatures up to 300°F and at working pressures up to
4,0001b/in2.

Summary of technical data

Hydraulic Fluid Skydrol, Silcodyne H, MIL-H-5606A
System Working Pressures 8501b/in.2 to 4,0001b in.2
Controlled Hydraulic Pressures 501b/in.2 to 3,000lb in.2
Dynamic Pressures (q) Up to 211b/in.2
Slope of CHP/q curve From 40 : 1 to 1,300 : 1
Altitude Up to 60,000ft.
Fluid temperature range From —76°F to +300°F
RELIABILITY
The units fitted to some current civil aircraft, such as the BAC 1-11,
VC-10 and Sud-Aviation Caravelle, have accumulated, up to September
1971, approximately 10,000,000 flight hr. The TBO's on some units have
reached 15,000 flight hr, and the failure rates are 002 per l,000hr or lower,
in each channel.