Overview
CREAM proposes an ambitious technological research program allowing the development and validation of a number of emerging sub-components, packaging and motor technologies and to integrate them to a high performance, smart electronic and motor technological platform destined for electric actuator preparation. This technological platform will offer a panel of emerging technologies such as diamond substrates, flip chip assembly technologies, elimination of base plates, new magnetic materials with higher magnetic properties and thermal management system concepts allowing the integration of reliable and compact electronic modules able to sustain severe environments, and compact and reliable high temperature motors.
Thanks to these new technologies, the drive and control of electronic modules could have higher density and lower mass and be fully integrated inside the Electro Mechanical Actuators (EMA). The benefits of new motor technology based on higher performance magnetic materials will also provide significant gain in EMA motor mass and density.
The new concept of this electronic technological platform of EMA, together with motor improvements will be analysed, studied and developed by CREAM with a particular attention to the overall integration architecture of electronics and motors in a complete EMA prototype. The concept will be tested and reliability will be demonstrated by the way of a validation campaign done at technological test vehicle level, and at global CREAM EMA level prototypes.
This program allows for introducing the Compact Reliable Electronic integrated to Actuator and Motor concept: The CREAM concept. With this CREAM concept it will be possible to realise all in one compact and reliable EMA; just connect the power and control bus and it works.
The objective of the CREAM project is to reach new high performance and reliability capabilities of Electro-Mechanical Actuators (EMA) in harsh thermal environmental conditions ready to use in all-electric aircraft.
For this global objective, the aim is to develop an advanced, smart, miniaturised and reliable electronic technological platform integrating new compact technologies, advanced components and assembly methods, and new methodologies able to substantially improve the drive and control electronic modules and the EMA motors in order to:
- To provide high power density and compact characteristics of electronics modules integrated in actuators or motors (reduction by a factor 2 of the electronic volume and mass).
- To provide advanced new concepts of thermal management of the electronic platform allowing higher performances and reliability
- To provide high temperatures and compact motors for actuators (reduction of 30% of the motor volume and mass)
- To integrate the new electronic and motor platforms in actuator housing and a very severe thermal environment (above 200 degrees Celsius) providing performing thermal management.
- To provide validation of aeronautic reliability in high temperatures at least at the same level as existing hydraulic systems (50.000 hours), and where possible, even better (100,000 hours) with health monitoring functionality.
The Work Packages (WPs) are defined as follows:
- WP1 (Specifications) is oriented towards the better understanding of the harsh environment and the complex validation plan to ensure the best implementation of the new actuator in aircrafts.
- WP2 (Multi-Chip Power Module, MCPM Design) is the core development of the CREAM project and will lead to the creation of the new electronic part of the actuator.
- WP3 (Actuator Global Integration) is dedicated to the development of a new motor for this generation of actuator. New technologies, as new magnetic materials or new motor control method, will be evaluated to improve the actuator.
- WP4 (Technological platform validation) aims at validating the new actuator to perform the Technological Readiness Level expected.
- WP0 and WP5 deal with project management and dissemination, exploitation and standardisation aspects.
Funding
Results
The project is balanced between two main activities: technological research aiming at assessing and selecting technologies suited to CREAM constraints and the development of a demonstrator embedding the selected technologies.
The first year of the project was dedicated to the identification of the end-user application for the CREAM technological platform (D1.2), a trade-off on the requirements applicable to this platform (D1.1), the definition of the technological plan for the project (D1.3), the definition of the validation plan for the technological platform (D1.4), the architecture of the demonstrator (D3.1) and the architecture of the MCPM (D2.1.1). The planned deliverables within this first year have been delivered. Based on these outputs, the second year was dedicated to the evaluation of technologies in each workpackage and to the detailed studies and breadboarding of all functions. Reliability bases have been increased, thanks to all technological test vehicles that were built and tested at extended temperature ranges. A major decision point (DMP2) was held and allowed to select the best candidate technologies for the demonstrator. Prototypes were designed, built, and successfully tested for all critical functions of MCPM and the motor, thus securing all bases for detailed design activities.
The third year was dedicated to detailed design activities of the major components and boards, up to the elaboration of industrial files and the procurement of all parts for the final MCPM demonstrators. Test bench architecture has also been refined and frozen, permitting the development of activities for all test tools for the final activities. All necessary outputs were elaborated and delivered and the detailed organization of partners for the manufacturing of final demonstrators was set up, taking into account the definition of hardware outputs and manufacturing requirements for all parts and subassemblies.
Assessment of the difficulties associated to the new technologies and processes and solving the issues of the final mixing was a major activity. All the subparts of the EMA were manufactured, tested and made available for integration in the final MCPM demonstrators. Most technologies selected during the design were specifically evaluated in complement of the technological planned activities. All parts were integrated, glued, bonded and interconnected into the foreseen MCPM demonstration models (4 fully assembled MPCM have been manufactured and tested; an additional partial model was als
Policy objectives
Innovating for the future: technology and behaviour
- A European Transport Research and Innovation Policy