Development and wind tunnel evaluation of a shape memory alloy based trim tab actuator for a civil aircraft

This paper presents the development and wind tunnel evaluation of a shape memory alloy (SMA) based smart trim tab for a typical two seater civil aircraft. The SMA actuator was housed in the port side of the elevator for the purpose of actuating the trim tab. Wind tunnel tests were conducted on a full scale horizontal tail model with elevator and trim tab at free stream speeds of 25, 35 and 45 m s−1, and also for a number of deflections of the elevator (30° up, 0° neutral and 25° down) and trim tab (11° and 21° up and 15° and 31° down). To measure the hinge moment experienced by the trim tab under various test conditions, two miniaturized balances were designed and fabricated. A gain scheduled proportional integral (GSPI) controller was developed to control the SMA actuated smart trim tab. It was confirmed during the tests that the trim tab could be controlled at the desired position against the aerodynamic loads acting on it for the various test conditions.