Cedrat Technologies, innovation in mechatronics

ABC is the acronym for ‘’Active Blade Concept’’ and represents a 38% Mach scaled model rotor of the Advanced Technology Rotor (ATR) of Eurocopter Germany (ECD, [4]). In contrast to the ATR the model rotor is fully articulated. Specifically, it is equipped with a flap at the trailing edge of each blade, which is driven by a piezoelectric actuator. The ABC project is a cooperation between the French ONERA and the German DLR within the research concept ‘’The Active Rotor’’.

Actuators are key elements of air- and spacecrafts. In the recent years the concept of the more-electric aircraft pushed the development of electrical actuation systems to substitute hitherto used hydraulic actuators in a broad range of applications such as flight control, landing gear and brake actuation.