Integrated Electrohydraulic Control Actuation System with Centralized Power Plant for the Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator

An electrohydraulic control actuation system for actuating eight aerodynamic control surfaces of the two-stage technology demonstrator of the Indian reusable launch vehicle (RLV-TD) was developed, validated by extensive testing in various test beds, simulation runs and flight proven in the RLV-TD HEX-01 mission flight on 23 May 2016. A centralized hydraulic power generating unit (HPU) was used for powering the eight actuators located in two stages. The network of plumbings and control components of this actuation system were required to be laid out over the entire length and breadth of the vehicle measuring 17 m in length, to distribute the hydraulic power to all the actuators. The hydraulic actuation system had to work for the longest ever duration of 833 s for an Indian launch vehicle. Many challenges arose due to a single HPU for two stages, long complex network of plumbings, longest ever operating duration, thermal issues, second-stage structure resembling an aircraft, limited occupancy for operations at the launch pad, limited power source, etc. Necessary provisions were incorporated in the design to successfully overcome them. This article describes the development of the control actuation system.