Electro-mechanical actuators for the navy's ships

The goal is to strengthen the technology base for electro-mechanical actuators (EMAs) in order to more rapidly meet the future objective of removing hydraulic actuation systems from all Navy ship platforms. Recent development at The University of Texas at Austin suggests that a revolution in EMA technology is now feasible with a potential growth of the technology of 8 orders of magnitude over the two decades from 1990-2010. What is proposed is to create a duality between the widely accepted power electronic building block (PEBB) developed by ONR and a Standardized Actuator Building Block (SABB) as represented by the UT-Austin technology. Here, we outline a cohesive scientific effort to create advanced technology where the best materials, design, and operational choices are integrated in a balanced effort.