Actuator characterization of a man-portable precision maneuver concept

The US Army Research Laboratory is conducting research to explore technologies that may be suitable for maneuvering man-portable munitions. Current research is focused on the use of rotary actuators with spin-stabilized munitions. A rotary actuator holds the potential of providing a low-power solution for guidance of a spinning projectile. This is in contrast to a linear (reciprocating) actuator which would need to constantly change direction, resulting in large accelerations which in turn would require large forces, thereby driving up the actuator power. A rotational actuator would be operating at a fairly constant rotation rate once it is up to speed, resulting in much lower power requirements. Actuator experiments conducted over a variety of conditions validate the dynamic models of the actuator and supply the data necessary for model parameter estimation. Actuator performance metrics of spin rate response, friction, and power requirements were derived from the data. This study indicates that this class of maneuver concepts can be driven with these actuators. These results enable actuator design and multi-disciplinary simulation of refined maneuver concepts for a specific application.