Chris
In answer to your questions-
Does the new RAT design enable:
1) RAT to provide reliable hydraulic and electrical power until touchdown?
From FCOM 1 for sn 934:
When the landing gear is down, the emergency generator is no longer powered, and the emergency generation network is automatically transferred to the batteries and the static inverter, and the system automatically sheds the AC SHED ESS and DC SHED ESS buses.
& for sn 2098 there is no referance to gear down but this statement replaces it:
If the RAT stalls, or if the aircraft is on the ground with a speed below 100 knots, the emergency generator has nothing to drive it. The emergency generation network automatically transfers to the batteries and static inverter, and the system automatically sheds the AC SHED ESS and DC SHED ESS buses.
In answer to your second question-
Does the new RAT design enable:
2) Alternate Law to continue after L/G extension?
No, they are all direct law with the gear down. I imagine Airbus would have recertify the aircraft to enable this. I beleive that the A330 will land in alternate law.
FCOM 3 makes referance to the fact that on the older aircraft the RAT stalls at 140 kts but it is 125 kts except in the flare for the newer ones. Perhaps this is a clue as to why it is still direct law for landing.
As an aside the terms older & newer are perhaps a bit misleading. The new style RAT was incorporated into the A321 from the beginning whereas Airbus continued to produce the 320 with the old RAT. A couple of the 321s that I fly have the new RAT despite being older than our 320s with the old style.