Multibody rigid models and 3D FE models in numerical analysis of transport aircraft main landing gear

Abstract

Dynamic analyses of a transport aircraft landing gear are conducted to determine the effort of such a complex system and provide capabilities to predict their behaviour under hazardous conditions. This kind of investigation with the use of numerical methods implementation is much easier and less expensive than stand tests. Various 3D models of the landing gear part are defined for the multistage static FE analysis. A complete system of the main landing gear was mapped as a deformable 3D numerical model for dynamic analysis with the use of LS-Dyna code. In this 3D deformable FE model, developed in a drop test simulation, the following matters were taken into consideration: contact problems between collaborating elements, the phenomena of energy absorption by a gas-liquid damper placed in the landing gear and the response of the landing gear during the touchdown of a flexible wheel with the ground. The results of numerical analyses for the selected drop tests and the results from the experiments carried out on a real landing gear were used for verification of FE models and a methodology of the landing gear dynamics analysis. The results obtained from the various simulations of the touchdown have proved the effectiveness of the 3D numerical model and how many problems can be solved in the course of only one numerical run, e.g. geometric and material nonlinearities, a question of contact between the mating components, investigation of the landing gear kinematics, investigation of the energy dissipation problem in the whole system and the stresses influence on the structure behaviour, which can appear in some elements due to overload.