Aircraft Landing Gear Joint Positioning to Reduce Bending Moment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing landing gear designs for aircraft generate a high bending moment in the wheel support member due to the collar's position above the piston rod, which increases stress and potentially leads to mechanical failure.
Innovation Solution
The landing gear configuration includes a wheel support member with a joint connected to the brace, where the joint is positioned closer to the wheel than to the swing support member, reducing the bending moment and stress on the wheel support member.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the collar is arranged above the piston rod (separated from the wheel in the height direction), then the structural configuration is simplified, but the bending moment generated in the wheel support member increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent repositions the joint from a vertical arrangement (above the piston rod) to a horizontal arrangement (closer to the wheel along the axis). This dimensional change in the joint's location transforms the force transmission path, reducing the bending moment while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Force
If the joint is positioned closer to the wheel than to the swing support member, then the bending moment in the wheel support member is reduced, but the structural configuration becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of placing the joint at the conventional location (above the piston rod, far from the wheel), the patent inverts the arrangement by positioning the joint closer to the wheel. This inversion of the joint's location relative to the wheel support member fundamentally changes the moment arm, reducing bending moment despite the unconventional configuration.
3Strength
If additional structural components like torque arms are added to reduce bending moment, then the mechanical integrity is enhanced, but the weight of the fuselage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the torque arm component from the conventional configuration and eliminates it entirely by repositioning the joint. This extraction of the unnecessary component reduces the bending moment through geometric reconfiguration rather than adding structural reinforcement, thereby reducing weight while maintaining mechanical integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
A landing gear includes: a wheel support member including a first portion for rollably supporting a wheel, and a second portion extending from the first portion toward a fuselage in a direction of an axis of the first portion and supporting the first portion such that the first portion is rotatable about the axis; a swing support member for supporting the second portion of the wheel support member such that the second portion is swingable relative to the fuselage; a retraction actuator for swinging the wheel support member to retract the wheel into the fuselage and deploy the wheel from the fuselage; a brace attached to the fuselage and supporting the wheel support member; and a joint connecting the brace to the first portion of the wheel support member. The joint is disposed closer to the wheel than to the swing support member.