Landing Gear Support Fixture With Strut Load Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft support fixtures are not designed to accommodate high loading conditions during ground testing and are not quick or easy to deploy and remove, necessitating a need for improvements in existing fixtures that are not designed to accommodate high loading conditions during ground testing and are not designed to accommodate high loading conditions during ground testing and are not quick or easy to deploy and remove.
Innovation Solution
The development of aircraft landing gear support fixtures that include struts, support platforms, skate assemblies, and strut force sensors, which are configured to inhibit movement along the longitudinal axis and accommodate translational motion, allowing for quick and easy deployment and removal while providing accurate load measurements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If existing support fixtures are used, then the aircraft can be supported during ground testing, but the fixtures cannot accommodate high loading conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The support system is divided into multiple components: a support fixture with a base plate and vertical member, a separate strut assembly with force sensor, and a skate assembly. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for high load capacity while maintaining reliability through proper force distribution paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The strut assembly acts as an intermediary element between the support fixture and the aircraft landing gear. It includes a force sensor that measures the load transmitted through the strut, enabling accurate measurement of high loading conditions while the strut itself provides the necessary structural strength.
2Ease of operation
If existing support fixtures are used, then the aircraft can be supported during ground testing, but the fixtures are not quick or easy to deploy and remove
Solution Approach 1:
The support system is divided into modular components (support fixture, strut assembly, skate assembly) that can be independently assembled and disassembled. The strut assembly can be quickly attached to or removed from the support fixture and skate assembly without complex procedures, enabling rapid deployment and removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The skate assembly incorporates a skating mechanism that allows the strut to move translationally relative to the support fixture during deployment and removal operations. This dynamic capability enables quick positioning and attachment without requiring complex alignment procedures, significantly reducing setup and teardown time.
3Measurement precision
If the strut is restrained from movement along the longitudinal axis, then accurate load measurements can be obtained, but the fixture complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The force sensor acts as an intermediary measurement device that measures the compressive force in the strut without requiring complex restraint mechanisms. The force sensor is positioned to measure the load directly as it transmits through the strut, providing accurate measurements while keeping the restraint structure simple.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using complex mechanical restraint systems to prevent strut movement, the design uses the natural compression behavior of the strut under aircraft load and measures the force through the force sensor. This substitution of mechanical restraint with force measurement simplifies the overall fixture structure while maintaining measurement precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The fixtures provide stable support for aircraft during ground testing, enabling accurate load measurements and facilitating quick setup and teardown processes, thereby enhancing the efficiency of ground testing procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The strut force sensor is coupled between the lower strut end and the load-bearing structure, and it provides sensor output associated with load imparted by the strut
Implementation Method 2
The skate assembly has a skating mechanism and a load-bearing structure coupled to or integrated with the skating mechanism, wherein the skating mechanism is configured to accommodate translational motion of the load-bearing structure relative to the upper support surface
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed here is a landing gear support fixture for an aircraft under test having a landing gear. The disclosed landing gear support fixture includes: an axle attachment assembly that is compatibly shaped, sized, and configured to mate with and attach to at least one axle of the landing gear of the aircraft under test; a support platform to support the axle attachment assembly, wherein the support platform is in a fixed position relative to a stationary reference foundation; and a force sensor couplable between the axle attachment assembly and the support platform to provide sensor output associated with load imparted by the landing gear of the aircraft under test.