Aircraft Shock Strut Non-Metallic Damping Ring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft shock struts face challenges in efficiently managing the high demands of landing, taxiing, and takeoff by requiring advanced materials and designs that minimize wear and maximize energy storage and damping capabilities while maintaining a lightweight structure.
Innovation Solution
The shock strut design incorporates a titanium or titanium alloy cylinder and piston with non-metallic composite bearings and damping rings, utilizing an air-over-oil arrangement to store energy and dissipate it through controlled orifice flow, reducing wear and enhancing the strut's ability to handle ground loads without excessive material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional metal bearings and damping rings are used in shock struts, then structural strength and durability are improved, but weight increases and wear on titanium components accelerates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by replacing traditional metal bearings and damping rings with non-metallic composite materials. These composite components provide sufficient mechanical strength and wear resistance while significantly reducing the overall weight of the shock strut assembly, thereby resolving the contradiction between durability and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes traditional metallic mechanical components with non-metallic composite alternatives. This substitution maintains the structural integrity and load-bearing capabilities while reducing weight and minimizing galvanic corrosion issues that occur between dissimilar metals in the air-over-oil system.
2Strength
If more material is used to handle ground loads, then load-bearing capacity is improved, but weight and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
Non-metallic composite materials are used to create load-bearing components that provide sufficient strength to handle ground loads during landing, taxiing, and takeoff. These composite materials have high strength-to-weight ratios, allowing the shock strut to bear heavy loads without the excessive weight that would result from using traditional metallic materials.
3Weight of moving object
If titanium components are used, then strength-to-weight ratio is improved, but wear from traditional bearing materials increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses non-metallic composite bearing materials that are compatible with titanium surfaces. These composite materials reduce galvanic corrosion and minimize wear on the titanium piston and cylinder components, thereby extending the service life of the shock strut while maintaining the high strength-to-weight ratio benefits of titanium.
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
This design effectively absorbs and dissipates shock forces, reduces wear on titanium components, and maintains a lightweight structure, improving the overall performance and durability of aircraft landing gear while minimizing material weight.
Implementation Method 1
a trapped volume of gas is compressed as the shock strut is axially compressed, and a volume of oil is metered through an orifice. The gas acts as an energy storage device (e.g., like a spring), so that upon termination of a compressing force, the shock strut returns to its original length.
Implementation Method 2
Shock struts also dissipate energy by passing the oil through the orifice so that as the shock absorber is compressed or extended, its rate of motion is limited by the damping action from the interaction of the orifice and the oil.
Implementation Method 3
dissipate energy by passing the oil through the orifice so that as the shock absorber is compressed or extended, its rate of motion is limited by the damping action from the interaction of the orifice and the oil.
Data Source
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AI summary
A shock strut (12) for an aircraft landing gear (10) is disclosed. The shock strut (12) may include a piston (30) with a piston inner surface and a piston outer surface. A telescoping component may be coaxially aligned and slidably engagable with the piston (30). At least one of the piston (30) and the telescoping component may be a titanium material. A groove (80) defined by an upper lip and a lower lip may be coupled to at least one of the piston (30) or the telescoping component. A piston ring (70) may be in direct contact with the titanium material. The piston ring (70) may be non-metallic and provide sliding engagement with the titanium material to seal a radial space between the piston (30) and the telescoping component. The piston ring (70) may be at least partially held within the groove (80), and the groove (80) may limit axial movement of the piston ring (70).