Adaptive landing gear able to adjust to different impact loads could be tested on helicopters, following a European Union Sixth Framework research programme using a fixed-wing aircraft.
The €3 million ($3.9 million), 36-month Adland project conducted feasibility studies into the use of piezoelectric valves and magneto-rheological fluids (MRF) in landing gear that can adjust to runway impact loads that are predicted using flight data.
MRF contains iron particles that affect the viscosity of the fluid when a magnetic field is applied, while the piezoelectric valve, which regulates oil flow within the gear, activates with the application of a voltage. Existing landing gears are designed to absorb the force from an expected impact, which may not represent actual loads.
The Adland electronic controller uses data from flight systems to calculate the likely impact of landing. The controller then activates the adaptive system in the final seconds of flight to make the adjustments to compensate for a predicted heavy or light landing.
"Both [technologies] seem feasible, however the piezoelectric valve has fewer problems. There can be sedimentary effects with the MRF's iron particles [over time]," says project co-ordinator Jan Holnicki-Szulc, head of the Warsaw Institute of Fundamental Technological Research's smart technology centre.
The €3 million ($3.9 million), 36-month Adland project conducted feasibility studies into the use of piezoelectric valves and magneto-rheological fluids (MRF) in landing gear that can adjust to runway impact loads that are predicted using flight data.
MRF contains iron particles that affect the viscosity of the fluid when a magnetic field is applied, while the piezoelectric valve, which regulates oil flow within the gear, activates with the application of a voltage. Existing landing gears are designed to absorb the force from an expected impact, which may not represent actual loads.
The Adland electronic controller uses data from flight systems to calculate the likely impact of landing. The controller then activates the adaptive system in the final seconds of flight to make the adjustments to compensate for a predicted heavy or light landing.
"Both [technologies] seem feasible, however the piezoelectric valve has fewer problems. There can be sedimentary effects with the MRF's iron particles [over time]," says project co-ordinator Jan Holnicki-Szulc, head of the Warsaw Institute of Fundamental Technological Research's smart technology centre.
Source: Flight International