Title: Modelling and optimisation of structural parameters of main landing gear during touchdown and taxing

Authors: Mantesh Basappa Khot; Abhijit Prekash; Rahul Gopalakrishna; Karan Nanda; Hriday Ghosh

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, PES University, Bangalore-560085, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, PES University, Bangalore-560085, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, PES University, Bangalore-560085, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, PES University, Bangalore-560085, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, PES University, Bangalore-560085, India

Abstract: Runway irregularities induce vibrations in the fuselage of aircraft during take-off, taxiing, and landing, leading to fatigue stresses in the airframe. These vibrations impacts passenger comfort and affect the functioning of instruments. To reduce fuselage vibrations in the Fokker-70 aircraft, an optimisation of parameters is conducted, aiming to lower the peak of the frequency response at resonant conditions and minimise the time difference between the fuselage and tire stabilisation after touchdown. This prevents airframe failure due to excessive vibration at resonance. MATLAB s Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm is used for optimisation. Additionally, a PID controller is implemented in the landing gear model to further mitigate vibrations. The controller s effectiveness is tested using a runway model with various bumps, adhering to Boeing s runway roughness criteria. Results show the controller smoothens fuselage response to runway excitations, reducing vibration and enhancing the airframe s fatigue life.

Keywords: complex modal analysis; Nelder-Mead simplex method; optimisation; Oleo pneumatic shock absorber; PID controller.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESMS.2025.148256

International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation, 2025 Vol.16 No.5, pp.294 - 301

Accepted: 01 Oct 2023
Published online: 01 Sep 2025 *

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