Multi-Body Approach to the Simulation of particular Drop Test for an Aircrsft Landing Gear

This work deals with the effectiveness of dynamic analysis for a fixed landing gear, performed through a multi-body software by providing evidence of consistency between numerical simulation and experimental drop test results for the aircraft AP.68 TP-300. After the realization of Digital Mock-up of the main components of landing gear in a C.A.D. 3D, we have imported them in ADAMS environment and we have virtually mounted them to reproduce the real constraints. In ADAMS the model of the test article has been realized too. The fuselage of aircraft and constitutive parts of landing gear have been modeled all as rigid body. Only the leaf spring and tire have been simulated as flexible body. An ADAMS Tire Model has been used in the simulation and information about the ground has been added in a Road Data file. Simulations to reproduce experimental drop test, characterized by defined weights of falling mass and height, have been developed. The results show a good correlation between numerical simulation and experimental test, which provides preliminary evidence of future possible cost reduction through a potential virtual certification of the landing gear new design development. Future development of the present activity will probably be an application of methodology to other cases for a more extensive validation of its predictive power and development of virtual certification procedure.