Artificial Runway Design for Shimmy Testing on Nose Landing Gear

Abstract

<p>This report proposes a novel design for general experimentation of shimmy on the nose landing gear of aircraft. Shimmy is known to cause excessive wear on the landing gear, discomfort to occupants, and potential safety hazards. A wide body of research exists for analytical models and computer simulations of shimmy. However, these models require physical testing to challenge underlying assumptions, particularly with regards to tire dynamics. Current experimentation methods, such as flight testing or small-scale setups, are either prohibitively expensive or inaccurate. The proposed design creates an artificial runway that would simulate real world conditions for aircraft, including accurate take-off speeds, weights, and ground interactions. This creates an environment for directly measuring shimmy, as well as other related quantities such as tire slip angle and deformation. This allows for a wide range of experiments to be conducted for model and design verification.</p>