Systems and methods for detecting landing gear ground loads

• US 10,131,419 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2011
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Goodrich Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Goodrich Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Baird, Bradley W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ngo, Peter
• Application Number:
  US13/267,561
• Publication Number:
  US 20120095702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,602 Days
• Field of Search: 702 42
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 25/00 Alighting gear air-cushion alighting gear B60V3/08
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/008 Devices for detecting or indicating hard landing
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0005 Devices specially adapted to indicate the position of a movable element of the aircraft, e.g. landing gear
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0221 Preprocessing measurements, e.g. data collection rate adjustment; Standardization of measurements; Time series or signal analysis, e.g. frequency analysis or wavelets; Trustworthiness of measurements; Indexes therefor; Measurements using easily measured parameters to estimate parameters difficult to measure; Virtual sensor creation; De-noising; Sensor fusion; Unconventional preprocessing inherently present in specific fault detection methods like PCA-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/08 Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/50 On board measures aiming to increase energy efficiency

Abstract

There is provided a system for predicting loading of a landing gear including, a plurality sensors positioned proximate to the landing gear. The plurality of sensors measure strain applied to the landing gear, and each sensor yielding strain data. The system further includes a processor that receives the strain data from the plurality of sensors and predicts at least one ground load based on strain data. There is further provided a method for predicting loading of a landing gear. The method includes powering a plurality of sensors located proximate to a landing gear structure, interrogating the plurality of sensors via data acquisition circuitry to yield strain data, instructing the data acquisition circuitry as to a sampling rate and data resolution to be used for the interrogating, and, finally, processing the strain data to predict a ground load.

Claims

1. A system for predicting loading of a landing gear comprising:

a plurality of sensors positioned proximate to the landing gear which yield strain data,

wherein the plurality of sensors comprises at least five sensors and the plurality of sensors measures at least five loads comprising a drag load, a side load, a vertical load, a moment drag load, and a moment side load, whereby the strain data may be determined; and

a first processor that receives the strain data from the plurality of sensors and predicts at least one ground load applied to the landing gear based on the strain data,

wherein the first processor further predicts a weight and a balance of an aircraft based only on the strain data;

a power supply module that provides power to the plurality of sensors;

data acquisition circuitry that interrogates the plurality of sensors to acquire the strain data therefrom; and

a second processor that instructs the data acquisition circuitry as to the sampling rate and data resolution comprising a bit resolution to be used to interrogate the plurality of sensors,

wherein the second processor instructs the data acquisition circuitry to increase the sampling rate and the data acquisition resolution in response to a detected increasing strain.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the landing gear comprises a piston and a torque linkage, wherein the plurality of sensors are positioned about each of the piston and the torque linkage.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the landing gear comprises an axle, a piston, a torque linkage having an attachment pin, a trailing arm, and a shock strut, wherein the plurality of sensors are positioned about at least one of the axle, the piston, the torque linkage, the attachment pin, the trailing arm and the shock strut.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the landing gear comprises an axle, a piston, a torque linkage having an attachment pin, a trailing arm, and a shock strut, wherein the plurality of sensors are positioned about each of the axle root, the piston, the torque linkage, the attachment pin, the trailing arm, and the shock strut.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors are selected from the group consisting of a uniaxial gauge and a shear gauge.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors measures a hoop stress experienced by the landing gear and yields hoop stress data, wherein the processor further receives the hoop stress data, and predicts the at least one ground load based on the hoop stress data and the strain data.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the landing gear further comprises a bogie beam having a pivot point and at least two axles, wherein the plurality of sensors are positioned on either side of the pivot point, wherein the strain data comprises measurements of loads from each of the at least two axles.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the landing gear further comprises a piston and a bogie beam that connects to the piston at a piston base, the bogie beam comprising at least two axles and a pivot point, wherein the plurality of sensors are positioned on either side of the pivot point, and wherein at least one of the plurality of sensors is positioned on the piston base.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is a first processor, the system further comprising:

a control unit in communication with the plurality of sensors and positioned proximate the landing gear, the control unit including;

a power supply module for providing power to the plurality of sensors;

data acquisition circuitry that interrogates the plurality of sensors to acquire the strain data therefrom; and

a second processor that instructs the data acquisition circuitry as to the sampling rate and data resolution to be used to interrogate the plurality of sensors.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is a first processor, the system further comprising:

a power supply module that provides power to the plurality of sensors;

data acquisition circuitry that interrogates the plurality of sensors to acquire the strain data therefrom; and

a second processor that instructs the data acquisition circuitry as to the sampling rate and data resolution to be used to interrogate the plurality of sensors.

11. A system as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

a data concentrator unit in communication with the second processor, the data concentrator unit processes and stores the strain data in non-volatile memory;

wherein the first processor receives the strain data from the data concentrator unit.

12. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the first processor predicts the ground load applied to the landing gear based at least one algorithm.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the first processor and the second processor are the same.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the strain is measured at a sensor location, wherein the processor further predicts an occurrence of an overload condition in the landing gear, based on a model that relates a magnitude of the at least one ground load to a design limit of the landing gear.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the model comprises data that is generated from at least one selected from the group consisting of finite element analysis and static load testing of the landing gear.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor further transmits an alarm when the processor predicts the occurrence of the overload condition.

17. The system of claim 1, further comprising a database in communication with the processor, wherein the database stores the strain data, wherein the processor further compares changes in the strain data over a time period yield a health status of the landing gear.

18. A system for predicting loading of a landing gear comprising:

a plurality of sensors positioned proximate to the landing gear which yield strain data,

wherein the plurality of sensors comprises at least five sensors and the plurality of sensors measures at least five loads comprising a drag load, a side load, a vertical load, a moment drag load, and a moment side load, whereby the strain data may be determined; and

a first processor that receives the strain data from the plurality of sensors and predicts at least one ground load applied to the landing gear based on the strain data;

a control unit in communication with the plurality of sensors and positioned proximate the landing gear, the control unit including;

a power supply module for providing power to the plurality of sensors;

data acquisition circuitry that interrogates the plurality of sensors to acquire the strain data therefrom; and

a second processor that instructs the data acquisition circuitry as to the sampling rate and data resolution comprising a bit resolution to be used to interrogate the plurality of sensors,

wherein the second processor instructs the data acquisition circuitry to increase the sampling rate and the data acquisition resolution in response to a detected increasing strain.