Health monitoring of aircraft landing gear mechanical structures

• Main Authors: Hussain, Naveed, Dong, John J, Hinton, Roland, Simpson, Mark N
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 03.03.2020
• Subjects: AEROPLANES; AIRCRAFT; ARRANGEMENTS OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSIONTRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; CALCULATING; COMPUTING; COSMONAUTICS; COUNTING; DESIGNING, MANUFACTURING, ASSEMBLING, CLEANING, MAINTAINING ORREPAIRING AIRCRAFT, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLYING SUITS; GROUND OR AIRCRAFT-CARRIER-DECK INSTALLATIONS SPECIALLYADAPTED FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH AIRCRAFT; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING, TRANSPORTING, TESTING OR INSPECTING AIRCRAFTCOMPONENTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; HELICOPTERS; MEASURING; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS; MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEARDIMENSIONS; PARACHUTES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECOGNITION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; TESTING; TRANSPORTING

Methods and systems are provided that facilitate the maintenance of levered landing gears by monitoring the condition of the stop pads of such landing gears. One embodiment provides for calibrating a sensor for measuring a condition of a stop joint formed by a first stop pad and a second stop pad of a levered landing gear against a nominal condition of at least one of the first stop pad and the second stop pad; monitoring, by the sensor, a current condition of the at least one of the first stop pad and the second stop pad from the nominal condition; determining whether a non-conformance from the nominal condition of the at least one of the first stop pad and the second stop pad has been detected by the sensor for the current condition; and in response to determining that the non-conformance has been detected, generating an alert.