Effect of Gyroscopic Couple on Aircraft Landing Gear Shimmy

Abstract

This article presents the effect of gyroscopic couples on the shimmy response of landing gear. The gyroscopic effect between the rotational motions of the aircraft’s longitudinal and vertical axes may be one of the causes of shimmy. The vertical load acting on the wheel axle plays a significant role in a tire’s dynamic characteristics, which may influence shimmy oscillation. So, vertical dynamics also need to be considered for shimmy analysis along with lateral and torsional modes. Suitable mathematical models are required to study the system’s shimmy oscillation and stability nature. The mathematical model was developed by introducing a gyroscopic couple with 5 degrees of freedom (DOF). A numeric analysis was made to investigate the influence of gyroscopic couples on the landing gear model. The simulation results of the model with and without gyroscopic couple are compared and the effect of each parameter on shimmy is studied.