modelling and simulation of skid-equipped shipboard rotorcraft
Mathematical modelling and computer simulation has proven to be the tool of choice for supporting the development and operation of shipboard aircraft securing and handling equipment. While other alternatives have been used for specific phases and aspects of operation, the variety of nonlinear effects present and range of analysis types that are required strongly support transient time-domain simulation as the most versatile option. The DYNAFACE simulation program has been developed over the past fifteen years and is widely used for this purpose, particularly for the analysis of conventional shipboard aircraft designed with wheeled landing gears. Increasingly, a requirement has emerged for the ability to model shipboard aircraft having skid landing gear -- both due to occasional use of land-based aircraft aboard ships and for supporting the design and operation of ship-based UAVs that are often fitted with skid landing gear. This paper describes in detail for the first time recent mathematical modelling resulting in the extension of DYNAFACE capabilities to include the modelling of skid-equipped rotorcraft both using a fast linear stiffness modelling approach for the gear and using a more-general nonlinear finite element structural modelling approach. In both cases, an efficient skid/deck interface model is used. The two modelling options provide versatility in the type of analysis that can be performed. Sample results from a typical analysis are also presented and discussed.
dynaface skid landing gear shipboard aircraft operation dynamic interface analysis