Analysis of ground handling characteristic of aircraft with electric taxi system

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Electric landing gear drive equipped with traction motors can provide taxi capability without the use of main engines or tractor. The ground handling characteristic of aircraft with electric taxi system is analyzed. The new mathematic model of aircraft ground maneuver is established, considering the 6-degree-freedom aircraft body and the flexible main strut and the powered wheel. Quasi-steady method is applied to calculate tire side forces and moments, to determine side slip. The simulation for the ground steering response of aircraft with electric taxi system is done by employing ADAMS and Simulink co-simulation platform. The dynamic responses of aircraft ground steering and landing gear spin-up and spring back are simulated. Different taxi conditions including powered nose wheel mode and powered main wheel mode are compared. Four conclusions are obtained: electric taxi system helps the aircraft turn on the spot and the turning radius is smaller than the aircraft using engines; differential powered main wheel mode has the minimum turning radius while turning-circle with uniform velocity, and it has smaller difference between two vertical loads of main landing gear than powered nose wheel mode; in the case of the same steering angle, the extreme velocity of differential powered main wheel mode before side slip is larger than powered nose wheel mode; and pre-rotation of powered main wheel decreases the spin-up drag load and spring back drag load.