Numerical investigation on a cable-driven flight simulator with high-G acceleration capability

Abstract

Flight simulator is a common way provided for pilot training. To simplify its structure and generate large overload with guaranteed safety and stability, this paper presents a 6-DOF cable driven flight simulator platform with the capability of High-G acceleration. Firstly, a detailed introduction of this kind of cable driven parallel mechanism is given, as well as the basic principles of motion geometry and force equilibrium. A hyper-plane vector projection strategy is used for the effective workspace analysis, which is on the basis of force-closure condition. Using the dynamic equations, a PD control law incorporating feed-forward force term and disturbance compensation term is given to ensure the trajectory precision and stability. A step function is taken to represent the platform's large overload motion. Numerical simulation results show that it can produce a high acceleration of almost 8G, meanwhile the position attenuates and tends to be stable in a short time. The cable tension is also guaranteed to be positive and secure during the motion process. Angular oscillation motion is also proved be accessible. Researches made above could provide guidance and evidence for the practical design of the high-G flight simulator.