Sliding Wear and Freeplay Growth due to Control Surface Limit Cycle Oscillations

What is it about?

Freeplay existing in flight control surface linkages can lead to aeroelastic Limit Cycle Oscillations (LCO), which in turn cause sliding wear and growth in the freeplay. Here, a first of its kind theoretical model is developed to represent this coupled phenomenon. The influence of the bearings and links on the freeplay growth is brought out, which can aid in actuation circuit design. The model is used to calculate freeplay growth trends due to LCO and to analyze freeplay from the design/maintenance perspective.

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