A static aeroelastic analysis of the flexible trailing edge is conducted to calculate the deformed shape, aerodynamic coefficients and corresponding driving pressure. A physical flexible trailing edge model is manufactured using a honeycomb structure, which is measured based on binocular vision. The quadratic response surface method is adopted to establish the pneumatic artificial muscle actuator model. The wire-pulley transmission model is built to identify the existence of equivalent forces and produce the equivalent forces as the substitute of actuation force. A finite element model of the flexible trailing edge is established, which is validated by the test data. A nonlinear relationship is found between the driving pressure and deflection angle. The pressure needed to bear the structural stiffness is found to be much larger than that of the aerodynamic load. With the increase in pressure, the magnitude of the lift coefficient increases less. However, the magnitude of the drag coefficient increases more with the increase in pressure under 0.2 MPa. When the driving pressure exceeds 0.2 MPa, the relationship between them is nearly linear.

Variable camber wing technology stands out as the most promising morphing technology currently available in green aviation. Despite the ongoing advancements in smart materials and compliant structures, they still fall short in terms of driving force, power, and speed, rendering mechanical structures based on kinematics the preferred choice for large long-range civilian aircraft. In line with this principle, this paper introduces a linkage-based variable camber trailing edge design approach. Covering coordinated design, internal skeleton design, flexible skin design, and drive structure design, the method leverages a two-dimensional supercritical airfoil to craft a seamless, continuous two-dimensional wing full-size variable camber trailing edge structure, boasting a 2.7 m span and 4.3 m chord. Given the significant changes in aerodynamic load direction, ground tests under cruise load utilize a tracking-loading system based on tape and lever. Results indicate that the designed single-degree-of-freedom Watt I mechanism and Stephenson III drive mechanism adeptly accommodate the slender trailing edge of the supercritical airfoil. Under a maximum cruise vertical aerodynamic load of 17,072 N, the structure meets strength requirements when deflected to 5°. The research in this paper can provide some insights into the engineering design of variable camber wings.

When the magnetic bearing rotor is working, the iron loss concentration phenomenon may occur on the rotor journal, which will cause the temperature gradient on the rotor journal and thermal unbalance. In order to study the iron loss concentration phenomenon, a multi-physics simulation method considering the magnetic-thermal coupling is proposed. Using ANSYS Maxwell for modeling and finite element analysis to obtain the causes of iron loss concentration in magnetic bearing and the influence of different parameters on the size and distribution of iron loss; using COMSOL for magnetic-thermal coupling in magnetic bearing to obtain the influence of iron loss concentration on temperature distribution. The simulation results show that: because of the initial disturbance, the control effect of the magnetic bearing makes the magnetic field distribution on the circumference of the rotor journal uneven, resulting in the phenomenon of iron loss concentration; control current and bias current have significant influence on iron loss distribution, while bias current and speed have a significant influence on iron loss value; iron loss concentration will result in a temperature gradient on the rotor surface. The magnetic-thermal coupling finite element analysis is verified by the temperature rise detection experiment. It provides a theoretical basis and reference for the loss and thermal unbalance of magnetic bearing.

When a carrier-based aircraft is in arrested landing on deck, the impact loads on landing gears and airframe are closely related to landing states. The distribution and extreme values of the landing loads obtained during life-cycle analysis provide an important basis for buffering parameter design and fatigue design. In this paper, the effect of the multivariate distribution was studied based on military standards and guides. By establishment of a virtual prototype, the extended Fourier amplitude sensitivity test (EFAST) method is applied on sensitivity analysis of landing variables. The results show that sinking speed and rolling angle are the main influencing factors on the landing gear’s course load and vertical load; sinking speed, rolling angle, and yawing angle are the main influencing factors on the landing gear’s lateral load; and sinking speed is the main influencing factor on the barycenter overload. The extreme values of loads show that the typical condition design in the structural strength analysis is safe. The maximum difference value of the vertical load of the main landing gear is 12.0%. This research may provide some reference for structure design of landing gears and compilation of load spectrum for carrier-based aircrafts.

The shear pin structure is widely used in aeronautics and astronautics structures to deal with emergency structure separation problems. The shear pin design has a strict restriction on the precise failure load and definite failure mode. Previous research has conducted shear fracture tests and simulations of solid shear pins while there is a lack of detailed research on the shear fracture of hollow shear pins with large diameters. In this research, a 3-dimensional finite element model was built based on the actual shear pin installed on the aircraft engine pylon and the model was validated by the experiment. The influences of the inner diameter of hollow shear pins on the shear fracture process were investigated by conducting finite element simulations. The structural deformation, energy dissipation in the fracture process, and failure load of shear pins were evaluated. It is found that as the inner diameter increases, the failure mode of shear pins changed and would result in difficulties on the structure separation. To solve this problem, a new configuration of hollow shear pin was proposed for the purpose of obtaining both desired failure load and failure mode. The new configuration was verified by the fracture simulation and it is found that the new configuration is effective and can be used to improve the shear fracture performance.