Analysis of Taxiing Induced Vibrations in Aircraft by the Power Spectral Density Method

Taxiing induced vibrations in large aircraft due to runway unevenness have been recognised as a significant factor in causing metal fatigue damage and dynamic stressing in airframes, as well as crew and passenger discomfort. The purpose of this paper is to develop a method of analysing random vibrations of a flexible aircraft, taking account of non-linearities in the oleo-pneumatic undercarriage in the form of orifice damping and Coulomb friction. The analysis assumes that the random input to both main undercarriage legs is identical, therefore it only considers symmetrical wing modes in the general deformation of the airframe.