Lateral Force Analysis of Clamping Devices and Nose Landing Gear in Cornering Conditions

To further investigate the effects of the clamping mechanism’s tilt angle and the nose landing gear’s turning angle on the lateral force of the nose landing gear during turning with a towbarless tractor, as well as the changes in the lateral force difference between the inner and outer hinges, a three-dimensional model of the towbarless tractor and the aircraft was first created using SolidWorks software. The dynamic simulation of the model under different conditions was then conducted using Adams software, followed by the analysis of the simulation results. The results indicate that introducing a positive clamping angle leads to an increase in the clamping mechanism’s tilt angle and a decrease in the nose landing gear’s turning angle as the turning radius and speed increase. Consequently, the lateral force difference between the inner and outer hinges of the nose landing gear increases, ranging from 40 kN to 70 kN. To ensure the stability of the clamping device and reduce the lateral force difference between the hinges, the positive tilt angle of the clamping device should not exceed 10°, and the nose landing gear’s turning angle should be increased within its maximum allowable angle to maintain overall stability.