Experimental Studies on a Rudimentary Four-Wheel Landing Gear

Abstract

Experiments were carried out on a rudimentary four-wheel landing-gear arrangement to understand the flow physics of this configuration. Measurements carried out included oil-flow visualization, steady surface pressures and
\ntwo-dimensional particle image velocimetry measurements in the near wake at a Reynolds number based on wheel diameter of 1 � 106. The surface visualization demonstrated the significantly asymmetric behavior of the flow on both the front and back wheel. The surface-pressure data show that separation is earlier on the wing side as opposed to the ground side for both wheels, caused by the presence of the vertical strut. The data show that the truck and strut are dominant contributors to the total drag. The off-body measurements in the near wake document the confluent wakes from the wheel and the horizontal strut leading to a three-dimensional unsteady wake. The data presented here provide a comprehensive picture, both quantitatively and qualitatively, of the flow over a rudimentary landing
\ngear and are useful for validation of computational fluid dynamics efforts in addition to understanding the flow
\nphysics of such configurations.