A380 landing gear extension and retraction

When the double-deck Airbus A380 taxies out to make its first commercial flight in
2006, the minds of its passengers – up to 555 of them - will probably not be focused on
its landing gear. But it is a significant piece of technology that takes its place alongside
the aircraft’s line-up of novel systems, materials and applications. The A380’s landing
gear will be supporting a maximum take-off weight of 560 tonnes - of which some 20
tonnes is accounted for by the gear itself.

A major element of the technology involved is the Landing Gear Extension and
Retraction System (LGERS). It was March 2002 when Smiths Aerospace was awarded
the LGERS contract and set about creating what will be one of the biggest systems of its
type the aerospace industry has ever seen. The LGERS will be manufactured at
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in the UK and Yakima, WA, in the US. Smiths’
Engineering Director, Rob Neal, comments: “The A380 LGERS represents a number of
firsts in the industry, including the use of high pressure (5000-psi) hydraulic systems
employing synthetic phosphate ester fluids. We also believe that the use of
electromechanical uplocks as opposed to hydraulic types is a new application on an
aircraft of this size.”

The uplocks are used for locking and unlocking the landing gear and the
undercarriage bay doors. Uplocks have two modes of operation: normal and emergency.
Normal operation is typically hydraulic but because of its size, the A380 would require
very extensive piping, adding both weight and cost.

To overcome this, the aircraft is to use electric actuation. In “conventional”

systems, emergency operation of the landing gear may be via a cable connected to the
uplock (bypassing the hydraulic system), or via an independent hydraulic system. Electric
actuation has the potential to remove the need for extensive cable rigging or hydraulic
power supplies in to the bay area, so reducing costs and overall weight.

The A380 is to have a total of 12 uplocks. Although the individual units may be
heavier than their hydraulic equivalents, says Smiths, as an integrated system the
electromechanical solution will be significantly lighter. Says Neal: “In addition to the
weight savings, an electromechanical uplock system is easier to install and maintain
because the need to assemble and bleed hydraulic systems is removed.”

Due to leverage, when supporting a five tonne landing gear, the uplock is
supporting the equivalent of around 24 tonnes. During the release sequence the gear is
raised slightly to remove the load from the uplock in order to avoid the creation of shock
(and an audible “bang”). However, under emergency operation, the uplock must be able
to release the landing gear without its first being raised. In tests, shock loading recorded
acceleration levels in the region of 9000g on a static test rig.

Equipment in the landing gear bay may be coated in ice if the aircraft is operating
in adverse weather conditions as its undercarriage bays are neither airtight-sealed nor

©Copyright 2003 Smiths Aerospace

heated. “It is therefore a requirement that the uplocks should operate whilst iced up,” says
Neal. “Airbus has specified that the mechanism must break through an ice layer;
satisfactory tests have already achieved twice the specified requirements.”

The use of a 5000-psi hydraulic system reduces both the overall size and weight
that would have been required if a lower pressure had been specified (3000-psi is the
norm for a large airliner) and it also allows a reduction in the operating area of the
actuators. However, the high pressure has introduced a number of component challenges,
explains Neal: “These include component sealing solutions and seal wear characteristics.
An extensive program is under way to model and record actuator seal wear.”

Working with Shamban, one of the company’s seal suppliers, and Imperial
College, London, together with other Smiths Group companies, Smiths Aerospace is
participating in extensive research into sealing dynamics for hydraulic systems. The
process is iterative, with Imperial College doing the mathematical modeling, Shamban
providing seals, and Smiths testing them to verify the design/model.

Particular focus is being placed on the effects of high frequency “dither” on seals
working at 5000-psi. Neal explains that when an aircraft travels down a runway, the
bogies’ pitch trimmers dither at a high frequency. The stroke of the dither is typically
within the length of the seal pack, which may break the seal’s contact film.

Helping reduce seal wear is the actuator piston rod coating. The A380 will be the
first large civil aircraft to use High Velocity Oxy Fuel (HVOF) for this task. Technically,
HVOF is a method of deposition of tungsten carbide materials, and is a replacement for
what is regarded as the environmentally unfriendly method of chrome-plating. HVOF
also produces an exceptionally smooth surface; a chrome-plated surface can have
microscopic fissures which, at 5000-psi, could allow leaks.

With increased pressure, the general rule is that both the diameter of actuators and
the fluid flow rate can be reduced. “However, on the A380’s LGERS, even with the
advantage of high pressure, some of the actuators must operate quickly, requiring a high
flow rate and therefore large control valves,” says Neal “The retraction time from the
cockpit ‘landing gear up’ signal to having more than 20 tonnes of landing gear and 26
wheels raised and stowed, plus bay doors closed, needs to be as short as possible (typical
time for a large civil aircraft is about 25 seconds) to achieve a clean airframe - reducing
aerodynamic drag and noise signature on the ground. Therefore, large valves may be
necessary to accommodate the large flow rates involved, otherwise system pressure drops
become prohibitive.”

Traditionally, valves are made of steel or aluminum, with the former heavy (for a
large valve), and the latter susceptible to fatigue at high pressures. “We have made
aluminum designs for 4000-psi and tested them at 5000-psi, so we could make valves for
5000-psi. However, they would be bulky and we’d be critically reliant on machining
practices and there would also be the need to cope with high pressure spikes.”

©Copyright 2003 Smiths Aerospace

 The A380’s LGERS valves are therefore to be made from titanium - machined
from blocks as opposed to forgings. Explains Neal: “Titanium valves, combined with the
way in which we are evaluating sealing solutions and component wear, are all key to how
we are handling 5000-psi. However, the real secret to the LGERS as a system is to be
able to optimize the total package for weight, cost, performance, maintenance, reliability
and, above all, safety, by co-ordinating component design and systems architecture to
achieve the overall benefits required.”

Three A380 electromechanical uplocks: in

varying states of build and reserved for
environmental, vibration and endurance
testing. All have yet to be fitted with their
normal unlock actuators (NUAs - which fit
on top), and only the one on the right is fitted
with its two electro-mechanical emergency
unlock actuators (EUAs).
Above, highly accelerated lift
testing (HALT) of the pitch
trimmer actuators – conducted
to investigate the effects of high
frequency dither on the seals.

©Copyright 2003 Smiths Aerospace