Pre-Rotation For Aircraft Landing

Abstract

When an aircraft performs a landing, once it hits the ground, non-negligible friction caused by the landing gear and runway speed differences produces an enormous amount of heat that rises the aircraft tire tread temperature. This temperature rise is enough to melt rubber tread materials which leads to both environmental and flight safety negative impacts. Also, aircraft tires are required to be replaced frequently, which adds more cost to the operation expenses. Addressing this crucial problem, this study examines the results of spinning aircraft wheels before touchdown as a practical approach. The main idea is that pre-rotation might be able to reduce excessive friction and heat production. Therefore, the tire friction and heat generation with a variety of pre-rotation levels are simulated using the MATLAB platform. The results of the simulations reveal a promising finding: the use of the pre-rotation technique can successfully reduce the rate of heat release resulting from friction during touchdown. The aviation sector will benefit greatly from this solution. The suggested strategy reduces excessive heat output, which not only improves flight safety by minimizing tire tread melting but also significantly lessens the impact on the environment.