This thesis paper deals with strength analysis of a composite model airplane landing gear with the purpose of reducing weight of the existing aluminum landing gear. In the first part of the paper, strength properties and possible failure modes of fiber reinforced composite materials are presented. Analytical failure criteria, which are often used along with finite element method for preliminary design and analysis of composite parts damage prediction are described in detail. The second part contains a design and analysis of two composite landing gears made from unidirectional carbon fibers and epoxy matrix in Ansys software environment.
The results show that the proper number of layers along with correct fiber orientation can significantly improve existing aluminum construction in terms of mass.
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