A Kinematical Analysis of the Flap and Wing Mechanism of a Light Sport Aircraft Using Topological Models

Abstract

In this, paper, we propose a method of kinematic analysis of a planar mechanism with application to the flap and wing mechanism of a light sport aircraft. A topological model is used to describe a mechanical system, which is a model that allows the study of the maneuverability of the system. The proposed algorithm is applied to determine the velocity and acceleration field of this multibody mechanical system. The graph associated with the mechanical system is generated in a new formulation and based on it, the fundamental loops of the graph are identified (corresponding to the independent loops of the mechanism), the equations for closing vectorial contours are written, and the kinematic conditions for determining velocities and accelerations and the associated linear systems are solved, which provides the field of speeds and accelerations. Graph Theory is applied at a kinematic level and not at a dynamic level, as in previous studies. A practical application for the kinematic analysis of the control mechanism of a light aircraft illustrates the proposed method.