Reliability assessment of an aircraft locking mechanism considering tribocorrosion and correlated failure modes in a marine environment

• Published in: Engineering failure analysis 2024-12, Vol.166, p.108840, Article 108840
• Main Authors: Shu, Wei, Zhuang, Xinchen, Yu, Tianxiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aircraft locking mechanism; Clearance joint; Reliability; Tribocorrosion
• ISSN: 1350-6307
• DOI: 10.1016/j.engfailanal.2024.108840

•An efficient method is proposed to evaluate the reliability of a locking mechanism.•Experiment is conducted to investigate the tribocorrosion behavior in the joint.•The performance of the mechanism is obtained combining simulation and experiment. Landing gear door locking mechanisms are critical for aircraft safety, as their failure can lead to severe accidents. Therefore, these mechanisms must meet stringent reliability requirements. This study introduces a reliability evaluation method for a locking mechanism operating in a marine environment, which integrates dynamic simulation with a tribocorrosion experiment of the joints. Initially, a multibody dynamic model of the locking mechanism was developed to establish the boundary conditions for the joints. Subsequently, an accelerated tribocorrosion experiment was performed to assess the tribocorrosion behavior of these joints. Based on the experimental outcomes, the motion torque and output of the locking mechanism were determined. Considering the correlation between failures due to insufficient accuracy and jamming, an improved response surface methodology utilizing cross-utilization of experimental points was developed. Reliability of the locking mechanism was subsequently confirmed. The present findings indicated that the maximum wear depth in the corrosive environment increased by 25.28 μm (37.15 %) compared to a non-corrosive, dry friction environment. Similarly, the maximum friction coefficient in the corrosive environment increased by 0.0818, which corresponds to an increase of approximately 11.76 %. Furthermore, the proposed reliability evaluation method proved to be 33 % more efficient than the traditional response surface method.