Measurement method of aircraft barycenter based on multi posture

Abstract

Purpose

The measurement of aircraft barycenter is a verification of theoretical barycenter and is an important step of aircraft development. In the traditional measurement method of aircraft barycenter, the posture of the aircraft needs to be adjusted manually and is measured by optical instruments. The efficiency of posture adjustment depends on the proficiency of workers, and the accuracy of measurement is not high. In view of these problems of the current barycenter measurement method, this paper aims to propose an aircraft barycenter measurement method based on multi-posture.

Design/methodology/approach

In this method, the numerical control locator is used as a supporting part to fix and adjust the aircraft, and the calculation model of aircraft barycenter is established according to the principle of rigid body rotation and the principle of moment balance. Then, the influence of the main error sources on the measurement accuracy of aircraft barycenter is analyzed by Monte Carlo simulation, and the measurement accuracy is compared with that of the barycenter measurement method based on horizontal posture. Finally, the experiment platform of barycenter measurement was built in the laboratory and the experiments were carried out.

Findings

The experimental results show that the barycenter measurement method proposed in this paper has obvious advantages in measurement accuracy and efficiency compared with the traditional method.

Originality/value

This method can be used to measure the barycenter of different types of aircraft quickly and automatically.

Citation

Li, S., Chu, W. and Huang, X. (2020), "Measurement method of aircraft barycenter based on multi posture", Sensor Review, Vol. 40 No. 2, pp. 217-226. https://doi.org/10.1108/SR-12-2019-0305