ContactISSN:e-ISSN: 2980-0064
Author Sign-inReviewer Sign-inRegister
TürkçeEnglish
HomeAim and ScopeABOUTGUIDE FOR AUTHORSSend ArticleLatest IssueArchiveContact Us

Drop Impact Analysis of a Coaxial Drone Landing Gear

Melis Yazgan,Uygar Elmalı,Mustafa Kaya,Burhan Şahin

  • Melis Yazgan: Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi
  • Uygar Elmalı: İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent Üniversitesi
  • Mustafa Kaya: ANKARA YILDIRIM BEYAZID ÜNİVERSİTESİ
  • Burhan Şahin: Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi
  •  Year : 2026
  •  Vol : 5
  •  Issue : 1
  •  Page : 1-13
This study presents a numerical investigation of the drop impact response of the landing gear system of a coaxial drone subjected to a low-altitude free-fall scenario. The primary objective is to evaluate the structural integrity and impact resistance of the landing gear during landing events, providing critical feedback for design enhancement. A detailed geometric model of the drone and its landing gear components was developed using SolidWorks, and meshed with tetrahedral and eight-node solid elements. The dynamic impact event was simulated using explicit finite element solver, modeling a vertical free fall from 50 cm with an initial velocity of approximately 3.13 m/s. Aluminum 7075-T6 was selected as the structural material due to its favorable strength-to-weight characteristics, with plastic behavior modeled using the Johnson–Cook constitutive model. Energy components were monitored to ensure numerical stability throughout the simulation process. The results showed that the maximum equivalent (von Mises) stress, approximately 551 MPa, occurred at the root plate where the landing gear is connected to the main body, exceeding the material’s yield strength by nearly 15% and leading to localized plastic deformation. In contrast, stress levels in other regions, such as the body panels, remained within the elastic range (200–350 MPa). The peak effective plastic strain was limited to 2.1%, predominantly concentrated around the landing gear leg-to-body interface. These findings indicate that the majority of the impact energy was dissipated locally, allowing the overall structure to maintain its integrity. In conclusion, the structural assessment confirmed the integrity of the landing gear under impact loading; however, significant stress concentrations were observed near the connection region. Reinforcing this area and improving local stiffness to achieve more uniform stress distribution are recommended. The outcomes of this study provide useful design insights to enhance the drop impact performance and reliability of coaxial UAV landing gear systems.
Cite this Article As : Yazgan, M., & Elmalı, U., & Şahin, B. & Kaya, M. (2026). Koaksiyel Bir Dronun İniş Takımının Düşme Darbesi Analizi. Aerospace Research Letters (ASREL), 5(1), 1-13.

Conflict of interest : The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

This article is published under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
Asrel Aerospace Research Letters
2026, Vol5, Issue1
E-ISSN: 2980-0064
Received : , Accepted : , Published Online :

References

  1. Di Leo, R., De Fenza, A., Barile, M., & Lecce, L. (2014). Drop test simulation for an aircraft landing gear via multi-body approach. Archive of Mechanical Engineering, 61(2), 281–296. https://doi.org/10.2478/meceng-2014-0017
  2. Élie-dit-Cosaque, X., Gakwaya, A., & Lévesque, J. (2009). Design and drop test simulation of a helicopter skid landing gear with Abaqus/CAE. SIMULIA Customer Conference.
  3. Gok, M. G., & Cihan, O. (2022). A novel design and structural analysis of spring landing gear for unmanned air vehicles. Hittite Journal of Science and Engineering, 9(2), 83–88. https://doi.org/10.17350/HJSE19030000258
  4. Imran, M., Ahmed, S. R. M., & Haneef, M. (2015). FE analysis for landing gear of test aircraft. Materials Today: Proceedings, 2(4–5), 2170–2178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2015.07.228
  5. Khan, S. A., Mehmood, Z., & Afshan, Z. (2021). Design, analysis and topology optimization of a landing gear strut for a quadcopter upon impact. In 2021 International Conference on Applied and Engineering Mathematics (ICAEM) (pp. 37–38). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICAEM53552.2021.9547116
  6. Kong, J. P., Lee, Y. S., Han, J. D., & Ahn, O. S. (2009). Drop impact analysis of smart unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) landing gear and comparison with experimental data. Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik, 40(3), 192–196. https://doi.org/10.1002/mawe.200900426
  7. Kumar, J. S. R. (2014). Design of landing gear retraction system for UAV’s. Journal of Basic and Applied Engineering Research, 1(3), 64–67.
  8. Lancea, C., Chicos, L. A., Zaharia, S. M., Pop, M. A., Pascariu, I. S., Buican, G. R., & Stamate, V. M. (2022). Simulation, fabrication and testing of UAV composite landing gear. Applied Sciences, 12(17), 8598. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12178598
  9. Liang, Y. C., Chin, P. C., Sun, Y. P., & Wang, M. R. (2021). Design and manufacture of composite landing gear for a light unmanned aerial vehicle. Applied Sciences, 11(2), 509. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11020509
  10. Liu, W., & Wang, Y. (2024). Improved multi-body dynamic simulation of landing gear drop test incorporating structural flexibility and bearing contact. Aerospace, 11(5), 543. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11050543
  11. Pagani, A., Augello, R., Governale, G., & Viglietti, A. (2019). Drop test simulations of composite leaf spring landing gears. Aerotecnica Missili & Spazio, 98, 63–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42496-018-00005-y
  12. Rudresh, M., Maurya, R. D., Raghu, B. S., Raj, R., & Mathew, S. (2020). Design optimization of aircraft landing gear’s torsion link using generative design. International Journal for Scientific and Advanced Research in Technology, 6(4), 248–254.
  13. Suhas, D., Srinath, P., Shashank, N. R., Sherikar, V. N., & Nayak, H. (2021). Design and analysis of aircraft landing gear system. International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Management, 3(8), 374–398. https://doi.org/10.35629/5252-0308374398
  14. Xue, C. J., Han, Y., Qi, W. G., & Dai, J. H. (2012). Landing-gear drop-test rig development and application for light airplanes. Journal of Aircraft, 49(6), 2064–2068. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.C031913