Gust Alleviation System

Introduction

This report presents the development, implementation and assessment of gust load alleviation (GLA) systems on aircraft to improve their aerodynamic performance and safety. Aircraft are inevitably affected by gust during flight, which disturbs the regular operations of pilots and worsens the ride quality. In more serious cases, the flight mission cannot be completed as the aerodynamic fidelity and flying qualities may be disserved. In particular emphasis is placed on applications of active control technologies that can allow weight reduction in aircraft by mitigating the effects of atmospheric disturbances. Gusts or atmospheric disturbances do considerably affect aerodynamic performance and airworthiness of an aircraft. Also, active

However it was Airbus, not Boeing who first used gust alleviation systems on their aircraft. The Airbus A320 aircraft (introduced in 1987), famous for being the first civilian plane to feature fly-by-wire flight control system originally featured a Load Alleviation Function (LAF). The LAF functionality also provides a 1.3-percent increase in maximum takeoff weight. The Airbus A330 aircraft (introduced in 1994) and the Airbus A340 aircraft (introduced in 1993) incorporated maneuver load alleviation systems as well as a flying quality enhancement system known as Comfort in Turbulence, or CIT. The objective of the CIT system is to increase the fuselage damping response (at 2.0 to 4.0 Hz) by actively controlling the rudder and elevators. Very heavy planes such as A380 and 747-8 already have some inherent gust damping due to their considerable weight. The Airbus A380 aircraft (introduced in 2007), the largest civilian aircraft, also features a form of GLA system [1]. The Boeing 787 aircraft (introduced in 2011) uses a Honeywell-supplied flight control system enables the 787's three-axis fly-by-wire, using the aircraft's ailerons for manoeuvre load alleviation and elevator for active gust load alleviation. The 787's wing also adapts to changing gross weight conditions, optimising the camber of the wing through the trailing edge variable camber (TEVC) system moving it up or down by 1.5e_SDgr from its neutral position