Damping Coefficient Characterization and Experiment of an Electromagnetic Damper for Shimmy Reduction

This article investigates the damping coefficients of electromagnetic dampers (EMDs) employed for shimmy reduction in the nose landing gear of all-electric aircraft (AEA). Parasitic damping exists in the shimmy reduction subsystem, which causes the actual damping coefficients to differ significantly from those calculated only using the electromagnetic model in previous studies. This difference will directly lead to dimensional redundancy in the structural design of EMD. By establishing the power flow of the shimmy reduction channel in this study, the components of parasitic damping are identified, and the corresponding loss models are then developed. When the damping coefficient, which considers parasitic damping, is applied to the structural design of EMD, the dimensional parameters may be greatly reduced while still satisfying the technical requirements and achieving the goal of lightweight aircraft. Finally, the comparison of the analysis with the experimental data demonstrates good agreement.