Advancements in aerospace system design are essential for improving efficiency, reducing weight, minimizing failures, and enhancing reliability while maintaining cost-effectiveness. This study presents a novel hydraulic system architecture for UAV-class aircraft, derived from conventional aircraft hydraulic designs. A conceptual modeling approach was employed to develop the system schematic, which was analyzed using LMS Amesim software to assess its performance under various conditions. The proposed system integrates a variable delivery piston hydraulic pump, an emergency accumulator, a bootstrap reservoir, and various hydraulic control valves. The design ensures optimal functionality while incorporating redundancy through an emergency landing gear extension mechanism. Hydraulic actuators control landing gear operations, with solenoid-operated selector valves regulating fluid flow based on operational needs. A shuttle valve allows automatic switching between the main hydraulic system and the emergency accumulator during system failures, ensuring reliability. LMS Amesim simulations validated key performance aspects, including pump pressure stabilization, accumulator charging behavior, landing gear actuation, and shuttle valve functionality. Results indicated stable pump operation at 206 bar, with emergency accumulator charging reaching 200 bar. The undercarriage system demonstrated smooth extension and retraction, with jack piston pressure transitions from 30 to 209 bar. The shuttle valve effectively switched between main and emergency hydraulic sources, enhancing system redundancy. Future improvements will focus on optimizing pump surge behavior, refining accumulator charging characteristics, integrating braking applications, and expanding hydraulic functionalities such as flap circuits. These enhancements will improve system robustness, efficiency, and fail-safe operation. This study demonstrates that conceptual modeling, combined with LMS Amesim simulations, is an effective approach for developing reliable hydraulic architectures for UAV-class aircraft, providing a strong foundation for future aerospace hydraulic advancements.
| Published in | Engineering Science (Volume 10, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.es.20251001.11 |
| Page(s) | 1-16 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
UAV Hydraulic System, Aircraft Hydraulic Architecture, Conceptual Modeling, LMS Amesim Simulation, Landing Gear Actuation, Hydraulic System Validation
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APA Style
Karunanidhi, K., Manoharan, M., Rajamanickam, S. K. (2025). A Conceptual Model-based Design Approach for the Development of a New Hydraulic System Architecture for the UAV Class of Aircraft Application. Engineering Science, 10(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.es.20251001.11
ACS Style
Karunanidhi, K.; Manoharan, M.; Rajamanickam, S. K. A Conceptual Model-based Design Approach for the Development of a New Hydraulic System Architecture for the UAV Class of Aircraft Application. Eng. Sci. 2025, 10(1), 1-16. doi: 10.11648/j.es.20251001.11
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Download@article{10.11648/j.es.20251001.11,
author = {Karthik Karunanidhi and Mohanraj Manoharan and Sathish Kumar Rajamanickam},
title = {A Conceptual Model-based Design Approach for the Development of a New Hydraulic System Architecture for the UAV Class of Aircraft Application
},
journal = {Engineering Science},
volume = {10},
number = {1},
pages = {1-16},
doi = {10.11648/j.es.20251001.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.es.20251001.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.es.20251001.11},
abstract = {Advancements in aerospace system design are essential for improving efficiency, reducing weight, minimizing failures, and enhancing reliability while maintaining cost-effectiveness. This study presents a novel hydraulic system architecture for UAV-class aircraft, derived from conventional aircraft hydraulic designs. A conceptual modeling approach was employed to develop the system schematic, which was analyzed using LMS Amesim software to assess its performance under various conditions. The proposed system integrates a variable delivery piston hydraulic pump, an emergency accumulator, a bootstrap reservoir, and various hydraulic control valves. The design ensures optimal functionality while incorporating redundancy through an emergency landing gear extension mechanism. Hydraulic actuators control landing gear operations, with solenoid-operated selector valves regulating fluid flow based on operational needs. A shuttle valve allows automatic switching between the main hydraulic system and the emergency accumulator during system failures, ensuring reliability. LMS Amesim simulations validated key performance aspects, including pump pressure stabilization, accumulator charging behavior, landing gear actuation, and shuttle valve functionality. Results indicated stable pump operation at 206 bar, with emergency accumulator charging reaching 200 bar. The undercarriage system demonstrated smooth extension and retraction, with jack piston pressure transitions from 30 to 209 bar. The shuttle valve effectively switched between main and emergency hydraulic sources, enhancing system redundancy. Future improvements will focus on optimizing pump surge behavior, refining accumulator charging characteristics, integrating braking applications, and expanding hydraulic functionalities such as flap circuits. These enhancements will improve system robustness, efficiency, and fail-safe operation. This study demonstrates that conceptual modeling, combined with LMS Amesim simulations, is an effective approach for developing reliable hydraulic architectures for UAV-class aircraft, providing a strong foundation for future aerospace hydraulic advancements.
},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - A Conceptual Model-based Design Approach for the Development of a New Hydraulic System Architecture for the UAV Class of Aircraft Application AU - Karthik Karunanidhi AU - Mohanraj Manoharan AU - Sathish Kumar Rajamanickam Y1 - 2025/03/21 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.es.20251001.11 DO - 10.11648/j.es.20251001.11 T2 - Engineering Science JF - Engineering Science JO - Engineering Science SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2578-9279 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.es.20251001.11 AB - Advancements in aerospace system design are essential for improving efficiency, reducing weight, minimizing failures, and enhancing reliability while maintaining cost-effectiveness. This study presents a novel hydraulic system architecture for UAV-class aircraft, derived from conventional aircraft hydraulic designs. A conceptual modeling approach was employed to develop the system schematic, which was analyzed using LMS Amesim software to assess its performance under various conditions. The proposed system integrates a variable delivery piston hydraulic pump, an emergency accumulator, a bootstrap reservoir, and various hydraulic control valves. The design ensures optimal functionality while incorporating redundancy through an emergency landing gear extension mechanism. Hydraulic actuators control landing gear operations, with solenoid-operated selector valves regulating fluid flow based on operational needs. A shuttle valve allows automatic switching between the main hydraulic system and the emergency accumulator during system failures, ensuring reliability. LMS Amesim simulations validated key performance aspects, including pump pressure stabilization, accumulator charging behavior, landing gear actuation, and shuttle valve functionality. Results indicated stable pump operation at 206 bar, with emergency accumulator charging reaching 200 bar. The undercarriage system demonstrated smooth extension and retraction, with jack piston pressure transitions from 30 to 209 bar. The shuttle valve effectively switched between main and emergency hydraulic sources, enhancing system redundancy. Future improvements will focus on optimizing pump surge behavior, refining accumulator charging characteristics, integrating braking applications, and expanding hydraulic functionalities such as flap circuits. These enhancements will improve system robustness, efficiency, and fail-safe operation. This study demonstrates that conceptual modeling, combined with LMS Amesim simulations, is an effective approach for developing reliable hydraulic architectures for UAV-class aircraft, providing a strong foundation for future aerospace hydraulic advancements. VL - 10 IS - 1 ER -
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government College of Engineering Salem, Salem, India
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government College of Engineering Salem, Salem, India
Department of Automobile Engineering, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai, India
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