起落架材料怎么扛跌落和疲劳

应用领域 发布时间: 2026-09-12 3945 阅读

The afternoon before yesterday, a client who makes plant protection drones sent a photo.

A few fragments were scattered on the ground; they were the struts of the landing gear, with clean breaks, like a plastic ruler that had been snapped. He said:

I used ordinary fiberglass nylon for the landing gear material, and it cracked after a fall. Do you have something more impact-resistant?

I asked him three questions: Was the drop a hard landing or a rollover? How many watts is the motor? At what temperature does it mainly fly?

He couldn't answer the third sentence. This is exactly the problem—the landing gear and the motor mount are fundamentally two different load paths and cannot be forced into the same 'more crash-resistant' standard.

This article explains these two things separately: what constraints each of them is under, and under what conditions modified nylon should be stopped.

1. The landing gear and motor mount are two different load paths.

Many people think that all are 'parts under the body' and that one material is enough. In fact, the difference is very big.

The landing gear 'absorbs' the impact. At the moment of touchdown, within a few hundred milliseconds, it takes in the kinetic energy of the entire aircraft into the struts. What it needs is toughness under a single large impact — it cannot break when hit, and if it breaks, it cannot scatter.

What the motor mount 'feeds on' is constant stress. The motor spins right on top of it, so long-term vibration is normal, and on top of that, there's the heat dissipated by the motor. What it needs is resistance to vibration fatigue and heat aging—not surviving a single impact, but enduring for years.

The material requirements for these two things are even opposite: the landing gear needs to be extremely tough, while the motor mount needs to be rigid and heat-resistant. Mixing them together to choose materials is like using one criterion to suppress the other, and neither is properly addressed.

There is another more common mistake: purchasing two items under the same brand.

The landing gear and motor mount are installed on the same machine, and to save trouble, they were merged into a single part number.

When it comes down to the parts, there’s always one end that is just passable.

In one sentence: First distinguish whether the item is eaten 'once' or 'continuously,' then talk about the seasoning.

2. What the two things are being pinched by: six dimensions

Temperature. The motor mount is right next to the motor, and during continuous operation its surface can reach 80 to 100 degrees; the landing gear is outdoors, and in winter it can reach minus 20 to 30 degrees. The temperature ranges of the two parts are completely different.

Load. The landing gear experiences impact loads, with high peaks and few occurrences; the motor mount experiences vibration loads, with low peaks and very frequent occurrences.

Medium. Plant protection machines come into contact with pesticide solutions and high humidity; industry machines come into contact with rainwater and salt spray. The impact toughness of nylon changes after absorbing moisture, so it must be taken into account together.

Service life. The landing gear is measured by the number of takeoffs and landings, while the motor mount is measured by flight hours; the two have different dimensions.

Appearance. External parts, color differences, and floating fibers can be seen first.

Compliant. Manned models involve airworthiness, but these two focus mainly on structure and weather resistance.

Putting the six dimensions together: the accounts of the landing gear are in 'low-temperature shock,' and the accounts of the motor mount are in 'long-term thermal aging'; they don't even share the same failure curve.

3. How to divide the work between the two routes

Routecompose; consist ofGive whatCost
Super tough PA66-GF30Core-shell toughening Medium glass fiberGood impact toughness, low costSlightly low rigidity, prone to creep
Super Tough PA12Long carbon chain TougheningGood low-temperature toughness, low water absorptionHigh cost, low temperature resistance
PA66-GF40 Heat Resistance and StabilityHigh Glass Fiber Thermo-oxidative SystemRigidity Temperature Resistance Fatigue ResistanceImpact is not as good as super toughness

The first line is the main stream of landing gear. Ordinary fiberglass nylon will crack with just a drop because it hasn’t been made extra tough. After adding core-shell toughening agents, the notch impact energy can increase from a few kJ/m² to over ten, making the survival rate on landing an order of magnitude higher. But the glass transition temperature of the toughening agent must be lower than the operating temperature—this is the key to low-temperature brittle failure, which will be discussed in detail below.

The third line is the mainstream of motor mounts. It doesn't rely on toughness, but on rigidity and heat resistance. The failure of a motor mount is not due to impact, but due to aging and creep under long-term heat and vibration.

There is also a practical condition in the selection: the glass transition temperature of the toughening agent must be lower than the minimum operating temperature.

This is easy to say, but to do it, customers must first clearly state the "minimum temperature."

Many projects give 'we generally fly above zero' and do not take into account the few extreme winter days.

The temperature given is the average, but the days that break down are always those extreme few.

There is also one easily overlooked point: the verification devices for these two items are not the same set.

The landing gear needs to go to the impact test rig, and the motor mount needs the vibration table heating box.

Both verifications require scheduling, so this time must be accounted for in the quotation.

Skipping verification doesn't save costs; it just shifts the money to be spent on after-sales.

In a nutshell: choose 'tough' for the landing gear, 'stable' for the motor mount, two sets of logic, don't mix them.

4. Selection Criteria Table (This page should be collected the most)

The thresholds in the table are directional recommendations, not acceptance criteria — the actual values must be determined by the specific project, specific working conditions, and actual measurements.

IndicatorDirectional ThresholdVerification Method / StandardCommon FailuresCommon solutionCorresponding auxiliary agent system
Falling impact toughness notch impactUltra-low temperature reference on the order of 10–15 kJ/m²ISO 180 (-30°C)Cracking due to low temperatureSuper tough Low Tg toughening agentToughening agent (core-shell structure)
Vibration fatigue (10⁷ cycles)Not less than a static level of 28%Vibration table Strain monitoringRoot crackReinforced Rounded corner transition
Long-term heat retention rate of the motor housingAfter 1000 hours at 100℃ ≥75%ISO 527Pale and brittleHeat resistance stabilizationAntioxidant (hindered phenol, phosphite)
Dry and wet dimensional differenceDimensional change ≤0.2%Measured before and after humidity adjustmentAssembly clearance driftLow water absorption substrateIntrinsic properties of the material, without relying on additives
Long-term creep (load-holding)Thousand-hour creep strain <0.5%ISO 899The support leg is deforming slowlyHigh glass fiber systemCoupling agent (inhibits interfacial slippage)
Glass fiber orientation consistencyShrinkage difference ≤0.4%Mold Flow Actual MeasurementWarping, misaligned holesGate Adjustment and Flow BalanceCoupling agent (reduces interfacial stress)

How to use this table: Do not score line by line. First, look at the first and fourth lines — focus on shocks for the landing gear, focus on heat aging for the motor mount, identify the parts correctly before filling out the form.

Common failures of categories five and six, and their true root causes

Failure 1: It cracked after just one drop.

The root cause is usually either not using super-toughening, or selecting the wrong type of toughening agent. Ordinary glass fiber nylon has low notch impact strength and breaks when the stress is concentrated during dropping. Switching to a super-tough system can solve most of the problem.

Failure 2: Particularly prone to breaking at low temperatures.

The root cause is that the glass transition temperature of the toughening agent is higher than the usage temperature. At room temperature, the material is tough, but below minus twenty degrees, the toughening agent itself becomes brittle first, and the part becomes brittle as well. Fracture at room temperature and fracture at low temperature are two different matters, requiring completely different solutions — low-temperature parts must use core-shell toughening agents with a low Tg.

Failure three: The motor base has been flying for a year, turning white and cracking.

The root cause is long-term thermal-oxidative aging. The local temperature of the motor housing is high, and ordinary antioxidants cannot withstand several years. But when you see local yellowing and whitening, first check whether the antioxidants are evenly dispersed during the mixing stage—many times it is uneven dispersion, not that the system was chosen incorrectly.

Failure 4: Legs from the same batch, some are tough and some are brittle.

The root cause is on the additive side—uneven dispersion of toughening agents or color masterbatch, leading to toughness fluctuations within a batch. Upon seeing this phenomenon, first check the masterbatch production and mixing processes, and don’t rush to change the base material.

Failure 5: The position of the outrigger crack is not at the landing point.

First, look at the relationship between the split and the gate.

The crack follows the weld line, indicating that the weld line is on the stress path, which is a matter of the mold.

Where it breaks tells more than whether it breaks or not.

Failure six: After flying for half a year, the motor mount holes became misaligned.

The root cause is often long-term creep combined with vibration, causing the hole position to shift little by little.

First conduct a long-duration load test, then discuss material replacement.

The misalignment of the hole didn't happen all at once; it slowly shifted over several hundred hours.

A timeline. We observed the complete process of a landing gear component: everything was normal when installed in summer, but after the first frost in winter, three units broke on landing in succession; upon disassembly and testing, all fracture surfaces were clean and even. Looking back, the issue was that the toughening agent’s Tg was too high, causing it to fail at low temperatures. The starting point was that it passed inspection in summer, the latent stage was when the temperature quietly exceeded Tg, the outbreak was the concentrated fractures during frost days, and the outcome was a full batch recall and replacement with ultra-tough material.

6. A Few Things to Focus on When Using the Computer

Drying. Nylon must be baked. If the moisture content exceeds the standard, the molecular chains break during melting, making the part brittle — which is adding insult to injury for a landing gear that is already subjected to impact.

Toughening agent dispersion. The key to super-tough materials is the uniform dispersion of the toughening agent. The masterbatching and mixing sequence must be fixed, otherwise the toughness of a batch will vary.

Gate and orientation. The strut is a slender part, and warpage is determined by orientation. Gate analysis should be performed first.

Mold temperature and floating fibers. Raise the mold temperature of exposed parts to 110–120°C to control floating fibers.

Verification order. It is recommended to arrange it like this:

1. Material level: Notch impact (room temperature and low temperature)

2. Piece level: Size and warpage, measured after moisture adjustment

3. Landing Gear: Drop Impact Test Bench

4. Motor Base: Vibration Table Heat Aging Combination

5. Environmental Superposition: High and Low Temperature Cycling Humid Heat Aging

The order cannot be changed. If the previous item fails, move on to the next one; the subsequent data has no explanatory significance.

7. When This Matter Should Not Be Discussed

In the following four situations, it is not recommended to pursue the route of using modified nylon for the landing gear and motor mount:

First, the main landing gear that carries heavy loads of the aircraft. These need to be metal or composite materials; using nylon would be out of bounds.

Secondly, the long-term operating temperature continuously exceeds the selected system window. Especially for the motor housing, thermal aging that cannot withstand it is a ticking time bomb.

Third, extremely cold regions also require high reliability. The threshold for low-temperature shock fluctuates greatly, and verification needs to be done specifically; without this condition, don't start this.

Fourth, the quantity is too small to justify dedicated molds and validation. Both super-tough materials and heat-resistant materials require special preparation, and it is not cost-effective for small annual quantities.

Fifth, it requires the entire aircraft to pass airworthiness-level flame retardant and smoke toxicity tests. That falls under the airworthiness category at the whole aircraft level.

These two items themselves focus on structure and weather resistance, don't apply general flame-retardant conclusions to them.

Sixth, the structure cannot accommodate fillets and reinforcements. The landing gear's impact resistance largely depends on fillet transitions.

If there is no space for fillets and rib positions, no matter how good the material is, it cannot perform to its potential.

Writing these six points at the beginning is not to discourage, but to save time.

8. Count the two items separately: a comparison table

Place the two load lines together, and the difference can be seen at a glance.

itemPrimary payloadTime scaleKey indicatorsTypical failure
Landing gear strutImpact upon landingOnce every few hundred millisecondsLow-temperature notch impact, filletIt cracks with just a fall
Motor baseVibration HeatSeveral consecutive yearsHot oxygen retention rate, creep resistancePale, misaligned holes

The two most easily confused points are that they both use the term 'nylon fiberglass'.

But one requires toughness, the other requires stability, and the fiberglass content can differ by more than one grade.

If you ask in one sentence, the answer can only be a compromise, and a compromise is weak at both ends.

Material Change Risk List (From metal / original plan to modified nylon, what needs to be changed)

link; segment; partWhat do you want to move?Points that are easy to overlook
MoldLegs make shrinkage compensation per pieceFiber orientation leads to directional shrinkage differences
DryDetermine the window based on the measured moisture contentIncorporate recycled materials with the carried water content
Material Temperature / Mold TemperatureThe mold temperature is mentioned to be 110–120℃ to control the floating fibersOnly give according to the recommended value by grade, without looking at the pieces
Toughening systemConfirm that the toughening agent's Tg is below the usage temperatureUsing the wrong toughening agent in low-temperature conditions
Humidity controlForced humidity adjustment Re-measure dimensionsEstimate the time based on average wall thickness; the thick walls haven't absorbed fully.
Color differenceAdvance confirmation of exposed parts color boardThere is color variation in batches of fiberglass parts
Verification orderImpact / Thermal Aging → Bench → EnvironmentSkip the previous item and proceed

One-page report form (for those reporting upward)

'

Project: Drone landing gear / motor base · Material route evaluation

Conclusion: Modified nylon can be a candidate, but its implementation depends on four prerequisites

1. Three Essential Materials

1. Separate two sets of materials for the landing gear and motor base, not mixed

2. Toughening agent Tg below minimum operating temperature

3. No low-temperature shock / thermal aging data not included in verification

2. Prerequisites (if any one is not met, postponement is recommended)

· Long-term operating temperature ≤ Continuous usage range of the selected system

· Verification conditions for drop impact benches and vibration tables

· Annual usage sufficient to thin special materials and molds

· Model airworthiness requirements confirmed and do not involve main load-bearing

3. Next steps

1. Take the actual head difference and motor power, fixed load

2. Perform ambient and low-temperature gap impact

3. Thermal aging + vibration combined verification of motor base

Risk warning: The main uncertainties in this route lie in low-temperature shock and long-term thermal aging.

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Three Questions Readers Often Ask

Question: Can POM support the landing frame?

POM Good rigidity, good self-lubrication, and stable dimensions, but weak impact resistance and not suitable for heavy impact positions. In areas with heavy impact on the ground, ultra-tough nylon is more impact-resistant. For areas where neither is sufficient, the structure needs to be reconsidered.

Question: Can ultra-tough materials also be used for motor bases?

It depends on working conditions. Motor bases need rigidity and temperature resistance; ultra-toughness sacrifices both. Unless the motor base is subjected to both strong impacts, prioritize high-fiberglass combined with heat-resistant stabilization systems.

Question: Can the landing gear and motor base share the same part number?

Technically, it's not recommended, but there can be a compromise: separate formulas, and combine the pricing for procurement.

The premise is to measure both the minimum flight temperature and the motor base surface temperature first.

If there's no temperature data, merging part numbers is basically betting on "no impact."

Conclusion

The selection of drone landing gear materials and motor base is, ultimately, a load identification problem, not a material problem.

There are only three judgment chains:

Whether the piece takes a "hit" or "always"→ temperature determines the system → verification determines success or failure.

Once all three are set, the answer to "Is this material drop-resistant?"

If you have a landing gear or motor base to prescribe, send over three things and you can give directions: drop method, motor power, and minimum flight temperature.

There are some businesses we don't do.

If you just report "more drop-resistant material" without asking about purpose or working conditions, we won't do such orders. If you choose the wrong direction, even the cheapest will be expensive.

What we do is very specific: modify resins like PA6, PA66, PA46, PA11, PA12, PA6T, PA9T, and nylon alloys to make them truly usable; Additionally, we produce modified PPO, PPS, and thermoplastic elastomers.

simultaneously handles nylon resin, sub-brand materials, and bulk materials from major chemical giants, and also regularly receives nylon raw materials, sprue return materials, and various nylon scraps, with formal disposal channels.

The additive system in the formula is tailored according to the working conditions of each piece—regular additives are always in stock, special models are matched as needed; You report the working conditions and grade, and all materials and additives are prepared in one go

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