Flap and Wing Dynamics for a Light Sport Aircraft Analysis Using a Topological Model

This paper presents a more general method to study the dynamic behavior of a planar mechanism with joints. To do this, Graph Theory is used. A topological description is presented based on which a corresponding graph is attached to any mechanism. This method can be used for both kinematic and dynamic study in the same model, and many of the descriptors used in kinematic analysis can also be used for dynamic analysis. As a final result, the motion equations of the studied mechanical system can be obtained. An application is made to a flap and wing control system of a light sport aircraft. The graph associated with the mechanism first used to determine the field of velocities and accelerations of the mechanism elements is then used to obtain the motion equation for the control system. In this way, Graph Theory proves useful for the parallel study of both the kinematic and dynamic study of such problems.