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cressidom
16th Oct 2007, 07:19
Good day all,

am seeking assitance on trying to determine the weight thats 'loaded' on each landing/gear wheels that contact a surface - I.e. a hangar floor.

A 737-500 has an MTOW of 61 tons approx. So when an aircraft is parked on the ramp/hangar. What weight load is on the nosegear/left/right.

I'm assuming 1/3 of the weight is on the front gear/wheel ?

Appreciate any assistance on this.

cheers
Dom

chksix
16th Oct 2007, 08:12
Check these documents:
Tarmac loads:
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/airports/acaps/737sec7.pdf

The rest:
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/airports/737.htm

Il Sal
16th Oct 2007, 13:02
Hi everybody,
I'm an Aerospace MSc student in Kingston University of London.
I'm working on a B747 landing gear project.
I need, if is possible, some images, photos and real dimensions in order to design with Cad/Cam the main parts (Wheels, brakes, piston, actuator...) and then assemble them.
If you have some info let me know, please.:ok:
Best
Andrea

OverRun
18th Oct 2007, 02:06
chksix has given the reference. Rule of thumb is typically 95% of the weight on the main gear, and this is equally spread amongst the wheels on the main gear (4 wheels for the -500).

If you are building a floor, design it for the heaviest 737-900 since no-one will remember you've used the -500 in design. Or use a wild rule of thumb and add 2 inches to the designed concrete depth.

chksix
18th Oct 2007, 15:47
Are hangar floors normally designed for max weight of the aircraft type or would it be "safe" to assume that the plane coming in will be defueled and offloaded first?

I guess the cost wouldn't differ much in the end for building the baseplate though so this is a hypothetical question. :}

OverRun
19th Oct 2007, 08:27
I couldn't comment whether the plane is defuelled before it goes in the hangar - I would have thought that it would have some fuel in it but no passengers/cargo. So I would design for partly loaded, and include the heavier 737 models.

Slab thicknesses (subject to assumptions and not to be used for real) for the 737-500 empty at 32 tonnes needs 210mm, and laden at 61 tonnes needs 325mm. This is on a fair-poor subgrade with a 150mm cement stabilised base underneath, and no frost.

The 737-800 needs 345mm laden at 79 tonnes and 230mm unladen at 41 tonnes.

Seems to me that a concrete floor slab 300mm thick would keep you out of trouble for years to come; and 250mm would hold up for a few years by which time everyone will have forgotten who built it. I'd choose 300mm because concrete is hard to fix once it breaks.