Stability Analysis of Nonlinear Models of Nose Landing Gear Shimmy

Shimmy can reduce the service life of the nose landing gear, affect ride comfort, and even cause fuselage damage leading to aircraft crashes. Taking a light aircraft as the research object, the torsional freedom of landing gear around strut axis and lateral deformation of tire are considered. Since the landing gear shimmy is a nonlinear system, a nonlinear mechanical model of the front landing gear shimmy is established. Sobol index method is proposed to analyze the influence of structural parameters on the stability region of the nose landing gear, and Routh-Huritz criterion is used to verify the reliability of the analysis results of Sobol index method. We analyse the effect of torsional stiffness of strut, caster length, rated initial tire inflation pressure, rake angle, and vertical force on the stability region of theront landing gear. And the research shows that the optimization of the torsional stiffness of the strut and the caster length of the nose landing gear should be emphasized, and the influence of vertical force on the stability region of the nose landing gear should be paid attention to.

Oasis Functional Stability Evaluation Based on Multiple Indicators, Northwest China

We produced and analyzed oasis structure information, and evaluated oasis functional stability using the multiple indicators based on Remote Sensing(RS) and Geographical Information System(GIS) in the arid region of China in 2015. The results showed that the oases area was 193,734 km^2, accounting for 8.17% of the arid region of China. The spatial difference in the functional stability of oases was obvious. The Beijiang zone had the highest functional stability and was relatively stable state, and the Hexi Corridor-Alashan Plateau zone had the lowest functional stability and was relatively unstable. The functional stability is dominated by production and ecological functions, which have regional differences. Increasing oasis agricultural output, strengthening highway infrastructure construction and paying attention to education will become important ways to improve oasis functional stability. Water resources determine the ecological function, thus affecting the oasis functional stability. The results provide references for the formulation of related policies according to local conditions.

Iterative Model Predictive Control for Automatic Carrier Landing of Carrier-Based Aircrafts Under Complex Surroundings and Constraints

This paper considers the automatic carrier landing problem of carrier-based aircrafts subjected to constraints,deck motion,measurement noises,and unknown disturbances.The iterative model predictive control(MPC)strategy with constraints is proposed for automatic landing control of the aircraft.First,the long short-term memory(LSTM)neural network is used to calculate the adaptive reference trajectories of the aircraft.Then the Sage-Husa adaptive Kalman filter and the disturbance observer are introduced to design the composite compensator.Second,an iterative optimization algorithm is presented to fast solve the receding horizon optimal control problem of MPC based on the Lagrange’s theory.Moreover,some sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee the stability of the landing system in a closed loop with the MPC.Finally,the simulation results of F/A-18A aircraft show that compared with the conventional MPC,the presented MPC strategy improves the computational efficiency by nearly 56%and satisfies the control performance requirements of carrier landing.

Effects of land use patterns on soil aggregate stability in Sichuan Basin,China

Soil aggregate stability as a key indicator of soil structure, is a product of interactions between soil environment, management practices, and land use patterns. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of various land use patterns on soil aggregate stability in Sichuan Basin of southwestern China. The dry- and water-stable aggregate size distributions were determined by manual dry sieving procedure and Yoder＇s wet sieving procedure, respectively, while microaggregates and its mechanical and chemical stabilities by Kachisky＇s method, oscillator method, and citrate-dithionate （C-D） reagent method, separately. The results indicated that fractal dimension and surface fractal dimension were useful indicators to reflect soil aggregate distribution. Land use patterns have an obvious influence on soil aggregate stability. In the study area, water stability, mechanical stability, and chemical stability followed the sequence, Barren land 〉 forestland 〉 orchard 〉 cropland, and the original stability and collapse velocity were sensitive to soil properties and soil structure. The difference of aggregate stability under different land use patterns is mainly due to the intensity of human disturbance and cultivation. Improper land use patterns will lead to breakdown of unstable aggregates, producing finer and more-easily transportable particles and microaggregates. In the future, inappropriate cultivation and land use patterns should be changed to protect soil structure, to improve soil aggregate stability and soil fertility in Sichuan Basin.

Effects of land use and management on aggregate stability and hydraulic conductivity of soils within River Njoro Watershed in Kenya

There has been tremendous changes in land use and management in the River Njoro Watershed during the last three decades.Formerly large scale farms have been converted into smallholder farms and plantation forests have gradually been lost.These changes in land use and management have brought in different approaches that have triggered soil erosion and other forms of land degradation.The objective of this study was to trace the changes in land use and determine their effects on aggregate stability and hydraulic conductivity.A semi detailed soil survey of the watershed was undertaken following a three-tier approach comprising image interpretation,field surveys and laboratory analysis.The measured variables in the soil were analysed using ANOVA and correlation analysis.The major land uses were found to be forestland,agricultural land,grassland,and wetland.A strong soil type_landscape relationship was observed within the watershed.Soils of slopes were moderately to severely eroded,shallow and less developed whereas those on summits,pen plains,uplands,plateaus and valleys were deep and well developed.Aggregate stability was the highest in forestland and decreased in the order of grassland,agricultural land and wetland respectively.The mean weight diameter under the various land use conditions was 0.68,0.64,0.58,and 041 respectively.Hydraulic conductivity was the highest in forest-land and decreased in the order of agricultural land,grassland and wetland respectively.There was significant negative correlation between hydraulic conductivity and the bulk density and clay content of the soils.Reduced aggregate stability and lowered hydraulic conductivity is likely to be responsible for some of the severe soil erosion and other forms of land degradation observed in the River Njoro Watershed.

New stabilization design for planar vertical take-off and landing aircrafts

This paper presents a new stabilizing control law for a planar vertical take-off and landing aircraft.The model is first transformed into an equivalent form,and then a control law consisting of a linear term and a saturated term is given for a related subsystem,with the saturation levels being assigned as large as possible.Compared to the existing saturation scheme in which all states are restricted by saturations,the design brings about a relatively fast convergence.The effectiveness and advantage of the design are validated by numerical simulations.

Approach and landing guidance design for reusable launch vehicle using multiple sliding surfaces technique

An autonomous approach and landing（A＆L） guidance law is presented in this paper for landing an unpowered reusable launch vehicle（RLV） at the designated runway touchdown. Considering the full nonlinear point-mass dynamics, a guidance scheme is developed in threedimensional space. In order to guarantee a successful A＆L movement, the multiple sliding surfaces guidance（MSSG） technique is applied to derive the closed-loop guidance law, which stems from higher order sliding mode control theory and has advantage in the finite time reaching property.The global stability of the proposed guidance approach is proved by the Lyapunov-based method.The designed guidance law can generate new trajectories on-line without any specific requirement on off-line analysis except for the information on the boundary conditions of the A＆L phase and instantaneous states of the RLV. Therefore, the designed guidance law is flexible enough to target different touchdown points on the runway and is capable of dealing with large initial condition errors resulted from the previous flight phase. Finally, simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed guidance law in different scenarios.

A Nonlinear Optimal Control Approach for the Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircraft

The paper proposes a nonlinear optimal control approach for the model of the vertical take off and landing(VTOL)aircraft.This aerial drone receives as control input a directed thrust,as well as forces acting on its wing tips.The latter forces are not perpendicular to the body axis of the drone but are tilted by a small angle.The dynamic model of the VTOL undergoes ap-proximate linearization with the use of Taylor series expansion around a temporary operating point which is recomputed at each iteration of the control method.For the approximately linearized model,an H-infinity feedback controller is designed.The linearization procedure relies on the computation of the Jacobian matrices of the state-space model of the VTOL aircraft.The proposed control method stands for the solution of the optimal control problem for the nonlinear and multivariable dynamics of the aerial drone,under model uncertainties and external per-turbations.For the computation of the contollr's feedback gains,an algebraic Riccati equation is solved at each time-step of the control method.The new nonlinear optimal control approach achieves fast and accurate tracking for all state variables of the VTOL aircnaft,under moderate variations of the control inputs.The stability properties of the control scheme are proven through Lyapunov analysis.

Responses of soil aggregate stability and soil erosion resistance to different bedrock strata dip and land use types in the karst trough valley of Southwest China

Soil aggregate stability is an important index that reflects soil quality and anti-erosion ability and strongly affects soil processes and functions.Bedrock strata dips(dip and anti-dip slopes)and land use types primarily influence soil aggregate stability,whereas the detailed mechanisms are unclear in karst trough valley.Therefore,to explore the effects of bedrock strata dip and land use type on soil aggregate stability in karst trough valleys,soils were collected from five major land use types(abandoned land,grassland,pepper fields,corn fields and forest)on dip and anti-dip slopes.The soil was fractionated into macroaggregates and microaggrates using dry and wet sieving analysis.The soil particle size distribu-tions in the macroaggregates and microaggregates were measured in conventional laboratories.The results showed significant differences in soil aggregate stability among different bedrock strata dips,slope positions,and land use types(P<0.05).The variation ranges of macroaggregates and micro-aggregates in the pepper fields of the dip slope were higher than those on the anti-dip slope.Comparing all land use types,the forest of the anti-dip slope had>0.25 mm water-stable aggregates(85.31%)and mean weight diameter(2.67 mm)on the upper slope compared to that in the other slope positions of the dip slope.In addition,the dip slope had a higher percentage of aggregate destruction(35.57%)than the anti-dip slope(29.81%),and the soil erodibility factor value of the natural forest of the dip/anti-dip slope was significantly lower than that of the other land use types(P<0.05).When the content of large macroaggregates was larger,the soil macroaggregate weight was greater.When the failure rate of the soil aggregates was lower,the stability of the soil structure was better.Overall,these results suggest that natural forests can significantly improve the stability of soil aggregates,thereby improving soil erosion resistance.Therefore,natural recovery measures should be implemented on dip/anti-dip slopes of karst trough valleys.

Innovate the Land Supply Pattern and Stabilize the Housing

In the process of building a harmonious socialist society, the protection of people＇ s livelihood is the priority, and to solve the housing problem of over one billion residents is the top priority. The present thesis begins with the land supply mechanism, and do researches on the style, the source and the type of land supply. With the analysis of land finance, the present thesis finally put forward the measures to innovate the land supply pattern, to increase the supply of low-income housing, to reform the way of land supply and to explore the circulating pattern of normative collective construction land that comes to is on the market. Meanwhile, it combines the present house property tax reform, putting forward the idea that imposing land property tax should be a way to inhibit the behavior of speculation. The present thesis aims at keeping the housing price at a reasonable level so that the purpose of stabilizing the housing price can he achieved.

Linear and Quadratic Leap-and-Land Trajectory Tracking Algorithms

Considered in this note are numerical tracking algorithms for the accurate following of implicit curves. We start with a fixed point on the curve, and then systematically place on it additional points, one after the other. In this note we first go over the basic procedure of moving forward tangentially from an already placed point then orthogonally returning to the curve. Next, we further consider higher order forward stepping procedures for greater accuracy. We note, however, that higher order methods, desirable for greater accuracy, may harbor latent instabilities. This note suggests ways of holding such instabilities in check, to have stable and highly accurate tracing methods. The note has several supporting numerical examples, including the rounding of a dynamical “snap-through” point.

Precipitation trends and variability from 1950 to 2000 in arid lands of Central Asia

Climate warming will cause differences in precipitation distribution and changes in hydrological cycle both at regional and global scales. Arid lands of Central Asia （ALCA）, one of the largest arid regions at the middle latitudes in the world, is likely to be strongly influenced by climate warming. Understanding the precipitation varia- tions in the past is an important prerequisite for predicting future precipitation trends and thus managing regional water resources in such an arid region. In this study, we used run theory, displacement, extreme deviation theory, precipitation concentration index （PCI）, Mann-Kendall rank correlation and climatic trend coefficient methods to analyze the precipitation in wet and dry years, changes in precipitation over multiple-time scales, variability of precipitation and its rate of change based on the monthly precipitation data during 1950-2000 from 344 meteorological stations in the ALCA. The occurrence probability of a single year with abundant precipitation was higher than that of a single year with less precipitation. The average duration of extreme drought in the entire area was 5 years, with an average annual water deficit of 34.6 mm （accounting for 11.2% of the average annual precipitation over the duration）. The occurrence probability of a single wet year was slightly higher than that of a single dry year. The occurrence probability of more than 5 consecutive wet years was 5.8%, while the occurrence probability of more than 5 consecutive dry years was 6.2%. In the center of the study area, the distribution of precipitation was stable at an intra-annual timescale, with small changes at an inter-annual timescale. In the western part of the study area, the monthly variation of precipitation was high at an inter-annual timescale. There were clear seasonal changes in precipitation （PC1=12-36） in the ALCA. Precipitation in spring and winter accounted for 37.7% and 24.4% of the annual precipitation, respectively There was a significant inter-annual change in precipitation in the arid Northwest China （PC1=24-34）. Annual precipitation increased significantly （P=0.05） in 17.4% of all the meteorological stations over the study period. The probability of an increase in annual precipitation was 75.6%, with this increase being significant （P=-0.05） at 34.0% of all the meteorological stations. The average increasing rate in annual precipitation was 3.9 mm/10a （P=0.01） in the ALCA. There were significant increasing trends （P=0.01） in precipitation in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, with rates of 2.6, 3.1 and 3.7 mm/10a, respectively.

INERTIAL INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF NORTH SEEKING/SIGHT STABILIZING ON VEHICLE

A brand new method of automatic north seeking/sight stabilizing is introduced for usage in land fighting vehicles such as tank, etc. Some inertial devices are installed additionally on the platform along with relative control circuits to make its function of North seeking possible. Double position calculation is adopted in this method, and by alignment at two sites the azimuth angle can be figured out. Also the orientation and the horizontal shifts of the gyro are simultaneously measured and compensated so as to improve the accuracy of north seeking. The system can automatically seek north when the vehicle is immobile. And the time consumption is no more than 5.5 min. Besides, the system can keep azimuth angle and provide tilt angle and pitch angle of the vehicle.

Changes in Land Use and Agricultural Production Structure Before and After the Implementation of Grain for Green Program in Western China–Taking Two Typical Counties as Examples

Soil erosion becomes a serious environmental problem in the world, especially in western China. An effective management practice called the Grain for Green Program(GGP), which was launched in 1999, aims to reduce soil and water loss and alleviate the ecological environment problem in western China. Two typical counties in western China, the Zhongxian(in Chongqing Municipality) and Ansai(in Shaanxi Province) were chosen to evaluate the dynamic changes of land use and agricultural production structure before and after the implementation of the Program in this paper. The results showed that the cultivated land area was reduced by 7.08% from 1989 to 2003. The cultivated land per person was decreased by 8.42% during 1999-2003. Moreover, the stability index of the secondary sector of the economy was increased from 0.91 in the period 1990-1999 to 0.94 in the following ten years. In addition, the stability index of tertiary economic sector increased from 0.88 to 0.92 in Zhongxian county. Meanwhile, the cultivated land area was reduced by 15.48% from 1990 to 1999. The soil erosion modulus was decreased by 33.33% from 1999 to 2006. Also, the stability index of secondary and tertiary economic sectors was 0.86 in the period 1998-2002. However, it decreased by 77% during 2002 to 2007 in Ansai County. These results imply that the Grain for Green Program had different impact on the two regions. Several effective strategies of soil and water conservation have been carried out to ameliorate the sustainable development of ecological environment and economy in these two counties of western China.

Analysis on Spatial Pattern of Land Use Based on Fractal Theory:A Case Study of a Southwest Town

Based on GIS,RS technology and fractal theory,this paper analyzes land use type of a southwest town in 2010. It obtains fractal model,fractal dimension and stability index of land use types,which will provide favorable reference for healthy social and economic development of this town and scientific decision making for rational control of land resource.

Fractal Analysis on the Spatial Structure of Land Use Patterns in a Non-Point Source Polluted Area in Southern China

Based on the TM remote sensing interpretation of land use data of a non-point source polluted area in southern China in 2015, supported by ArcGIS and the fractal theory, this paper established the perimeter-area fractal equation of the spatial structure of land use types, quantitatively calculated the fractal dimension and stability index of various land use types in this non-point source polluted area in 2015, and analyzed the spatial structure characteristics of land use types. The results showed that the fractal dimension values of the different land use types in the research area ranged 1.141–1.657, and the whole fractal dimension of the research area was 1.206. To be specific, the fractal dimension values of unused land, grass land and rural residential land were high, and the fractal dimension values of dry land, paddy filed and waters were low, and the fractal dimension values of urban land, industrial traffic construction land and forest land were moderate. The area of the land use types whose stability index values were 0.2–0.4 accounted for 89.5% of total area, suggesting that the stability of the spatial structure of land use types of Beibei District in 2015 was not high generally. The rural residential land and urban land of the research area should be planned and managed more properly from now on.

Soil Properties, and Soil Organic Carbon Stocks of Tropical Andosol under Different Land Uses

Land use effect of tropical Andosol, with two from crop lands (Site 1 and Site 2) and one from Agroforestry coffee plantation (Site 3) was explored under laboratory conditions to understand their physical, chemical and biological properties and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks from the rift valley of Ethiopia. Site 3 that acquired less cultivation than others exhibited better aggregate size fraction (AF, 55%), higher aggregate stability (AS, 91%), and greater active microbial biomass (AMB), reflecting better soil structure development. Comparatively, higher total carbon (TC), organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations were recorded in bulk soils and microaggregate fractions of Site 2 and Site 3 than in intensively cultivated Site 1. As expected, microaggregate fractions displayed greater OC and TN than bulk soils across all land uses. Site 1 revealed higher metabolic quotient (qCO2) and lower SOC stock (2.1 Mg·ha-1), suggesting microbial stress, while micro nutrients deficiencies were observed with the alkaline soil (Site 2). Conversely, the highest SOC stock was exhibited with Site 3 (4.2 Mg·ha-1), indicating the importance of coffee land use in C sequestration. Crop lands, depleted much of their native carbon stocks had significant CO2 sink capacity. Hence, management practices that increase the input of organic resources should be adopted to build SOM and enhance soil fertility.

Fragmentation process of soil aggregates under concentrated water flow in red soil hilly region with different land use patterns

The hilly area of red soil in the central subtropical region of China has a long history of severe soil erosion due to its abundance of water,heat,and intense agricultural and forestry activities.The Sandshale red soil area is hot and rainy,the local land utilization rate and replanting index are high,and the soil easily weathers and erodes,resulting in infertile and sandy soils,extensive soil erosion and large erosion,with far-reaching impacts.In this study,the stability of soil aggregates was studied by the wet sieving method and Le Bissonais(LB)method in six land use patterns in the Sandshale red soil area,including natural forest(NF),Pinus massoniana(PM),Eucalyptus urophylla×E.grandis(EU),orchard(OR),wasteland(WL)and arable land(AL).The transport damage characteristics of the soil aggregates under concentrated water flow were analyzed by using the soil aggregates to simulate the soil surface roughness in the field using a steel scouring flume with a variable slope.The results showed that:(1)the total soil porosity of the natural forest was the highest,with 56.51%in A layer,which was 4.99%higher than the B layer,and the organic matter content ranged from 10.69 to 29.94 g.kg-1 and was highest in NF and lowest in AL;(2)the maximum mean weight diameter(MWD)obtained by the wet sieving method was 4.81 mm for natural forest,and the MWD was the lowest in OR and AL at 2.45-2.77mm.The MWD measured by the LB method was also highest in NF and lowest in AL.The contents of Fed and Ald have a strong correlation with the stability parameters of soil aggregates;(3)the Wr/Wi results for the six land use patterns were NF>PM>EU>WL>OR>AL;the NF had the strongest soil aggregate stability,followed by WL,PM and EU,and AL and OR had the weakest;the stability of soil aggregates gradually weakened as the soil depth increased.Comprehensive analysis shows that forest land has high soil stability and obvious advantages in soil erosion resistance.Strengthening the construction of artificial forests can be an important means to reduce soil erosion in red soil hilly region.

Assessment of Variability in the Quality of an Acrisol under Different Land Use Systems in Ghana

Three land use types (natural fallow, Leucaena leucocephala woodlot and cultivated plots) on a Ferric Acrisol in a semi-arid tropical zone of Ghana were compared to assess their effects on variability in selected soil properties and plant biomass accumulation. Organic carbon accumulation in the representative natural fallow profile was 22.7 g/kg, followed by 16.5 g/kg for the Leucaena woodlot and lastly 11.8 g/kg for the cultivated site. The mean bulk density of the natural fallow, Leucaena woodlot and cultivated sites were from 1.36 Mg/m3, 0.92 Mg/m3 and 1.33 Mg/m3 with corresponding range in mean weight diameter of 0.5 mm - 1.2 mm, 0.6 mm - 1.2 mm and 1.0 mm - 1.2 mm, respectively. The lower bulk density observed for the woodlot corresponds to increased total porosity, aeration, and root proliferation due to the stronger and extensive rooting system. Significant differences (P >36%). For the surface soils, exchangeable Na was very variable in the natural fallow. Exchangeable Na, Ca and K and total nitrogen were very variable in the Leucaena woodlot and the cultivated sites. Variability in clay content was very high in the cultivated soils only. The order cultivated land > Leucaena woodlot > natural fallow was noted for properties with high variability (CV > 36%). Plant biomass accumulation was 1834 kg/ha (natural fallow) and 830 kg/ha (Leucaena woodlot) indicating that natural fallows do not only maintain soil quality but they also decrease variability in soil properties which is desirable for soil productivity and quality.

Evaluating rural sustainable land use from a system perspective based on the ecosystem service value

Rural sustainable land use(RSLU) is important to China’s implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of rural revitalization strategy in China. Research on RSLU is key to understanding the impact of human activities on rural sustainability. This paper explored the evaluation method of RSLU from a system perspective based on the ecosystem service value(ESV). Three systems were proposed for consideration when conducting this evaluation method. One was the sustainability of the land system, the other was the sustainability of the ecoeconomic system, and the rest was the sustainability of the land-eco-economy system. Indicators including(1) land use intensity and land system stability,(2) gross domestic production(GDP), ESV, and the eco-economic harmony degree(EEHD), and(3) coupling degree and coupling coordination degree were used to analyze the sustainability of the land, eco-economic, and landeco-economic systems, respectively. An empirical research on Yanhe ecovillage was conducted and the study period extended from 2008 to 2020. The results showed that forest land had always accounted for more than 81.20% of the total area in Yanhe eco-village from 2008 to 2020, which greatly influenced land system stability and restricted economic development. This feature contrasted with RSLU. The total ESV of Yanhe eco-village declined by 1.60×106CNY during 2008–2020 because of land use changes. The EEHD was –0.01, which presented that there was a very slight unharmonious between ecology and economy. The coupling degree and coupling coordination degree showed that the development between the land and ecoeconomic systems exhibited a coupling coordination relationship. The results indicated that ecology and economy in Yanhe eco-village will change significantly in response to land use changes in rural areas, which further revealed the dynamic linkage between human beings and nature. Moreover, opposite variation tendencies in land system stability and ESV revealed that the contradiction between the high stability of the land system and well development of the eco-economic system. The results of this study implied that it is necessary and useful to integrate ESV into land management to achieve RSLU.