Feasibility Study of Powering Aircraft Landing Gear Sensors by Energy Harvesting Methods

Abstract

This study investigates the feasibility of integrating energy-harvesting-powered wireless sensor systems within the landing gear of a Cessna Citation Jet (Model 525). The landing gear environment is characterised by broadband vibration during taxiing, high rotational energy during ground roll, and significant thermal dissipation during braking. Three complementary harvesting mechanisms- (1) piezoelectric vibration harvesting, (2) rotational harvesting from wheel motion, and (3) thermoelectric harvesting from brake heat, are evaluated using aircraft maintenance manual data and time-domain mission simulations. Harvested power profiles are integrated over representative taxi, take-off, landing, and post landing phases to estimate the total recoverable electrical energy. The results demonstrate that approximately 155 Wh can be harvested over a representative operating cycle, with taxi operations providing the largest cumulative energy contribution and landing representing the highest instantaneous harvesting opportunity. The available energy is subsequently mapped to representative non-essential sensing applications, including structural health monitoring, tyre pressure monitoring, brake monitoring, and event logging. The analysis identifies maintenance-oriented, non-safety-critical monitoring functions as the most suitable candidates for early deployment. The proposed framework provides a quantitative basis for assessing the feasibility of subsystem-level energy harvesting in future more-electric aircraft while also supporting the retrofit of existing aircraft platforms.