Control Surface Freeplay
Mathematical Modeling, Analysis, and Computation
- 1st Edition - April 1, 2026
- Latest edition
- Authors: Jeet Panchal, Haym Benaroya
- Language: English
Control Surface Freeplay: Mathematical Modeling, Analysis, and Computation offers readers a thorough introduction to the challenges of control surface freeplay in aviation.… Read more
Control Surface Freeplay: Mathematical Modeling, Analysis, and Computation offers readers a thorough introduction to the challenges of control surface freeplay in aviation. The book begins by equipping readers with the essential engineering principles and mathematical techniques needed to understand and solve these complex problems. Using modern computational tools, it guides readers through classical freeplay scenarios, providing clear explanations and carefully designed examples that reinforce analytical methods. This approach not only demystifies the modeling process but also highlights how meaningful results are obtained, making the subject accessible to both newcomers and seasoned professionals.
Beyond fundamental concepts, the book examines stringent airworthiness regulations that impact maintenance costs and safety for all-moveable control surfaces. It presents rigorous methods to calculate maximum safe freeplay limits, helping airlines and private operators maintain compliance while managing budgets effectively. The text also serves as a valuable reference, summarizing recent advancements and emerging trends in freeplay analysis, making it an indispensable resource for industry practitioners and academic researchers.
- Presents the fundamentals of synthesizing aeroelastic models with freeplay nonlinearity
- Includes the fundamental analytical methods and computational tools to obtain meaningful numerical results for solving problems involving freeplay
- Interprets the time-invariant and time-dependent aeroelastic behavior from data obtained by solving problems involving control surface freeplay
Nonlinear aeroelasticity academic scholars (PhD/post-doc/masters level researchers) as well as aviation industry professionals who work on such problems in practice. The broad interest that the freeplay problem conjures also allows academics and engineers from similar and related fields (nonlinear control theory, aeroservoelasticity, landing gear shimmy nonlinear dynamics) to gain valuable knowledge that they can apply to their work as well
1. Introduction to Freeplay
2. Aeroelasticity
3. Nonlinear Dynamics
4. Wear Mechanisms
5. Stochastic Modeling
6. Experimental Design
7. Maintenance Operations
2. Aeroelasticity
3. Nonlinear Dynamics
4. Wear Mechanisms
5. Stochastic Modeling
6. Experimental Design
7. Maintenance Operations
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Published: April 1, 2026
- Language: English
JP
Jeet Panchal
Jeet Panchal acquired his PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Rutgers University in 2022. He has strong research background in nonlinear dynamics, aeroelasticity, control theory, computational methods, probabilistic methods, and aviation safety. Presently, Jeet is employed at Boeing as a Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer. His primary interests are in the advancement of current complex aerospace engineering problems and communicating such knowledge to audiences of wide-ranging technical backgrounds.
Affiliations and expertise
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, Piscataway, NJ, USAHB
Haym Benaroya
Haym Benaroya earned his BE from The Cooper Union in New York, and his MS and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He worked as a consulting engineer for eight years after his PhD before joining Rutgers University. He is the author of almost 100 scholarly refereed papers generally in nonlinear dynamics and vibration, probabilistic mechanics, concepts for lunar habitat structures, fluid-structure interaction dynamics, including vortex-induced oscillations. Prof. Benaroya is also the author of two textbooks, research monographs on space exploration, lunar habitats, wave forces on offshore structures, and vortex-induced oscillations, as well as several edited works on the topics of space, and aircraft. He has mentored and worked with twelve graduate students to their PhDs, as well as about twice that many to their master’s degrees. He has also mentored many dozens of undergraduates in research.
Affiliations and expertise
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, Piscataway, NJ, USA