From development of multi-material skins to morphing flight hardware production

Low-fidelity 2D isogeometric aeroelastic optimization with application to a morphing airfoil

Low-fidelity isogeometric aeroelastic analysis has not received much attention since the introduction of the isogeometric analysis (IGA) concept, while the combination of IGA and the boundary element method in the form of the potential flow theory shows great potential. This paper presents a two-dimensional low-fidelity aeroelastic optimization...

Design and testing of a low subsonic wind tunnel gust generator

This paper summarises the design of a gust generator and the comparison between high fidelity numerical results and experimental results. The gust generator has been designed for a low subsonic wind tunnel in order to perform gust response experiments on wings and assess load alleviation. Special attention has been given to the different design...

Experimental and numerical study of an autonomous flap

This paper presents the experimental and numerical study of an autonomous load alleviation concept using trailing edge flaps. The flaps are autonomous units, which for instance can be used for gust load alleviation. The unit is self-powered and self-actuated through trailing edge tabs which are mounted as aerodynamic control devices on free...

Design and testing of an aeroelastically tailored wing under manoeuvre loading

The design methodology and testing of an aeroelastically tailored wing subjected to manoeuvre loads is presented in this paper. The wing is designed using an aeroelastic analysis tool that is composed of a closely coupled nonlinear beam model and a vortex lattice aerodynamic model. The globally convergent method of moving asymptotes is used to...

Aeroelastic tailoring and structural optimisation using an advanced dynamic aeroelastic framework

Driven by a need to improve the efficiency of aircraft and reduce the fuel consumption, composite materials are applied extensively in the design of aircraft. A dynamic aeroelastic framework for the conceptual design of a generic composite wing structure is presented. The wing is discretized in several spanwise sections, where each section has a...

Continuous-time state-space unsteady aerodynamic modelling for efficient aeroelastic load analysis

Over the years, wings have become lighter and more flexible, making them more prone to aeroelastic effects. Thus, aeroelasticity in design becomes more important. In order to determine the response of an aircraft to, for example, a gust, an unsteady aerodynamic model is required to determine the dynamic loads. The three most-commonly used...

Development and Testing of an Unconventional Morphing Wing Concept with Variable Chord and Camber

Driven by the need to improve the performance and energy-efficiency of aircraft, current research in the field of morphing wings is growing in significance. The most recently developed concepts typically adjust only one characteristic of the wing. Within this paper a new concept for morphing wings is developed and tested, enabling large changes...

Energy-based aeroelastic analysis of a morphing wing

Aircraft are often confronted with distinct circumstances during different parts of their mission. Ideally the aircraft should fly optimally in terms of aerodynamic performance and other criteria in each one of these mission requirements. This requires in principle as many different aircraft configurations as there are flight conditions, so...

Active aeroelastic control aspects of an aircraft wing by using synthetic jet actuators: Modeling, simulations, experiments

This paper discusses modeling, simulations and experimental aspects of active aeroelastic control on aircraft wings by using Synthetic Jet Actuators (SJAs). SJAs, a particular class of zero-net mass-flux actuators, have shown very promising results in numerous aeronautical applications, such as boundary layer control and delay of flow separation...

Post-buckled precompressed (PBP) subsonic micro flight control actuators and surfaces

This paper describes a new class of flight control actuators using Post-Buckled Precompressed (PBP) piezoelectric elements to provide much improved actuator performance. These PBP actuator elements are modeled using basic large deflection Euler-beam estimations accounting for laminated plate effects. The deflection estimations are then coupled...

Post-buckled precompressed (PBP) elements: A new class of flight control actuators enhancing high-speed autonomous VTOL MAVs

This paper describes a new class of flight control actuators using Post-Buckled Precompressed (PBP) piezoelectric elements. These actuators are designed to produce significantly higher deflection and force levels than conventional piezoelectric actuator elements. Classical laminate plate theory (CLPT) models are shown to work very well in...