Multi-objective Aerodynamic Assessment and Optimization of Winglets for the Flying-V Aircraft Configuration

The Flying-V is a disruptive flying wing aircraft configuration that was realized at the Airbus Future Projects Office (FPO), with research and development continuing at TU Delft. Preliminary findings have indicated that the Flying-V is 25\% more aerodynamically efficient than the state-of-the-art Airbus A350. To further reap the benefits of...

Transonic Wing and Control Surface Loads Modelling for Aeroservoelastic Analysis

The exponential growth of the aviation sector combined with environmental and energy supply challenges have led companies to innovate to reduce aircraft fuel consumption. Among the many areas currently under research, this thesis investigates the possibility of making aircraft wings lighter thanks to flight load alleviation systems and more...

Towards safe shearography inspection of thick composites with controlled surface temperature heating

Thick glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites, e.g. thickness of more than 50 mm, are increasingly used in a wide variety of industries, particularly in the marine and wind energy sectors. Defect detection and characterisation in these composites remain appealing challenges due to the material complexity and the presence of various...

The Impact of Control Allocation on Optimal Control Surface Positioning and Sizing: A comparative study for a PrandtlPlane

Classically, aircraft controls are designed such that every control surface type primarily influences a single degree of freedom by creating a moment. Increased availability of computational resources and novel aircraft configuration allow a deviation from this approach and to utilize individual control surfaces to generate moments around...

Unsteady Non-linear Control Surface Modelling for Aeroservoelastic Applications

In this paper, we present a data-driven method to model the unsteady non-linear response of aircraft control surfaces. This method relies on aerodynamic reduced-order models (ROM) derived from computational fluid dynamics with Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (CFD-RANS) analysis in the transonic domain. The ROM consists of a combination of look...

Transonic flight and movable load modelling for wing-box preliminary sizing

In this paper, a methodology is presented to size an aircraft wing-box accounting for steady and dynamic loads combined with active control. Several aerodynamic corrections are used and benchmarked to ensure a consistent level of fidelity during the load analysis. Reduced order models (ROM) of the aircraft movables, gust loads and maneuvers...

Effect of improved flight and control loads modelling on wing-box preliminary sizing

The proposed approach in this paper aims to bring the accuracy of CFD to quick linear aeroelastic simulations for structural sizing. This is achieved by deriving reduced-order models (ROM) of the aircraft movables, gust loads and manoeuvres loads from rigid CFD analysis and to use these as substitutes for the loads in the aeroelastic simulation....

Parametric modelling for determining aircraft stability & control derivatives

This thesis is part of a project that focuses on developing an optimisation framework for dynamically scaled flight testing. The optimisation framework must design the scale model and the flight test such that the performance of the scale model is representative to the full-scale aircraft. The similarity in the performances between the scale...

Application of the NLR Panel Method to a swept-wing/body combination with part-span flaps at low speed and comparison with experimental results

With the purpose of evaluating the adequacy of the NLR Panel Method with respect to the prediction of the flow around 3-D configurations with mechanical high-lift devices, potential flow calculations have been carried out for a swept-wing/body combination with part-span flaps at low speed. Several configurations as well as several calculation...

Results of an improved version of LTRAN2 for computing unsteady airloads on airfoils oscillating in transonic flow

Paper presented at AIAA 12th Fluid and Plasma Dynamics Conference held in Williamsburg, Virginia, 23-26 July 1979. Using an improved version of the NASA Ames code LTRAN2, unsteady airloads were computed for a flat plate and a lifting transonic NACA 6k A006 airfoil, for harmonic pitch and control surface motions at reduced frequencies based on...

Wind-tunnel measurements on the interference between a jet and a wing, located outside the jet. Part I: text, tables and figures

This report describes a wind-tunnel investigation on the interference between a jet and a wing half model, located outside the jet. Pressure distributions on the wing, and lift coefficients calculated from those have been used for evaluation of a method developed at NLR for the prediction of interference effects between jets and parts of...

Experimental investigation of the aerodynamic characteristics of a wing propulsion jets

With the intent to test the qualities of the theoretical models used in two different calculation methods, pressure distributions have been measured on a simple half model wing-in-jet combination. The position of the jets relative to the wing was varied, mainly in a plane perpendicular to the span. Jet velocities of 1, 2 and 3 times the tunnel...

Exploratory investigation of decelerating approaches of a twin-engined jet transport: Vol. II: Moving-base simulation and comparison with related experiments

Aircraft noise perceived on the ground can be reduced by decelerating the aircraft during the landing approach. As an additional benefit the lower thrust settings existing during a part of the approach and the shorter approach time result in a reduced fuel consumption as compared to a conventional approach. This report deals with an experiment...

Results of pressure measurements on an airfoil with oscillating flap in two-dimensional high subsonic and transonic flow (zero incidence and zero mean flap position)

On the prediction of aerodynamic loads on oscillating wings in transonic flows

Possibilities to develop calculation methods for oscillating wings in transonic flow are discussed. Special attention is given to the question of linearisation. Recent NLR results of pressure measurements on an aerofoil with flap in transonic flow are analysed. Correlations are made between steady, quasi-steady and unsteady results. Shock motion...