Multi-Fidelity Design of an Aeroelastically Tailored Composite Wing for Dynamic Wind-Tunnel Testing

Abstract

Aeroelastic tailoring offers an effective way to exploit the anisotropic properties of the composite materials used in lightweight aerospace structures. This paper presents a design methodology for experimental wings that employ a typical wingbox structure. The proposed methodology combines three different analysis tools: Proteus, a low-fidelity aeroelastic framework with tailoring capabilities, OptiBLESS, an open-source toolbox for optimization of blended stacking sequences and MSC Nastran, a commercial software commonly used in industry for aeroelastic analyses. An experimental wing is designed using the proposed framework. The developed design is manufactured using carbon fibre pre-preg and hand layup technique. Finally, the manufactured wing is tested in the wind-tunnel at speeds up to 25 m/s. Both static and dynamic tests are performed, where for the latter a gust generator is used. The experimental results provide a source of comparison for the numerical models used in the proposed design methodology.