Gust response analysis and wind tunnel test for a high-aspect ratio wing

A theoretical nonlinear aeroelastic response analysis for a flexible high-aspect ratio wing excited by harmonic gust load is presented along with a companion wind tunnel test. A multidisci-plinary coupled numerical calculation is developed to simulate the flexible model wing undergoing gust load in the time domain via discrete nonlinear finite element structural dynamic analysis and nonplanar unsteady vortex lattice aerodynamic computation. A dynamic perturbation analysis about a nonlinear static equilibrium is also used to determine the small perturbation flutter bound-ary. A novel noncontact 3-D camera measurement analysis system is firstly used in the wind tunnel test to obtain the spatial large deformation and responses. The responses of the flexible wing under different static equilibrium states and frequency gust loads are discussed. The fair to good quanti-tative agreements between the theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that the presented analysis method is an acceptable way to predict the geometrically nonlinear gust response for flex-ible wings.     

Nonlinear dynamics of a flapping rotary wing: Modeling and optimal wing kinematic analysis

The analysis of the passive rotation feature of a micro Flapping Rotary Wing(FRW)applicable for Micro Air Vehicle(MAV) design is presented in this paper. The dynamics of the wing and its influence on aerodynamic performance of FRW is studied at low Reynolds number(~10~3).The FRW is modeled as a simplified system of three rigid bodies: a rotary base with two flapping wings. The multibody dynamic theory is employed to derive the motion equations for FRW. A quasi-steady aerodynamic model is utilized for the calculation of the aerodynamic forces and moments. The dynamic motion process and the effects of the kinematics of wings on the dynamic rotational equilibrium of FWR and the aerodynamic performances are studied. The results show that the passive rotation motion of the wings is a continuous dynamic process which converges into an equilibrium rotary velocity due to the interaction between aerodynamic thrust, drag force and wing inertia. This causes a unique dynamic time-lag phenomena of lift generation for FRW, unlike the normal flapping wing flight vehicle driven by its own motor to actively rotate its wings. The analysis also shows that in order to acquire a high positive lift generation with high power efficiency and small dynamic time-lag, a relative high mid-up stroke angle within 7–15° and low mid-down stroke angle within -40° to -35° are necessary. The results provide a quantified guidance for design option of FRW together with the optimal kinematics of motion according to flight performance requirement.     

Gain self-scheduled H_∞ control for morphing aircraft in the wing transition process based on an LPV model

This article investigates gain self-scheduled H 1 robust control system design for a tailless fold- ing-wing morphing aircraft in the wing shape varying process. During the wing morphing phase, the aircraft’s dynamic response will be governed by time-varying aerodynamic forces and moments. Nonlinear dynamic equations of the morphing aircraft are linearized by using Jacobian linearization approach, and a linear parameter varying (LPV) model of the morphing aircraft in wing folding is obtained. A multi-loop controller for the morphing aircraft is formulated to guarantee stability for the wing shape transition process. The proposed controller uses a set of inner-loop gains to provide stability using classical techniques, whereas a gain self-scheduled H 1 outer-loop controller is devised to guarantee a specific level of robust stability and performance for the time-varying dynamics. The closed-loop simulations show that speed and altitude vary slightly during the whole wing folding process, and they converge rapidly after the process ends. This proves that the gain self-scheduled H 1 robust controller can guarantee a satisfactory dynamic performance for the morphing aircraft during the whole wing shape transition process. Finally, the flight control system’s robustness for the wing folding process is verified according to uncertainties of the aerodynamic parameters in the nonlinear model.     

Transient aeroelastic responses and flutter analysis of a variable-span wing during the morphing process

To investigate the transient aeroelastic responses and flutter characteristics of a variablespan wing during the morphing process,a novel frst-order state-space aeroelastic model is proposed.The time-varying structural model of the morphing wing is established based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory with time-dependent boundary conditions.A nondimensionalization method is used to translate the time-dependent boundary conditions to be time-independent.The time-domain aerodynamic forces are calculated by the reduced-order unsteady vortex lattice method.The morphing parameters,i.e.,wing span length and morphing speed,are of particular interest for understanding the fundamental aeroelastic behavior of variable-span wings.A test case is proposed and numerical results indicate that the flutter characteristics are sensitive to both of the two morphing parameters.It could be noticed that the aeroelastic characteristics during the wing extracting process are more serious than those during the extending process at the same morphing speed by transient aeroelastic response analysis.In addition,a faster morphing process can get better aeroelastic performance while the mechanism comlexity will arise.     

Control-oriented Modeling for Air-breathing Hypersonic Vehicle Using Parameterized Configuration Approach

This article presents a parameterized configuration modeling approach to develop a 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) rigid-body model for air-breathing hypersonic vehicle (AHV). The modeling process involves the parameterized configuration design, inviscous hypersonic aerodynamic force calculation and scramjet engine modeling. The parameters are designed for airframe-propulsion integration configuration, the aerodynamic force calculation is based on engineering experimental methods, and the engine model is acquired from gas dynamics and quasi-one dimensional combustor calculations. Multivariate fitting is used to obtain analytical equations for aerodynamic force and thrust. Furthermore, the fitting accuracy is evaluated by relative error (RE). Trim results show that the model can be applied to the investigation of control method for AHV during the cruise phase. The modeling process integrates several disciplines such as configuration design, aerodynamic calculation, scramjet modeling and control method. Therefore the modeling method makes it possible to conduct AHV aerodynamics/propulsion/control integration design.     

Aeroelastic two-level optimization for preliminary design of wing structures considering robust constraints

An aeroelastic two-level optimization methodology for preliminary design of wing struc- tures is presented, in which the parameters for structural layout and sizes are taken as design vari- ables in the first-level optimization, and robust constraints in conjunction with conventional aeroelastic constraints are considered in the second-level optimization. A low-order panel method is used for aerodynamic analysis in the first-level optimization, and a high-order panel method is employed in the second-level optimization. It is concluded that the design of the abovementioned structural parameters of a wing can be improved using the present method with high efficiency. An improvement is seen in aeroelastic performance of the wing obtained with the present method when compared to the initial wing. Since these optimized structures are obtained after consideration of aerodynamic and structural uncertainties, they are well suited to encounter these uncertainties when they occur in reality.     

Aerodynamic Design Methodology for Blended Wing Body Transport

This paper puts forward a design idea for blended wing body(BWB).The idea is described as that cruise point,maximum lift to drag point and pitch trim point are in the same flight attitude.According to this design idea,design objectives and constraints are defined.By applying low and high fidelity aerodynamic analysis tools,BWB aerodynamic design methodology is established by the combination of optimization design and inverse design methods.High lift to drag ratio,pitch trim and acceptable buffet margin can be achieved by this design methodology.For 300-passenger BWB configuration based on static stability design,as compared with initial configuration,the maximum lift to drag ratio and pitch trim are achieved at cruise condition,zero lift pitching moment is positive,and buffet characteristics is well.Fuel burn of 300-passenger BWB configuration is also significantly reduced as compared with conventional civil transports.Because aerodynamic design is carried out under the constraints of BWB design requirements,the design configuration fulfills the demands for interior layout and provides a solid foundation for continuous work.     

Numerical Simulation of Rotor-aerodynamic Surface Interaction in Hover Using Moving Chimera Grid

Three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes equations are numerically solved to simulate the aerodynamic interaction of rotor, canard and horizontal tail in hover based on moving chimera grid. The variations of unsteady aerodynamic forces and moments of the canard and horizontal tail with respect to the rotor azimuth are analyzed with the deflection angle set at 0° and 50°, respectively. The pressure map of aerodynamic surfaces and velocity vector distribution of flow field are investigated to get better understanding of the unsteady aerodynamic interaction. The result shows that the canard and horizontal tail present different characteristics under the downwash of the rotor. The canard produces much vertical force loss with low amplitude fluctuation. Contrarily, the horizontal tail, which is within the flow field induced by the down wash of the rotor, produces only less vertical force loss, but the amplitudes of the lift and pitching moment are larger, implying that a potential deflection angle scheme in hover is 50° for the canard and 0° for the horizontal tail.     

Static aeroelastic analysis of very flexible wings based on non-planar vortex lattice method

A rapid and efficient method for static aeroelastic analysis of a flexible slender wing when considering the structural geometric nonlinearity has been developed in this paper. A non-planar vortex lattice method herein is used to compute the non-planar aerodynamics of flexible wings with large deformation. The finite element method is introduced for structural nonlinear statics analysis. The surface spline method is used for structure/aerodynamics coupling. The static aeroelastic characteristics of the wind tunnel model of a flexible wing are studied by the nonlinear method presented, and the nonlinear method is also evaluated by comparing the results with those obtained from two other methods and the wind tunnel test. The results indicate that the traditional linear method of static aeroelastic analysis is not applicable for cases with large deformation because it produces results that are not realistic. However, the nonlinear methodology, which involves combining the structure finite element method with the non-planar vortex lattice method, could be used to solve the aeroelastic deformation with considerable accuracy, which is in fair agreement with the test results. Moreover, the nonlinear finite element method could consider complex structures. The non-planar vortex lattice method has advantages in both the computational accuracy and efficiency. Consequently, the nonlinear method presented is suitable for the rapid and efficient analysis requirements of engineering practice. It could be used in the preliminary stage and also in the detailed stage of aircraft design.     

Aerodynamic Interactions Between Contralateral Wings and Between Wings and Body of a Model Insect at Hovering and Small Speed Motions

In this paper, we study the aerodynamic interactions between the contralateral wings and between the body and wings of a model insect, when the insect is hovering and has various translational and rotational motions, using the method numerically solving the Navier-Stokes equations over moving overset grids. The aerodynamic interactional effects are identified by compar-ing the results of a complete model insect, the corresponding wing pair, single wing and body without the wings. Horizontal, vertical and lateral translations and roll, pitch and yaw rotations at small speeds are considered. The results indicate that for the motions considered, both the interaction between the contralateral wings and the interaction between the body and wings are weak. The changes in the forces and moments of a wing due to the contralateral wing interaction, of the wings due to the pres-ence of the body, and of the body due to the presence of the wings are generally less than 4.5%. Results show that aerodynamic forces of wings and body can be measured or computed separately in the analysis of flight stability and control of hovering in-sects.     

柔性翼小型无人飞行器试验样机研究

通过对柔性翼小型无人飞行器试验样机的研制试飞和相关气动分析与试验,研究了解决柔性翼小型无人飞行器的气动性能、飞行性能和操纵稳定性的思路和方法。试验样机试飞与相关风洞试验结果表明,可折叠柔性翼小型无人飞行器飞行稳定,操纵反应适当,具有广阔的应用前景。     

A compliant polymorphing wing for small UAVs

This paper presents the development of a novel compliant polymorphing wing capable of chord and camber morphing for small UAVs. The morphing wing can achieve up to 10% chord extension and ±20° camber changes. The design, modeling, sizing, manufacturing and mechanical testing of the wing are detailed. The polymorphing wing consists of one continuous front spar fixed to the fuselage and a rear spar on each side of the wing. Each rear spar can translate in the chordwise direction (chord morphing) and rotate around itself (camber morphing). A flexible elastomeric latex sheet is used as the skin to cover the wing and maintain its aerodynamic shape whilst allowing morphing. The loads from the skin are transferred to the spars using the compliant cellular ribs that support the flexible skin and facilitate morphing. Pre-tensioning is applied to the skin to minimize wrinkling when subject to aerodynamic and actuation loads. A rack and pinion actuation system, powered by stepper motors, is used for morphing. Aero-structural design, analysis and sizing are conducted. Performance comparison between the polymorphing wing and the baseline wing (non-morphing) shows that chord morphing improves aerodynamic efficiency at low angles of attack while camber morphing improves efficiency at high angles of attack.     

扑翼飞行器柔性翼的动力分析与实验

针对小型扑翼飞行器柔性翼的特点,提出了一种利用欧拉方程结合有限元分析计算柔性扑翼上气动力的分析方法,并进行了样机推力测量实验.实验证明计算结果能很好地反映出扑动周期中不同时刻的推力特征.该方法既可以得到宏观上的推力、扑动阻力,又可以得到不同扑动参数下翼上各处的气动力分布,为柔性扑翼的设计优化提供帮助.      

飞机机翼着陆滑跑动态性能分析

飞机着陆滑跑过程中,机翼结构将受到较大的冲击作用和振动激励。为预判结构局部危险部位,给结构强度设计提供参考,需对机翼着陆滑跑过程中的动态性能进行分析。创新性地考虑了飞机滑跑速度和气动力的变化,为有限元计算提供可靠的外载输入,并合理设置约束条件,建立半机体有限元模型,降低计算规模。最后提取机翼各站位处的载荷响应峰值,做出动响应包线,预判结构局部危险部位,如机翼根部,为结构强度设计提供参考。     

柔性翼微型飞行器水平阵风响应特性实验研究

设计研制了一种飞翼布局的柔性翼和刚性翼微型飞行器,并在风洞中研究了两种微型飞行器在定常风和水平阵风作用下的气动特性,给出了柔性翼和刚性翼微型飞行器气动特性的差别。研究结果表明：不论是在定常风情况下,还是在水平阵风环境下,柔性翼的气动特性要优于刚性翼结构,柔性翼具有延迟失速和缓和阵风影响的能力,有利于稳定飞行。PIV测量结果表明：由于柔性翼的变形使刚性翼和柔性翼翼面上的流态不同,从而使微型飞行器的气动特性发生改变。     

飞翼式客机机翼气动/结构综合优化方法研究

针对目前在飞翼客机机翼优化过程中对气动弹性效应考虑不充分、气动/结构耦合不充分的问题,分别对飞翼客机机翼的CFD（Computational Fluid Dynamics,简称CFD）气动模型、平板气动模型和三维板杆模型进行参数化建模,开展了针对飞翼布局客机机翼的气动/结构综合优化设计的研究,搭建了一套基于Kriging模型的前瞻性设计方法,获得了机翼最优的气动外形和结构构型,在有效降低机翼结构重量的同时,显著地减少了气动阻力。在满足精度及效率的前提下,气动子学科选用亚声速偶极子格网法以及基于Euler方程的CFD方法,结构子学科选用有限元分析方法,优化算法采用遗传算法。     

Optimal thickness distributions of aeroelastic flapping shells

The severe weight limitations of flapping wing micro air vehicles necessitates the use of thin flexible wings, which in turn requires an aeroelastic modeling tool for proper numerical characterization. Furthermore, due to the unconventional nature of these vehicles, wing design guidelines for thrust and/or power considerations are not generally available; numerical design optimization then becomes a valuable tool. This work couples a nonlinear shell model to an unsteady vortex lattice solver, and then computes analytical design gradients: the derivative of aerodynamic force/power quantities with respect to a large vector of thickness variables. Gradient-based optimization is then used to locate the wing structure that maximizes the thrust, or minimizes the power under a thrust constraint, for a variety of shell boundary conditions. Changes in the topological features of the optimal wing thicknesses highlight important aeroelastic interactions that can be exploited for efficient flapping wings.     

三角翼俯仰滚转耦合运动气动特性研究

介绍一套用于３ｍ 低速风洞的俯仰滚转两自由度大振幅非定常实验系统,并利用该系统对—三角翼单独俯仰和滚转及俯仰滚转耦合运动时的非定常气动特性进行了研究。结果表明,飞行器俯仰滚转耦合运动时的气动特性比单独俯仰和滚转时的气动特性复杂得多。     

一种CFD/CSD耦合计算方法

针对柔性大展弦比机翼气动弹性分析和主动弹性机翼(AAW)设计发展了一种计算流体动力学(CFD)和计算结构动力学(CSD)的耦合计算方法。其主要思想是采用在同一物理时间弱耦合求解CFD/CSD技术。气动力采用非定常N-S方程的双时间有限体积求解技术,结构响应则采用有限元数值求解技术。CFD和CSD耦合计算的边界信息(气动力和网格)由所设计的界面程序传输。网格信息传输采用守恒体积转换(CVT)方法将CSD计算结构响应位移插值到CFD网格点上。变形已有的CFD网格技术用以确定CFD的变形网格。以位移或载荷的迭代误差为判断耦合计算的收敛标准。最后得到了机翼在Ma=0.8395,α=5.06°时CFD/CSD耦合计算的收敛值。针对计算结果分析了机翼受静气动弹性过程中结构响应和气动特性随时间变化的效应。初步研究结果表明:这种弱耦合方法求解非线性气动弹性问题是可行的。     

大柔性飞机非线性飞行载荷分析及优化

 大柔性飞机在气动力作用下产生较大的弯曲变形,线性理论难以获得比较合理的载荷分析及优化解答。为了综合考虑结构气动非线性效应的影响,飞机结构由相互连接的几何非线性欧拉梁表示,升力面由顺来流方向沿展向分布的可压缩马蹄涡网络表示,通过多控制面协调偏转对飞行载荷进行优化。算例表明：随着变形增大线性分析结果将产生误差,最大误差接近20%;通过协调偏转升降舵与机翼上的4组控制面显著减缓了翼根弯曲载荷13.6%。得出以下结论：结构弯曲效应将导致升力损失,线性理论的分析结果将产生显著误差;多控制面协调偏转方法可有效减缓结构载荷。