Aeroelasticity: Recent Advances and Challenges

A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310). This special issue belongs to the section "Aeronautics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 15472

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Aeronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
Interests: aircraft aeroelastic; structural dynamic and control; structural health monitoring
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Guest Editor
School of Aeronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China
Interests: aeroelasticity; transonic flutter; aerodynamic modeling

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Guest Editor
School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Interests: aeroelasticity; fluid–structure interaction

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Guest Editor
College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China
Interests: aeroservoelasticity; active flutter suppression

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aeroelasticity is the branch of physics studying the interactions between the inertial, elastic, and aerodynamic forces when an elastic structure is subjected to air flow. It has been widely observed in the aerospace industry, such as in flutter, wing divergence, or buffet. Recently, interesting phenomena have been observed as new technologies are introduced, including aerodynamic and/or aerodynamic nonlinearity, thermal effects, control architecture, etc. This Special Issue is targeting the current fundamental research efforts related to aeroelasticity over a broad range of topics in aerospace applications. 

Manuscripts are expected to describe computational, experimental, and/or theoretical research related to aeroelasticity with a focus on fundamental studies. Publications related to a specific application are relevant to this Special Issue’s scope as well. Submissions may also include ongoing projects and investigations addressing other relevant fields, such as wind engineering, fluid–structure interactions, structural dynamics, or MDO of an aircraft structure.

Prof. Dr. Zhichun Yang
Prof. Dr. Shun He
Prof. Dr. Yuting Dai
Prof. Dr. Rui Huang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • aeroelasticity
  • fluid–structure interaction
  • unsteady aerodynamics
  • nonlinear dynamics

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 7574 KiB  
Article
Experimental and Numerical Flutter Analysis Using Local Piston Theory with Viscous Correction
by Chenyu Liu, Changchuan Xie, Yang Meng and Liuyue Bai
Aerospace 2023, 10(10), 870; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10100870 - 6 Oct 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1599
Abstract
Due to the maneuver and overload requirements of aircraft, it is inevitable that supersonic fins experience high angles of attack (AOAs) and viscous effects at high altitudes. The local piston theory with viscous correction (VLPT) is introduced and modified to account for the [...] Read more.
Due to the maneuver and overload requirements of aircraft, it is inevitable that supersonic fins experience high angles of attack (AOAs) and viscous effects at high altitudes. The local piston theory with viscous correction (VLPT) is introduced and modified to account for the 3-dimensional effect. With the contribution of the explicit aerodynamic force expression and enhanced surface spline interpolation, a tightly coupled state-space equation of the aeroelastic system is derived, and a flutter analysis scheme of relatively small computational complexity and high precision is established with a mode tracking algorithm. A wind tunnel test conducted on a supersonic fin confirms the validity of our approach. Notably, the VLPT predicts a more accurate flutter boundary than the local piston theory (LPT), particularly regarding the decreasing trend in flutter speed as AOA increases. This is attributed to the VLPT’s ability to provide a richer and more detailed steady flow field. Specifically, as the AOA increases, the spanwise flow evolves into a gradually pronounced spanwise vortex, yielding an additional downwash and energizing the boundary layer, which is not captured by LPT. This indicates that the precision of LPT/VLPT significantly depends on the accuracy of steady flow results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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24 pages, 8221 KiB  
Article
An Aerodynamic Correction Technique for the Unsteady Subsonic Wing–Body Interference Model
by Kun Mao, Wuxing Jing, Meihong Zhang and Huining Zhang
Aerospace 2023, 10(10), 837; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10100837 - 26 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1264
Abstract
This paper investigates a novel correction technique for the unsteady subsonic wing–body interference model. The correction technique considers the unsteady forces on the lifting boxes and the body elements of an idealized aircraft model. The chosen simulation model was a passenger aircraft, and [...] Read more.
This paper investigates a novel correction technique for the unsteady subsonic wing–body interference model. The correction technique considers the unsteady forces on the lifting boxes and the body elements of an idealized aircraft model. The chosen simulation model was a passenger aircraft, and the transonic unsteady aerodynamics in sinusoidal pitch motion at four different frequencies are analyzed. The unsteady aerodynamics of the uncorrected DLM (doublet lattice method), ECFT (enhanced correction factor technique) and the new unsteady wing–body correction method are compared to the unsteady CFD simulation results. The results show that when the frequency is small, the new unsteady wing–body correction method can obtain certain benefits in terms of accuracy, for the lifting boxes and the body elements as well. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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18 pages, 1616 KiB  
Article
Oblique Projection-Based Modal Matching Algorithm for LPV Model Order Reduction of Aeroservoelastic Systems
by Yishu Liu, Wei Gao, Qifu Li and Bei Lu
Aerospace 2023, 10(5), 406; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10050406 - 26 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1506
Abstract
An aeroservoelastic system can be described as a gridding-based linear parameter-varying (LPV) model, whose dynamic characteristics usually vary with the airspeed. Due to the high order of the system, it is necessary to perform order reduction on LPV models to overcome the control [...] Read more.
An aeroservoelastic system can be described as a gridding-based linear parameter-varying (LPV) model, whose dynamic characteristics usually vary with the airspeed. Due to the high order of the system, it is necessary to perform order reduction on LPV models to overcome the control design challenges. However, when directly extending linear time-invariant (LTI) model order reduction technologies to the LPV system, states of the reduced-order LTI models generated separately at different grid points could be inconsistent. In this paper, a novel modal matching algorithm is proposed to solve the problem of state inconsistency by identifying the internal connection between the models at adjacent grid points. An oblique projection-based distance metric is defined to improve the reliability of the modal matching algorithm. The reduced-order LPV model constructed based on this method would have a high fidelity relative to the original model and a smooth interpolation performance between grid points. The proposed algorithm is applied to the X-56A aircraft, and numerical results show its effectiveness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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22 pages, 8204 KiB  
Article
Forced Response Analysis of an Embedded Compressor Rotor Induced by Stator Disturbances and Rotor–Stator Interactions
by Yun Zheng, Qingzhe Gao and Hui Yang
Aerospace 2023, 10(5), 398; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10050398 - 25 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1761
Abstract
Accurate predictions of the blade response in a multi-row compressor is one of the most important tasks within the design process of compressor blades. Some recent studies have shown that the decoupled method considering only the stator disturbances cannot obtain accurate results for [...] Read more.
Accurate predictions of the blade response in a multi-row compressor is one of the most important tasks within the design process of compressor blades. Some recent studies have shown that the decoupled method considering only the stator disturbances cannot obtain accurate results for cases with strong rotor–stator interactions, especially for the interaction between the rotor and downstream stator, and the coupled method with multi-row configurations is necessary. Factors determine what computational domains to model need to be clarified to find a balance between accuracy requirements and computational costs. To this end, this study conducted full-annulus unsteady calculations with decoupled and coupled configurations to investigate the forced response of an embedded compressor rotor induced by upstream and downstream stator disturbances and rotor–stator interactions, respectively. The results show that the upstream IGV disturbances were dominated by the wake, and the IGV and S1 potential fields had little effect on the R1 response. Meanwhile, the IGV–R1 interactions and S1–R1 interactions were dominated by one cut-on mode, respectively. The comparisons of the blade vibration amplitude and the unsteady pressure field calculated by decoupled and coupled methods revealed the mechanism of the forced response, namely, for the R1 response induced by upstream aerodynamic disturbances, the dominant excitation source was the IGV wake, and the blade vibration amplitude can be predicted by the decoupled method. In terms of the response induced by downstream disturbances, the cut-on S1-R1-interaction mode was dominant and the use of the decoupled method without considering its influence will lead to an inaccurate prediction. This study concluded that the formation process of rotor–stator interactions was the key factor that determines whether the decoupled method or coupled method should be used, and analogized a process independent of the downstream stator disturbance. The results can provide a preliminary configuration for accurate and efficient blade response predictions and explain the reason why including downstream stator vanes is very important. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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29 pages, 10873 KiB  
Article
Time-Varying Aeroelastic Modeling and Analysis of a Rapidly Morphing Wing
by Liqi Zhang and Yonghui Zhao
Aerospace 2023, 10(2), 197; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10020197 - 17 Feb 2023
Viewed by 2447
Abstract
Advanced rotational variable-swept missile wings require the ability to rapidly deploy, retract and reach the designated position. Therefore, the establishment of an effective time-varying aeroelastic model of a rotating missile wing is the prerequisite for performing transient response analysis during the rapid morphing [...] Read more.
Advanced rotational variable-swept missile wings require the ability to rapidly deploy, retract and reach the designated position. Therefore, the establishment of an effective time-varying aeroelastic model of a rotating missile wing is the prerequisite for performing transient response analysis during the rapid morphing process. In this paper, the finite element model of the wing at the fixed configuration is combined with the floating frame method to describe the small elastic deformations and large rigid-body displacements of the wing, respectively. Combining the structural dynamic model with the supersonic piston theory, a nonlinear and time-varying aeroelastic model of a missile wing undergoing the rapid morphing process is established. A method for the real-time determination of the time-varying lifting surface during morphing is discussed. Based on the proposed aeroelastic equations of motion, the flutter characteristics of the wing at different sweep angles are obtained. The influences of the actuator spring constant, the damping ratio during the morphing and the post-lock stages, as well as the velocity quadratic term in the aeroelastic equations, on the transient responses of the system are studied. The simulation results show that the flutter characteristics of the wing are greatly influenced by the sweep angle. Moreover, the jumping phenomenon in flutter speed due to the switching of flutter modes is found with the increase of the sweep angle. The morphing simulations demonstrate that the transient aeroelastic responses mainly occur in the post-lock stage, so much more attention needs to be focused on the post-lock vibrations. In addition, under the given simulation parameters, the nonlinear quadratic velocity term has little effect on the transient responses of the system. This study provides an efficient method for predicting the transient aeroelastic responses of a rotational variable swept wing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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17 pages, 5123 KiB  
Article
On the Aeroelasticity of the Active Span and Passive Pitching Polymorphing Wing: Effect of Morphing Rate
by Zawar Haider, Rafic M. Ajaj and Lakmal Seneviratne
Aerospace 2023, 10(1), 57; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10010057 - 5 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1789
Abstract
This paper studies the effect of morphing rate on the aeroelasticity of a polymorphing wing capable of active span extension and passive twist/pitch. A variable domain size finite element model is developed to capture the dynamic effects due to the presence of a [...] Read more.
This paper studies the effect of morphing rate on the aeroelasticity of a polymorphing wing capable of active span extension and passive twist/pitch. A variable domain size finite element model is developed to capture the dynamic effects due to the presence of a variable span in the Euler–Bernoulli beam model, which introduces a structural damping term in the equations of motion. The effect of various morphing rates on the aeroelastic boundaries of the system, namely, flutter velocity and flutter frequency, is examined for a beam undergoing span extension and retraction, from baseline span to 25% span extension and vice versa, respectively. Three points of interest are analyzed: at the start of the span morphing, at the mid-point of morphing, and just before the morphing process ends. The parametric analysis is carried out to determine the effect of varying critical parameters, such as the elastic axis location of the outboard wing section and adjoining spring torsional rigidity on the aeroelastic boundaries of the polymorphing wing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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16 pages, 5899 KiB  
Article
A Modification to the Enhanced Correction Factor Technique for the Subsonic Wing–Body Interference Model
by Kun Mao, Wuxing Jing, Pan Cheng, Xiaoyan Liu, Yuchen Sun and Meihong Zhang
Aerospace 2023, 10(1), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10010040 - 2 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1761
Abstract
In this work, the enhanced correction factor technique (ECFT) is modified for a subsonic wing–body interference model, which can consider the forces on both the lifting boxes and the body elements of an idealized airplane, termed the advanced ECFT method. A passenger aircraft [...] Read more.
In this work, the enhanced correction factor technique (ECFT) is modified for a subsonic wing–body interference model, which can consider the forces on both the lifting boxes and the body elements of an idealized airplane, termed the advanced ECFT method. A passenger aircraft model is chosen as the simulation model, and the longitudinal static aeroelasticity at the transonic situation for two-degree freedom, including the α (angle of attack) degree and ϕ (angle of horizontal tail) degree, is simulated in this paper. The corresponding CFD results are used to correct the aerodynamic influence coefficients (AIC) matrix, which is then simulated by MSC.NASTRAN. The pressure distribution results of different aircraft components received by the advanced ECFT method indicate that it is suitable for the subsonic wing–body interference model. Compared with the uncorrected linear method and the diagonal corrected method, it is generally more consistent with the CFD/CSD coupling method, not only for the lifting boxes, but also for the body elements. In addition, the aerodynamic derivative results also show good agreement with the flight test data, which solidly verifies the advance ECFT method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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