AEROELASTIC TAILORING OF AERONAUTICAL COMPOSITE WING STRUCTURES

This paper deals with the aeroelastic tailoring of aeronautical composite wing surfaces. The objective function is structural weight. Multi constraints, such as displacements, flutter speed and gauge requirements, are taken into consideration. Finite element method is used to the static analysis. Natural vibration modes are obtained by the spectral transformation Lanczos method. Subsonic doublet lattice method is used to obtain the unsteady aerodynamics.The critical flutter speed is generated by V-g method.The optimal problem is solved by the feasible direction method.The thickness of the composite wing skin is simulated by bicubic polynomials, whose coefficients combined with the cross-sectional areas or thicknesses of other finite elements are the design variables. The scale of the problem is reduced by variable linkage. Derivative analysis is performed analytically.Two composite wing boxes and a swept-back composite wing are optimized at the end of the paper.

A Layout Optimization Method of Composite Wing Structures Based on Carrying Efficiency Criterion

A two-level layout optimization strategy is proposed in this paper for large-scale composite wing structures. Design requirements are adjusted at the system level according to structural deformation, while the layout is optimized at the subsystem level to satisfy the constraints from system level. The approaching degrees of various failure critical loads in wing panels are employed to gauge the structure’s carrying efficiency. By optimizing the efficiency as an objective, the continuity of the problem could be guaranteed. Stiffened wing panels are modeled by the equivalent orthotropic plates, and the global buckling load is predicted by energy method. The nonlinear effect of stringers’ support elasticity on skin local buckle resistance is investigated and approximated by neural network （NN） surrogate model. These failure predictions are based on analytical solutions, which could effectively save calculation resources. Finally, the integral optimization of a large-scale wing structure is completed as an example. The result fulfills design requirements and shows the feasibility of this method.

Damage assessment of aircraft wing subjected to blast wave with finite element method and artificial neural network tool

Damage assessment of the wing under blast wave is essential to the vulnerability reduction design of aircraft. This paper introduces a critical relative distance prediction method of aircraft wing damage based on the back-propagation artificial neural network(BP-ANN), which is trained by finite element simulation results. Moreover, the finite element method(FEM) for wing blast damage simulation has been validated by ground explosion tests and further used for damage mode determination and damage characteristics analysis. The analysis results indicate that the wing is more likely to be damaged when the root is struck from vertical directions than others for a small charge. With the increase of TNT equivalent charge, the main damage mode of the wing gradually changes from the local skin tearing to overall structural deformation and the overpressure threshold of wing damage decreases rapidly. Compared to the FEM-based damage assessment, the BP-ANN-based method can predict the wing damage under a random blast wave with an average relative error of 4.78%. The proposed method and conclusions can be used as a reference for damage assessment under blast wave and low-vulnerability design of aircraft structures.

基于模型管理框架的机翼结构多目标优化设计(英文)

Evolutionary algorithm is time-consuming because of the large number of evolutions and much times of finite element analysis, when it is used to optimize the wing structure of a certain high altitude long endurance unmanned aviation vehicle（UAV）. In order to improve efficiency it is proposed to construct a model management framework to perform the multi-objective optimization design of wing structure. The sufficient accurate approximation models of objective and constraint functions in the wing structure optimization model are built when using the model management framework, therefore in the evolutionary algorithm a number of finite element analyses can he avoided and the satisfactory multi-objective optimization results of the wing structure of the high altitude long endurance UAV are obtained.

The frequency of wing damage in a migrating butterfly

The ability to fly is crucial for migratory insects.Consequently,the accumulation of damage on the wings over time can affect survival,especially for species that travel long distances.We examined the frequency of irreversible wing damage in the migratory butterfly Vanessa cardui to explore the effect of wing structure on wing damage frequency,as well as the mechanisms that might mitigate wing damage.An exceptionally high migration rate driven by high precipitation levels in their larval habitats in the winter of 2018–2019 provided us with an excellent opportunity to collect data on the frequency of naturally occurring wing damage associated with long-distance flights.Digital images of 135 individuals of V.cardui were collected and analyzed in Germany.The results show that the hindwings experienced a greater frequency of damage than the forewings.Moreover,forewings experienced more severe damage on the lateral margin,whereas hindwings experienced more damage on the trailing margin.The frequency of wing margin damage was higher in the painted lady butterfly than in the migrating monarch butterfly and in the butterfly Pontia occidentalis following artificially induced wing collisions.The results of this study could be used in future comparative studies of patterns of wing damage in butterflies and other insects.Additional studies are needed to clarify whether the strategies for coping with wing damage differ between migratory and nonmigratory species.

Mass and performance optimization of an airplane wing leading edge structure against bird strike using Taguchi-based grey relational analysis

Collisions between birds and aircraft are one of the most dangerous threats to flight safety. In this study, smoothed particles hydrodynamics(SPH) method is used for simulating the bird strike to an airplane wing leading edge structure. In order to verify the model, first, experiment of bird strike to a flat aluminum plate is simulated, and then bird impact on an airplane wing leading edge structure is investigated. After that, considering dimensions of wing internal structural components like ribs, skin and spar as design variables, we try to minimize structural mass and wing skin deformation simultaneously. To do this, bird strike simulations to 18 different wing structures are made based on Taguchi’s L18 factorial design of experiment. Then grey relational analysis is used to minimize structural mass and wing skin deformation due to the bird strike. The analysis of variance(ANOVA) is also applied and it is concluded that the most significant parameter for the performance of wing structure against impact is the skin thickness. Finally, a validation simulation is conducted under the optimal condition to show the improvement of performance of the wing structure.

An experimental study of elastic properties of dragonfly-like flapping wings for use in biomimetic micro air vehicles(BMAVs)

This article studies the elastic properties of several biomimetic micro air vehicle（BMAV）wings that are based on a dragonfly wing.BMAVs are a new class of unmanned micro-sized air vehicles that mimic the flapping wing motion of flying biological organisms（e.g.,insects,birds,and bats）.Three structurally identical wings were fabricated using different materials：acrylonitrile butadiene styrene（ABS）,polylactic acid（PLA）,and acrylic.Simplified wing frame structures were fabricated from these materials and then a nanocomposite film was adhered to them which mimics the membrane of an actual dragonfly.These wings were then attached to an electromagnetic actuator and passively flapped at frequencies of 10-250 Hz.A three-dimensional high frame rate imaging system was used to capture the flapping motions of these wings at a resolution of 320 pixels x 240 pixels and 35000 frames per second.The maximum bending angle,maximum wing tip deflection,maximum wing tip twist angle,and wing tip twist speed of each wing were measured and compared to each other and the actual dragonfly wing.The results show that the ABS wing has considerable flexibility in the chordwise direction,whereas the PLA and acrylic wings show better conformity to an actual dragonfly wing in the spanwise direction.Past studies have shown that the aerodynamic performance of a BMAV flapping wing is enhanced if its chordwise flexibility is increased and its spanwise flexibility is reduced.Therefore,the ABS wing（fabricated using a 3D printer） shows the most promising results for future applications.

Static strength analysis of dragonfly inspired wings for biomimetic micro aerial vehicles

This article examines the suitability of fabricating artificial, dragonfly-like, wing frames from materials that are commonly used in unmanned aircraft （balsa wood, black graphite carbon fiber and red prepreg fiberglass）. Wing frames made with Type 321 stainless steel are also examined for comparison. The purpose of these wings is for future use in biomimetic micro aerial vehicles （BMAV）. BMAV are a new class of unmanned micro-sized aerial vehicles that mimic flying biolog- ical organisms （like flying insects）. Insects, such as dragonflies, possess corrugated and complex vein structures that are difficult to mimic. Simplified dragonfly-like wing frames were fabricated from these materials and then a nano-composite film was adhered to them, which mimics the membrane of an actual dragonfly. Finite element analysis simulations were also performed and compared to experimental results. The results showed good agreement （less than 10% difference for all cases）. Analysis of these results shows that stainless steel is a poor choice for this wing configuration, pri- marily because of the aggressive oxidation observed. Steel, as well as balsa wood, also lacks flexi- bility. In comparison, black graphite carbon fiber and red prepreg fiberglass offer some structural advantages, making them more suitable for consideration in future BMAV applications.

In-plane corrugated cosine honeycomb for 1D morphing skin and its application on variable camber wing

A novel 0-Poisson＇s ratio cosine honeycomb support structure of flexible skin is proposed. Mechanical model of the structure is analyzed with the energy method, finite element method （FEM） and experiments have been performed to validate the theoretical model. The in-plane characteristics of the cosine honeycomb are compared with accordion honeycomb through analytical models and experiments. Finally, the application of the cosine honeycomb on a variable camber wing is studied. Studies show that mechanical model agrees well with results of FEM and experiments. The transverse non-dimensional elastic modulus of the cosine honeycomb increases （decreases） when the wavelength or the wall width increases （decreases）, or when the amplitude decreases （increases）. Compared with accordion honeycomb, the transverse non-dimensional elastic modulus of the cosine honeycomb is smaller, which means the driving force is smaller and the power consumption is less during deformation. In addition, the cosine honeycomb can satisfy the deform- ing requirements of the variable camber wing.

Integrated batteries layout and structural topology optimization for a solar-powered drone

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate an integrated optimization scheme for a solar-powered drone structure.Consider a primary beam in the wing of large aspect ratio,where 100 lithium batteries are assembled.In the proposed integrated optimization,the batteries are considered here as parts of the load-carrying structure.The corresponding mechanical behaviors are simulated in the structural design and described with super-elements.The batteries layout and the structural topology are then introduced as mixed design variables and optimized simultaneously to achieve an accordant load-carrying path.Geometrical nonlinearity is considered due to the large deformation.Different periodic structural configurations are tested in the optimization in order to meet the structural manufacturing and assembly convenience.The optimized designs are rebuilt and tested in different load cases.Maintaining the same structural weight,the global mechanical performances are improved greatly compared with the initial design.