Flight Loads and Dynamics of Flexible Air Vehicles

Based on the equations of motion of flexible air vehicles includingrigid-body modes and elastic structural modes, and applying influence coefficients of linearaerodynamics, a set of equations are derived and a method is presented for analysis of flight loadsand dynamic characteristics. The problems in the fields of flight mechanics and aeroelasticity suchas static aeroelastic divergence, trim and deformation, aerodynamic loads distribution, flutter andflight dynamics can be solved by the procedure. An airplane with high aspect ratio wings isanalyzed, and the results show that the coupling between rigid -body modes and elastic modes isdistinct and should not be overlooked.

Aeroelastic trim and flight loads analysis of flexible aircraft with large deformations

A method for static aeroelastic trim analysis and flight loads computation of a flexible aircraft with large deformations has been presented in this paper,which considers the geometric nonlinearity of the structure and the nonplanar effects of aerodynamics.A nonplanar vortex lattice method is used to compute the nonplanar aerodynamics.The nonlinear finite element method is introduced to consider the structural geometric nonlinearity.Moreover,the surface spline method is used for structure/aerodynamics coupling.Finally,by combining the equilibrium equations of rigid motions of the deformed aircraft,the nonlinear trim problem of the flexible aircraft is solved by iterative method.For instance,the longitudinal trim analysis of a flexible aircraft with large-aspect-ratio wings is carried out by both the nonlinear method presented and the linear method of MSC Flightloads.Results obtained by these two methods are compared,and it is indicated that the results agree with each other when the deformation is small.However,because the linear method of static aeroelastic analysis does not consider the nonplanar aerodynamic effects or structural geometric nonlinearity,it is not applicable as the deformations increase.Whereas the nonlinear method presented could solve the trim problem accurately,even the deformations are large,which makes the nonlinear method suitable for rapid and efficient analysis in engineering practice.It could be used not only in the preliminary stage but also in the detail stage of aircraft design.

Deep Learning-Based Surrogate Model for Flight Load Analysis

Flight load computations(FLC)are generally expensive and time-consuming.This paper studies deep learning(DL)-based surrogate models of FLC to provide a reliable basis for the strength design of aircraft structures.We mainly analyze the influence of Mach number,overload,angle of attack,elevator deflection,altitude,and other factors on the loads of key monitoring components,based on which input and output variables are set.The data used to train and validate the DL surrogate models are derived using aircraft flight load simulation results based on wind tunnel test data.According to the FLC features,a deep neural network(DNN)and a random forest(RF)are proposed to establish the surrogate models.The DNN meets the FLC accuracy requirement using rich data sources in the FLC;the RF can alleviate overfitting and evaluate the importance of flight parameters.Numerical experiments show that both the DNN-and RF-based surrogate models achieve high accuracy.The input variables importance analysis demonstrates that vertical overload and elevator deflection have a significant influence on the FLC.We believe that synthetic applications of these DL-based surrogate methods show a great promise in the field of FLC.

A method for static aeroelastic analysis based on the high-order panel method and modal method

A method for static aeroelastic analysis based on the high-order panel method and modal method is presented. The static aeroelastic characteristics of flexible wings are investigated using this method. Three-dimensional aerodynamic models of flexible wings are constructed based on the geometry of wing configuration, and the modal method is adopted to achieve the fluid-structure coupling. The static aeroelastic characteristics of the AGARD445.6 wing and a low-aspect-ratio wing are investigated in this study. The influences of elastic structural deformation on aerodynamic forces are studied with an emphasis analyzing the aerodynamic coefficients, wing root loads, structural deformation and pressure distribution of different sections, and results are compared with the results from wind-tunnel tests and the elastic results based on experimental aerodynamic forces. It is concluded that aerodynamic forces can be accurately calculated with the high-order panel method. The method presented in this study is feasible, credible and efficient. Comprehensive static aeroelastic characteristics can be provided by the method for early phases of aircraft design.

Static aeroelastic analysis of a high-aspect-ratio wing based on wind-tunnel experimental aerodynamic forces

The aeroelastic responses of a high-aspect-ratio wing are investigated based on nonlinear experimental aerodynamic forces. The influences of nonlinear experimental aerodynamic forces and dynamic pressures on the wing loads are studied in the longitudinal and lateral maneuver states. The flight loads of the wing fixed at the root are calculated at different angles of attack. The aileron efficiency with respect to the dynamic pressures and aileron deflections are also studied. The results indicate that the flight loads of the wings vary nonlinearly with the angle of attack and dynamic pressure. Due to the high-lift aerofoil, elastic components are a large portion of the wing loads, especially for small angles of attack and high dynamic pressure condi-tions. The aileron efficiency is significantly affected by aileron deflections, dynamic pressures and angles of attack when the nonlinear experimental aerodynamic forces are used for calculation. In states with high dynamic pressures and large aileron deflections, aileron reversal can occur. The aileron deflection and angle of attack have a nonlinear effect on the aileron efficiency. An efficient method for analyzing the flight loads and structural design of high-aspect-ratio wings is derived in this study, and the analysis can provide insight into the distribution of flight loads for high-aspect-ratio wings.

Adaptive Fuzzy Torque Control of Passive Torque Servo Systems Based on Small Gain Theorem and Input-to-state Stability

Passive torque servo system （PTSS） simulates aerodynamic load and exerts the load on actuation system, but PTSS endures position coupling disturbance from active motion of actuation system, and this inherent disturbance is called extra torque. The most important issue for PTSS controller design is how to eliminate the influence of extra torque. Using backstepping technique, adaptive fuzzy torque control （AFTC） algorithm is proposed for PTSS in this paper, which reflects the essential characteristics of PTSS and guarantees transient tracking performance as well as final tracking accuracy. Takagi-Sugeno （T-S） fuzzy logic system is utilized to compensate parametric uncertainties and unstructured uncertainties. The output velocity of actuator identified model is introduced into AFTC aiming to eliminate extra torque. The closed-loop stability is studied using small gain theorem and the control system is proved to be semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded. The proposed AFTC algorithm is applied to an electric load simulator （ELS）, and the comparative experimental results indicate that AFTC controller is effective for PTSS.