A co-simulation methodology to simulate the nonlinear aeroelastic behavior of a folding-wing concept in different flight configurations

ROCCIA, BRUNO A.; VERSTRAETE, MARCOS L.; PREIDIKMAN, SERGIO; MOOK, DEAN T.

NONLINEAR DYNAMICS

SPRINGER

Año: 2019 vol. 98 p. 907 - 927

0924-090X

A methodology to simulate the unsteady,nonlinear aeroelastic behavior of a folding-wing conceptin multiple flight configurations is presented. Itis based on a partitioned or co-simulation scheme,which divides the dynamical system into interactingaerodynamic and structural models. The aerodynamicmodel that predicts the loads is based on the unsteadyvortex-lattice method. The structural model that predictsthe motion of the folding wing is based on thefinite-element method. The grids in the two modelsare non-matching. Themethod for simultaneously integratingthe combined set of equations is based on thefourth-order predictor-corrector method developed byHamming. The technique for transferring informationbetween the non-matching grids is the radial basis interpolationmethod. This system is partially validated byshowing that the predicted loads here agree very closelywith numerical results based on the Euler equations fora wing with prescribed unsteady twisting and pitching motion and with analytical solutions available in the literature. Finally, a series of numerical simulations related to the aeroelastic behavior of a folding-wingconcept inspired by gull wings provide new insightsinto flutter boundaries as a function of the dihedralangles of the inner and outer wings. The findings inthis paper strongly suggest that the present numericalaeroelastic model will be a valuable computational toolfor further studies of aircraft with morphing wings.