Dynamics of an elastic airplane

Abstract

This paper presents the work performed by the Institute of Aerospace Engineering at the Brno University of Technology. The purpose of the project was to compare the results obtained from classical analytical solutions and a complex numerical simulation of an airplane's aero elastic response. Compared to the analytical solution, which reduces the entire process to a straightforward manipulation with time‐proven graphs and tables, the numerical simulation offers a more complex description of the dynamic processes. A complex simulation, in contrast to the analytical solution providing us with only one estimated parameter, allows monitoring selected quantities in the time domain, thus giving us a tool for a visual qualification of the investigated process. In the past, dynamic aeroelastic properties were estimated utilizing simplified stick beam models. The desire for more complex aero elastic simulations led to the concept of the advanced aero elastic model, coupling advanced 3D structural FEM models with proven aerodynamic theory in the form of the DLM panel method.

First Published Online: 14 Oct 2010

Keyword : computational aero elasticity, gust loading, dynamic response estimation, finite element model, unsteady aerodynamics, advanced modeling techniques