Coupled Nonlinear Aeroelasticity and Flight Dynamics of Highly Flexible Aircraft

Speaker: Weihua Su, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Alabama
August 27, 2014

Presentation

Abstract

High-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) aircraft may be used for various missions, including environmental sensing, telecom relay, and military reconnaissance. These aircraft feature long and slender wings, which may undergo large deformations during normal operating loads, exhibiting geometrically nonlinear behavior. Because of this inherently high flexibility, traditional linear theories do not provide accurate estimations on HALE aircraft aeroelastic characteristics. A methodology that can effectively model and analyze nonlinear aeroelasticity of these very flexible aircraft will be addressed in this talk. The new framework integrates a strain-based geometrically nonlinear beam model, a finite-state unsteady subsonic aerodynamic model, and a 6-DoF rigid-body flight dynamic formulation, which allows for the coupled nonlinear aeroelastic and flight dynamic analysis of highly very flexible aircraft in free flight. With this framework, the coupled effects between the large deflection due to the vehicle flexibility and the flight dynamics, as well as other aeroelastic effects (e.g., flutter instability and gust response) can be properly accounted for. Some unique nonlinear aeroelastic characteristics of very flexible aircraft will be illustrated in this talk.

Biography

Weihua Su is currently an Assistant Professor of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Alabama. He received his B.S. (2000) and M.S. (2002) degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA), China, and his Ph.D. (2008) degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan. He is a senior member of AIAA and a member of the AIAA Structural Dynamics Technical Committee. He is also a member of ASME Aerospace Division Structures and Materials Technical Committee. Dr. Su's research expertise includes structural dynamics, nonlinear aeroelasticity, flight dynamics, and multifunctional adaptive structures.

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