Prediction of the Model Deformation of a High Speed Transport Aircraft Type Wing by Direct Aeroelastic Simulation

Abstract

The aerodynamic performance, maneuverability and flight stability of aircrafts are highly dependent on the deformation of their wings under aerodynamic loads. The accurate prediction of aeroelastic properties, such as aeroelastic equilibrium configurations under cruise conditions, is therefore crucial in early design stages. Due to increasing computer power and further development of numerical methods, direct numerical aeroelastic simulation, in which the governing equations for the fluid and the structure are solved consistently in time, has become feasible [1, 2]. In the collaborative research center SFB 401 “Flow Modulation and Fluid-Structure Interaction at Airplane Wings” at Aachen University the numerical aeroelastic method SOFIA (SOlid Fluid InterAction) for direct numerical aeroelastic simulation is being progressively developed [4, 5]. According to the coupled field approach, three modules can be identified in SOFIA: flow solver, structural solver and a grid deformation tool, which is necessary since the boundaries of the computational grid for the flow solver always have to coincide with the deforming aerodynamic surface of the structure.