Purpose -Computational efficiency is always the major concern in aircraft design. The purpose of this paper is to investigate an efficient aeroelasticity optimization design method. Analysis of composite wing elastic axis is presented in the current study and its application on aeroelasticity optimization design is discussed. Design/methodology/approach -Elastic axis consists of stiffness centers. The stiffness centers of eight cross sections are analyzed and the wing elastic axis is obtained through least-squares procedure. In the analysis of the cross section stiffness center, the wing model is approximated by assuming the wing cross section as a thin walled structure with a single cell closed section and assuming the composite material to be a 3D anisotropic material. In aeroelasticity optimization design, objective functions are taken to be the wing weight and elastic axis position. Design variables are the thickness and area of wing components. Findings -After aeroelasticity optimization design, the wing weight decreases while the divergent velocity increases. Meanwhile, it can achieve an expected result but costs much less computational time than the conventional method. Practical implications -The results can be used for aircraft design or as an initial value for the next detailed optimization design. Originality/value -The computational time can be dramatically reduced through the aeroelasticity optimization design based on the elastic axis. It is suitable for engineering applications.
The complex aeroelastic equation of an aircraft wing with freeplay nonlinearity was built and applied for aeroelastic response analysis. This took into account multiple lumped mass points and directions of the control surface using the Roger rational function approximation. The aerodynamic analysis was based on the subsonic doublet lattice method and the external program of time history analysis method was employed. The aeroelastic response results show that amplitudes of generalized displacement considering the freeplay effect is decreased compared with those not considering the freeplay effect, and influenced by freeplay stiffness coefficients. Constant and variable step length calculations of the fourth order Runge-Kutta method can influence the results and efficiency.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.