A New Multivariate Interpolation Method for Large-scale Spatial Coupling Problems in Aeroelasticity

In this contribution, a new and efficient multivariate interpolation scheme is presented which is designed for large-scale coupling problems in the field of numerical aeroelasticity. The scheme is based upon a local application of radial basis functions (RBFs). The new method is tested in several numerical aeroelastic computations, and compared to a competing, widely used global approach. The interpolation scheme is applied to a typical static aeroelastic problem, the prediction of the equilibrium of a generic elastic civil transport aircraft model in transonic fluid flow. The resulting coupled field problem containing the fluid and the structural state equations is solved by applying a partitioned solution procedure. The structure is represented by finite elements and the related equations are solved using a standard structural analysis code. The transonic fluid flow is described by the three-dimensional Euler equations, solved by an upwind scheme procedure, using the DLR τ -code.