This paper presents a method to model and analyze the coupled nonlinear flight dynamics and aeroelasticity of highly flexible flyingwings. A low-order nonlinear strain-based finite element framework is used, which is capable of capturing the fundamental impact of geometrically nonlinear effects in a computationally effective formulation target for preliminary vehicle design and control evaluati...

Nonlinear aeroelasticity of a flapping wing Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) is analyzed in this paper. The geometrically nonlinear deformations are modeled by a nonlinear strain-based beam formulation, coupled with six rigid-body degrees of freedom of the aircraft. Wing flapping kinematics is described using a set of Euler angles. Two types of unsteady aerodynamic formulations are incorporated for load...

A high-fidelity numerical formulation is presented for the high-speed aeroelastic behavior of slender composite wings. The compressible flow is modeled using the 3-D Euler equations on a deformable mesh, and an asymptotic approximation of the 3-D kinematically-nonlinear equations of elasticity models the anisotropic slender structure. The transfer of the distributed loads and displacements at t...

This paper introduces a methodology for the reliability-based design optimization of systems with nonlinear aeroelastic constraints. The approach is based on the construction of explicit flutter and subcritical limit cycle oscillation boundaries in terms of deterministic and random design variables. The boundaries are constructed using a support vector machine that provides a way to efficiently...

This paper presents a study on the coupled aeroelastic/flight dynamic stability and gust response of a blendedwing-body aircraft that derives from the U.S. Air Force’s High Lift-Over-Drag Active (HiLDA) wing experimental model. An effective method is used to model very flexible blended-wing-body vehicles based on a low-order aeroelastic formulation that is capable of capturing the important str...

The linear analysis of turbomachinery aeroelasticity relies on the assumption of small level of unsteadiness and requires the solution of both the nonlinear steady and the linear unsteady flow equations. The objective of the analysis is to compute a complex flow solution that represents the amplitude and phase of the unsteady flow perturbation for the frequency of unsteadiness of interest. The ...

A brief history of developments in the field of low-speed aeroelasticity is provided in the context of application to long-span bridge structures. The paper begins with summary of some of the significant developments in aeroelasticity for low-speed aeronautical applications in the early 20th century. The role of the pivotal Tacoma Narrows failure and subsequent investigation is introduced. The ...