Unsteady aerodynamics modeling for flight dynamics application

In view of engineering application, it is practicable to decompose the aerodynamics into three components: the static aerodynamics, the aerodynamic increment due to steady rotations, and the aerodynamic increment due to unsteady separated and vortical flow. The first and the second components can be presented in conventional forms while the third is described using a one-order differential equation and a radial-basis-function (RBF) network. For an aircraft configuration, the mathematical models of 6component aerodynamic coefficients are set up from the wind tunnel test data of pitch, yaw, roll, and coupled yawroll large-amplitude oscillations. The flight dynamics of an aircraft is studied by the bifurcation analysis technique in the case of quasi-steady aerodynamics and unsteady aerodynamics, respectively. The results show that: (1) unsteady aerodynamics has no effect upon the existence of trim points, but affects their stability; (2) unsteady aerodynamics has great effects upon the existence, stability, and amplitudes of periodic solutions; and (3) unsteady aerodynamics changes the stable regions of trim points obviously. Furthermore, the dynamic responses of the aircraft to elevator deflections are inspected It is shown that the unsteady aerodynamics is beneficial to dynamic stability for the present aircraft. Finally, the effects of unsteady aerodynamics on the post-stall maneuverability are analyzed by numerical simulation.     

Effect of multiple engine placement on aeroelastic trim and stability of flying wing aircraft

Effects of multiple engine placement on flutter characteristics of a backswept flying wing resembling the HORTEN IV are investigated using the code NATASHA (Nonlinear Aeroelastic Trim And Stability of HALE Aircraft). Four identical engines with defined mass, inertia, and angular momentum are placed in different locations along the span with different offsets from the elastic axis while fixing the location of the aircraft c.g. The aircraft experiences body freedom flutter along with non-oscillatory instabilities that originate from flight dynamics. Multiple engine placement increases flutter speed particularly when the engines are placed in the outboard portion of the wing (60–70% span), forward of the elastic axis, while the lift to drag ratio is affected negligibly. The behavior of the sub- and supercritical eigenvalues is studied for two cases of engine placement. NATASHA captures a hump body-freedom flutter with low frequency for the clean wing case, which disappears as the engines are placed on the wings. In neither case is there any apparent coalescence between the unstable modes. NATASHA captures other non-oscillatory unstable roots with very small amplitude, apparently originating with flight dynamics. For the clean-wing case, in the absence of aerodynamic and gravitational forces, the regions of minimum kinetic energy density for the first and third bending modes are located around 60% span. For the second mode, this kinetic energy density has local minima around the 20% and 80% span. The regions of minimum kinetic energy of these modes are in agreement with calculations that show a noticeable increase in flutter speed if engines are placed forward of the elastic axis at these regions.     

LIMIT-CYCLE OSCILLATIONS IN HIGH-ASPECT-RATIO WINGS

The paper presents results obtained for limit-cycle oscillations (LCOs) in high-aspect-ratio wings caused by structural and aerodynamic nonlinearities. The analysis is based on geometrically exact structural analysis and finite-state unsteady aerodynamics with stall. The results indicate that stall limits the amplitude of post-flutter unstable oscillations. At speeds below the linear flutter speed, LCOs can be observed if the stable steady state is disturbed by a finite-amplitude disturbance. A critical disturbance magnitude is required at a given speed and a critical speed is required at a given disturbance magnitude to initiate LCOs. The LCO initiation mechanism can be attributed to the change in structural characteristics of the wing with deformation. It is also observed that the LCO gets increasingly complex with increasing speed. Period doubling is observed at low speeds and as the speed increases the oscillations lose periodicity and become chaotic.     

Effect of thrust on the aeroelastic instability of a composite swept wing with two engines in subsonic compressible flow

This paper aims to investigate aeroelastic stability boundary of subsonic wings under the effect of thrust of two engines. The wing structure is modeled as a tapered composite box-beam. Moreover, an indicial function based model is used to calculate the unsteady lift and moment distribution along the wing span in subsonic compressible flow. The two jet engines mounted on the wing are modeled as concentrated masses and the effect of thrust of each engine is applied as a follower force. Using Hamilton's principle along with Galerkin's method, the governing equations of motion are derived, then the obtained equations are solved in frequency domain using the K-method and the aeroelastic instability conditions are determined. The flutter analysis results of four example wings are compared with the experimental and analytical results in the literature and good agreements are achieved which validate the present model. Furthermore, based on several case studies on a reference wing, some attempts are performed to analyze the effect of thrust on the stability margin of the wing and some conclusions are outlined.     

基于传递函数法的带多个外挂机翼颤振分析

基于带外挂机翼结构和气动特点，使用带有半解析半数值特性的传递函数方法进行处理．首先，通过机翼的运动微分方程、二元机翼非定常气动力Therdorson 模型、结合外挂挂载处的内力平衡与位移状态条件，得到了三维的带多个外挂大展弦比机翼的颤振微分方程．进而，使用传递函数方法，先将颤振计算方程整理成为状态空间方程形式，结合求解复特征值的方法，完成了带多个外挂大展弦比机翼的动气动弹性稳定性分析．对比已有文献的计算结果以及通过有限元方法进行的仿真结果，证实了文章所提计算方法的准确性和高效性，结合传递函数方法的优势，进一步将文章方法拓展到机翼的固有频率和发散速度求解．文章结尾，分析了外挂数量、外挂质量、转动惯量及位置分布等变量对带多个外挂大展弦比机翼的动气动弹性稳定性的影响．     

基于流形切空间插值的折叠翼参数化气动弹性建模

变体飞行器的气动弹性力学建模是当前先进飞行器设计的研究热点和难点. 然而传统的气动弹性动力学建模方法对于具有结构参变特性的变体飞行器气动弹性力学研究存在建模效率低、计算复杂等问题. 本研究提出了一种基于流形切空间插值的可折叠式变体机翼参数化气动弹性建模方法. 首先, 该方法建立若干个典型折叠角下的折叠翼结构有限元模型, 通过流形切空间插值方法建立折叠翼参数化结构动力学模型. 其次, 采用偶极子网格法得到参数化非定常气动力模型, 进而建立气动和结构相互耦合的折叠翼参数化气动弹性模型. 为了验证该参数化建模方法在折叠翼气动弹性分析中的准确性, 本文以一小展弦比折叠翼为研究对象, 从折叠翼自由振动时的参变模态特性、颤振边界预测两方面进行了算例验证, 并与直接计算方法进行了对比, 进一步验证了参数化气动弹性模型的有效性. 研究结果表明, 该参数化气动弹性模型对上述两类问题的计算精度与直接计算方法一致, 并且有着计算效率更高的优势.      

Transonic limit cycle oscillation behavior of an aeroelastic airfoil with free-play

The limit cycle oscillation (LCO) behaviors of an aeroelastic airfoil with free-play for different Mach numbers are studied. Euler equations are adopted to obtain the unsteady aerodynamic forces. Aerodynamic and structural describing functions are employed to deal with aerodynamic and structural nonlinearities, respectively. Then the flutter speed and flutter frequency are obtained by V-g method. The LCO solutions for the aeroelastic airfoil obtained by using dynamically linear aerodynamics agree well with those obtained directly by using nonlinear aerodynamics. Subsequently, the dynamically linear aerodynamics is assumed, and results show that the LCOs behave variously in different Mach number ranges. A subcritical bifurcation, consisting of both stable and unstable branches, is firstly observed in subsonic and high subsonic regime. Then in a narrow Mach number range, the unstable LCOs with small amplitudes turn to be stable ones dominated by the single degree of freedom flutter. Meanwhile, these LCOs can persist down to very low flutter speeds. When the Mach number is increased further, the stable branch turns back to be unstable. To address the reason of the stability variation for different Mach numbers at small amplitude LCOs, we find that the Mach number freeze phenomenon provides a physics-based explanation and the phase reversal of the aerodynamic forces will trigger the single degree of freedom flutter in the narrow Mach number range between the low and high Mach numbers of the chimney region. The high Mach number can be predicted by the freeze Mach number, and the low one can be estimated by the Mach number at which the aerodynamic center of the airfoil lies near its elastic axis. Influence of angle of attack and viscous effects on the LCO behavior is also discussed.     

Aircraft T-tail flutter predictions using computational fluid dynamics

The paper presents the application of computational aeroelasticity (CA) methods to the analysis of a T-tail stability in transonic regime. For this flow condition unsteady aerodynamics show a significant dependency from the aircraft equilibrium flight configuration, which rules both the position of shock waves in the flow field and the load distribution on the horizontal tail plane. Both these elements have an influence on the aerodynamic forces, and so on the aeroelastic stability of the system. The numerical procedure proposed allows to investigate flutter stability for a free-flying aircraft, iterating until convergence the following sequence of sub-problems: search for the trimmed condition for the deformable aircraft; linearize the system about the stated equilibrium point; predict the aeroelastic stability boundaries using the inferred linear model. An innovative approach based on sliding meshes allows to represent the changes of the computational fluid domain due to the motion of control surfaces used to trim the aircraft. To highlight the importance of keeping the linear model always aligned to the trim condition, and at the same time the capabilities of the computational fluid dynamics approach, the method is applied to a real aircraft with a T-tail configuration: the P180.     

Unsteady fluid–structure interactions of membrane airfoils at low Reynolds numbers

Membrane wings are used both in nature and small aircraft as lifting surfaces. Separated flows are common at low Reynolds numbers and are the main sources of unsteadiness. Yet, the unsteady aspects of the fluid–structure interactions of membrane airfoils are largely unknown. An experimental study of unsteady aerodynamics of two-dimensional membrane airfoils at low Reynolds numbers has been conducted. Measurements of membrane shape with a high-speed camera were complemented with the simultaneous measurements of unsteady velocity field with a high frame-rate particle image velocimetry system and flow visualization. Vibrations of the membrane and mode shapes were investigated as a function of angle of attack and free stream velocity. While the mean membrane shape is not very sensitive to angle of attack, the amplitude and mode of the vibrations of the membrane depend on the relative location and the magnitude of the unsteadiness of the separated shear layer. The results indicate strong coupling of unsteady flow with the membrane oscillations. There is evidence of coupling of membrane oscillations with the vortex shedding in the wake, in particular, for the post-stall incidences. Comparison of rigid (but cambered) and flexible membrane airfoils shows that the flexibility might delay the stall. Hence this is a potential passive flow control method using flexibility in nature and engineering applications.     

微型飞行器低雷诺数空气动力学

微型飞行器(MAVs)设计绝不是常规飞行器在尺度上的简单缩小,面临许多技术难题.其中微型飞行器低雷诺数空气动力学是其最为根本的技术瓶颈之一,也是当前受到广泛关注的热点之一.本文紧密结合微型飞行器技术,对这一领域中所面临的低雷诺数空气动力学问题和近两年来该方向国内一些新的进展进行了较为详细的介绍.按照MAVs飞行方式和结构特性进行分类,简单介绍微型飞行器研究中的低$Re$数空气动力学问题.首先介绍了二维和三维固定翼低雷诺数空气动力学问题:包括层流分离泡,翼型升力系数小攻角非线性效应,静态迟滞效应,以及低$Re$数小展弦比机翼气动特性.第2,介绍了拍动翼低雷诺数空气动力学方面的研究工作.包括前人提出的昆虫低$Re$数下获得高升力的多种非定常拍动翼飞行机制:Wagner效应、Weis-Fogh效应(clap-and-fling)、延迟失速效应(delayedstall)、Kramer效应(rotational forces)、尾迹捕获效应(wakecapture)、附加质量效应(addedmass)等.以及国内学者近几年在拍动翼方面取得的一些研究成果.第3,介绍了柔性翼低雷诺数气动问题.研究表明柔性翼对于固定翼微型飞行器提高抗阵风能力,拍动翼微型飞行器产生足够的升力和推力.最后简单介绍了可变形翼(morphingwing)微型飞行器方面的一些研究工作,指出微型飞行器技术可以通过采用可变形翼设计,突破众多的技术瓶颈.另一方面,可变形翼概念可以通过在低成本,低速的MAVs上进行飞行试验,获得非常好的验证平台.      

飞行器非线性气动伺服弹性力学

现代飞行器日益呈现结构轻质化、控制系统宽通带和高权限的发展趋势. 因此, 非定常气动力、柔性结构和主动控制系统三者间的耦合力学成为重要的研究领域. 自20世纪80年代起, 航空界开始关注受控飞行器的气动弹性稳定性以及主动控制问题, 但对气动/结构的非线性效应、控制回路时滞对受控飞行器动力学行为的影响规律研究尚不充分. 研究这些影响规律不仅涉及非线性、高维数、多变参数和时滞效应等难题, 而且必须面对空气动力、飞行器结构、驱动机构、控制系统之间的强耦合问题. 其中的前沿难题是: 发展非线性气动伺服弹性动力学建模理论, 揭示上述因素诱发受控气动弹性振动的动力学机理, 开展气动伺服弹性控制风洞实验. 本文针对非线性气动伺服弹性力学所涉及的非线性非定常气动力建模、非线性结构动力学、气动伺服弹性控制律设计、气动伺服弹性实验, 总结相关研究现状和最新进展, 特别是近年来作者学术团队的研究成果, 并对进一步研究给出若干建议.      

LIMIT CYCLE FLUTTER CHARACTERISTICS RELATED TO CONTROL SURFACE OF LARGE AIRCRAFT1)

操纵面间隙会引起结构非线性,容易诱发极限环颤振。根据设计需要,考虑操纵面中心间隙的影响,采用最小状态拟合技术对频域非定常 气动力进行有理函数拟合,采用分段函数描述间隙引起的非线性刚度,研究操纵面在间隙作用下的极限环颤振响应的行为特点。结果表明,由于 中心间隙的影响,系统会在低于线性颤振速度时就产生极限环振荡,同时,振荡幅值随飞行速度或中心间隙的增大而增大。     

Limit Cycle Oscillations of a Wing Section with a Tip Mass

This paper presents an investigation into the limit cycleoscillation phenomenon for a nonlinear aeroelasticsystem under unsteady aerodynamics. The system consists of a sweptbackwing section carrying a tip mass with one degree of freedom. Thejunction stiffness considered between the wing and the tip mass istrilinear. The method of harmonic balance, which can be very practicalin the study of nonlinear flutter, is used for the theoretical analysisof limit cycle oscillations. Stable, unstable and semi-stable limitcycles are predicted in the system for both cases of hardening andsoftening springs. Results found by numerical simulation provide theamplitudes of limit cycles. The experimental results in wind tunneltests agree well with the predictions obtained both theoretically andnumerically.     

Nonlinear aeroelasticity of high-aspect-ratio wings excited by time-dependent thrust

Effects of engine placement on flutter characteristics of a very flexible high-aspect-ratio wing are investigated using the code NATASHA (Nonlinear Aeroelastic Trim And Stability of HALE Aircraft). Gravity for this class of wings plays an important role in flutter characteristics. In the absence of aerodynamic and gravitational forces and without an engine, the kinetic energy of the first two modes are calculated. Maximum and minimum flutter speed locations coincide with the area of minimum and maximum kinetic energy of the second bending and torsion modes. Time-dependent dynamic behavior of a turboshaft engine (JetCat SP5) is simulated with a transient engine model and the nonlinear aeroelastic response of the wing to the engine’s time-dependent thrust and dynamic excitation is presented. Below the flutter speed, at the wing tip and behind the elastic axis, the impulse engine excitation leads to a stable limit cycle oscillation; and for the ramp kind of excitation, beyond the flutter speed, at 75 % span, behind the elastic axis, it produces chaotic oscillation in the wing. Both the excitations above the flutter speed are stabilized, inboard of the wing.     

前后双扑翼水平距离及相位差对其气动性能的影响

通过在动态网格上求解Navier-Stokes方程,对前后双扑翼的非定常粘性流场进行了数值模拟和气动干扰分析,考察了前后翼不同水平距离和不同相位差对其气动力和气动效率的影响。结果表明,扑动前翼和静止后翼间的气动干扰在各种不同水平距离下都有利于气动特性的改善,但气动干扰的作用随着前后翼水平距离的增大而减弱;前后双翼扑动的相位差是影响气动性能的重要参数,两翼间的气动干扰是否有利则与相位差和水平距离有直接联系。     

Aeroelastic instability of a composite wing with a powered-engine

In this paper the aeroelastic instability of a wing, modeled as an orthotropic composite beam with a concentrated mass subjected to the engine thrust, is investigated in an incompressible flow. The wing is modeled using classical beam theory. Wagner function is used to model the unsteady aerodynamic loads, while the engine thrust is modeled as a follower force and a concentrated mass is used to model the engine mass. The numerical results of the developed generic and simple model are compared with published results, and an excellent agreement is observed. The fiber orientation, engine thrust, mass magnitude and its location are reported to have had significant effects on the aeroelastic instability boundaries.     

A theoretical and experimental investigation of the effects of a steady angle of attack on the nonlinear flutter of a delta wing plate model

Limit cycle oscillations (LCO) of wings on certain modern high performance aircraft have been observed in flight and in wind tunnel experiments. Whether the physical mechanism that gives rise to this behavior is a fluid or structural nonlinearity or both is still uncertain. It has been shown that an aeroelastic theoretical model with only a structural nonlinearity can predict accurately the limit cycle behavior at low subsonic flow for a plate-like wing at zero angle of attack. Changes in the limit cycle and flutter behavior as the angle of attack is varied have also been observed in flight. It has been suggested that this sensitivity to angle of attack is due to a fluid nonlinearity. In this investigation, we study the flutter and limit cycle behavior of a wing in low subsonic flow at small steady angles of attack. Experimental results are compared to those predicted using an aeroelastic theoretical model with only a structural nonlinearity. Results from both experiment and theory show a change in flutter speed as the steady angle of attack is varied. Also the LCO magnitude increased at a given velocity as the angle of attack was increased for both the experiment and theory. While not proving that the observed sensitivity to angle of attack of LCO in aircraft is due to a structural nonlinearity, the results do show that a change in the aeroelastic behavior at angles of attack can be caused by a structural nonlinearity as well as a fluid nonlinearity. In this paper, only structural nonlinearities are considered, but an extension to include aerodynamic nonlinearities would be very worthwhile.     

基于气动力降阶模型的跨音速气动弹性稳定性分析

基于离散型输入输出差分模型,运用非定常CFD方法训练信号,然后运用最小二乘方法进行参数辨识,得到降阶的非定常气动力模型,再将该离散差分模型转换为连续时间域内的状态方程。耦合气动状态方程和结构状态方程,得到耦合系统的气动弹性状态方程。求解不同动压下状态矩阵的特征值,根据根轨迹图分析系统的稳定性特性。分析结果与直接耦合CFD/CSD方法结果相吻合,可以计算跨音速非线性气动弹性问题。其计算效率比直接耦合CFD/CSD方法提高1~2个数量级。针对Isogai wing在跨音速出现的S型颤振边界进行了较为细致的分析,阐述了该现象是由于系统诱发颤振的分支随着速度(来流动压)的提高而发生转移所导致的。     

基于当地流活塞理论的气动弹性计算方法研究

发展了一种高效、高精度的超音速、高超音速非定常气动力计算 方法------基于定常CFD技术的当地流活塞理论. 运用当地流活塞理论计算非定常 气动力，耦合结构运动方程，实现超音速、高超音速气动弹性的时域模拟. 运用这 种方法计算了一系列非定常气动力算例和颤振算例，并和原始活塞理论、非定 常Euler方程结果作了比较. 由于局部地使用活塞理论假设，这种方法大大地克服 了原始活塞理论对飞行马赫数、翼型厚度和飞行迎角的 限制. 与非定常Euler方程方法相比，当地流活塞理论的效率很高.