Continuous-time state-space unsteady aerodynamic modelling for efficient aeroelastic load analysis

Continuous-time state-space unsteady aerodynamic modelling for efficient aeroelastic load analysis

Werter, N.P.M.
De Breuker, R.
Abdalla, M.M.

Aerospace Engineering

Aerospace Structures & Materials

2015-06-28

Over the years, wings have become lighter and more flexible, making them more prone to aeroelastic effects. Thus, aeroelasticity in design becomes more important. In order to determine the response of an aircraft to, for example, a gust, an unsteady aerodynamic model is required to determine the dynamic loads. The three most-commonly used methods in aeroelastic loads analysis are 2D unsteady-airfoil theory, the doublet lattice method (DLM), and the unsteady vortex lattice method (UVLM). In contrast to these existing methods, the current paper proposes a 3D state-space model for unsteady aerodynamic analysis that is both directly written in time-domain, and is a continuous-time model. The main advantages of this are that no approximation errors are made in the conversion to the time domain, and that the time step is only driven by requirements on accuracy. The model is based on potential flow theory, which is implemented by means of vortex ring elements. The model was first verified, and then applied to a pitch-plunge response problem showing the benefits of the current approach over existing methods.

unsteady aerodynamics
state-space
loads

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:2b33ae14-a7c8-482a-abbc-aba05a77920b

IFASD 2015: 16th International Forum on Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 28 June-2 July 2015

Institutional Repository

conference paper

(c) 2015 The Author(s)