Investigation of the effect of various composite architectures on the aeroelastic behavior of an aircraft wing

Abstract

This study presents a numerical investigation of the aeroelastic behavior of a composite aircraft wing. The primary objective is to evaluate the influence of fiber orientation and stacking sequence on aeroelastic instabilities, namely flutter and divergence, and to elucidate the role of structural stiffness in these phenomena. Fifteen wing configurations with distinct laminate layups were analyzed through combined structural and aerodynamic simulations. The mechanical response of each configuration was characterized by calculating the fundamental stiffness matrices—[A] extensional stiffness, [B] coupling stiffness, and [D] bending stiffness—from which the effective bending stiffness (EI) and torsional stiffness (GJ) were derived. The results reveal that ±45° laminates enhance flutter speed, whereas 45°/90° laminates increase divergence speed. These findings underscore the potential of laminate tailoring to enable the early prediction of critical aeroelastic boundaries in composite aircraft design, thereby facilitating structural optimization and improving both the efficiency and robustness of the design process.

Keywords

• Aeroelastic Tailoring
• Aeroelastic Stability
• Composite Materials
• Flutter Velocity

Farklı kompozit mimarilerin uçak kanadının aeroelastik davranışı üzerindeki etkisinin incelenmesi

Öz

Bu çalışmada, kompozit malzemeden imal edilen bir uçak kanadının aeroelastik davranışı sayısal yöntemlerle analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmanın amacı, fiber yönelimi ve katman dizilimlerinin çırpınma (flutter) ve sapma (diverjans) gibi aeroelastik kararsızlıklar üzerindeki etkisini değerlendirmek ve yapısal rijitliğin aeroelastisitedeki rolünü incelemektir. Bu kapsamda, on beş farklı katman diziliminden oluşan kanat yüzeyi mimarileri için yapısal ve aerodinamik analizler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Kompozit katman dizilimlerine göre yapının mekanik davranışını ifade eden üç temel rijitlik matrisi [A] Uzama-kısalma rijitlik matrisi, [B] Bağlantı rijitlik matrisi ve [D] Eğilme rijitlik matrisi hesaplanarak EI eğilme rijitliği ve GJ burulma rijitlik değerleri türetilmiştir. Elde edilen parametreler kullanılarak yapılan sayısal analizler sonucunda, ±45° dizilim çırpınma hızını artırdığı, 45°/90° dizilimin ise sapma hızını yükselttiği tespit edilmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular, kompozit hava aracı tasarımlarında kritik aeroelastik sınırların erken safhada öngörülmesine olanak sağlayarak yapı optimizasyonunu kolaylaştıracak, böylece tasarım sürecini hızlı ve verimli bir hale getirecektir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Aeroelastik Uyarlama
• Aeroelastik Kararlılık
• Kompozit Malzemeler
• Çırpınma Hızı

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