Dynamic Aeroelastic Response of Aircraft Wings Modeled as Anisotropic Thin-Walled Beams

TLDR

The study examines the dynamic aeroelastic response of aircraft wings modeled as anisotropic composite thin‑walled beams under gust and blast loads in incompressible flow. The analysis uses a structural model incorporating transverse shear, material anisotropy, warping inhibition, and rotary inertia, with an asymmetric stiffness layup to induce elastic couplings, and applies indicial‑function‑based unsteady aerodynamics for small motions. Results show that composite material directionality significantly affects aeroelastic response and that gust and blast load profiles influence the wing behavior, leading to several key conclusions.

Abstract

The dynamic aeroelastic response of aircraft wings modeled as anisotropic composite thin-walled beams in an incompressible flow and exposed to gust and blast loads is examined. The structural model incorporates a number of nonclassical effects, such as transverse shear, material anisotropy, warping inhibition, and rotatory inertia. The circumferentially asymmetric stiffness layup is used to generate preferred elastic couplings, and in this context, the implication of elastic coupling, warping inhibition on the response is investigated. The unsteady incompressible aerodynamics for arbitrary small motion in the time domain is based on the concept of indicial functions. The implication of directionality property of composite material is revealed, the influence of the gust/blast profiles on the response is discussed, and a number of conclusions are outlined.