Wind Tunnel Demonstration of Aeroelastic Tailoring Applied to Forward Swept Wings

Abstract

The principle of aeroelastic tailoring with advanced composite materials to increase the divergence speed of a forward swept wing has been demonstrated through low-speed wind tunnel tests. The approach was to perform a low-cost, fairly simple wind tunnel test on a variable sweep cantilever wing model. Available analytical methods were shown to accurately predict the divergence speed of both aluminum and composite plate structures in the subsonic speed range. Methods were evaluated for predicting the onset of divergence using subcritical windtunnel data. Results of the analyses and tests are presented in this report.