Static and dynamic structural deformation measurements in high aspect ratio wings are important for evaluating control-structure interaction issues and the effects of large wing deformations on flight dynamics. Structural deformation measurements collected in flight yield a rich set of experimental data which can be used to validate designs, update computational models and provide greater insight in the design phase of an aircraft. In addition, real-time feedback of the structural state can be used by a flight controller to enable advanced control schemes such as flutter envelope expansion, real-time structural health monitoring and gust load alleviation. The University of Victoria's Centre for Aerospace Research (I'Vic CfAR) has built a 20kg, 3.4m wingspan high aspect ratio, unmanned aerial system demonstrator to explore various methods for measuring aero-elastic interactions in flight. The aircraft is tailored to exhibit coupling between aerodynamic and elastic modes, making it an ideal platform for testing real-time structural deformations. In this work, the flight test demonstrator was used to explore the use of strain pattern analysis calibrated with elastic mode shapes to estimate wing deformation. The procedure is presented and validated against static ground testing experiments. Results for a series of static ground tests show that displacements estimated from strain match closely to reference measurements. Future studies will be directed toward validation of flight test data.
展开▼
