In the design of modern aircraft it is essential to incorporate as much information as possible about unsteady aerodynamic criteria into the conceptual design phase as decisions made here can "lock in" 70percent or more of the life cycle costs. This has led to the need for modeling tools that are both relatively accurate and computationally fast. An area that is critical to optimum design is unsteady transonic aerodynamics, since this can be the condition for the maximum load for the structure. Existing CFD methods are much too complex for conceptual design as they require too much computer resources and simpler methods must be found. One such model is the use of indicial response functions which allow the prediction of any time varying flow for a given wing using only one CFD calculation (the indicial response to a step change in a specied design parameter).
展开▼
