Aeroelastic Tailoring of a Transport Wing with DistributedControl Surfaces for Improved Flight Operating Cost

摘要

This paper describes a rapid approach to evaluate transonic loads of an aeroservoelastic transport wing at reducedcomputational cost. The proposed approach is called 2.5D method since it mainly uses 2D CFD techniques that areextrapolated for the full 3D wing outer shape. The wing is divided into several sections along the span that are analysedin SU2 CFD solver using a Euler method to accurately capture the 2D pressure distribution in the transonic speedregime. Using semi-empirical relations, such as the sweep law for finite wings, it is then possible to derive the pressuredistribution field of the complete wing surface. The higher fidelity pressure distribution of the aeroservoelastic wingis further tightly coupled with NASTRAN static aeroelastic solution and applied to an aerostructural optimisation problem for fuel burn minimisation. Improved aerostructural efficiency is achieved through full-span trailing-edge control surfaces used mainly as mechanisms for minimum drag dissipation and manoeuvre load alleviation. The design variables include thicknesses variations, jig-twist shape and distributed control surface deflections across different segments of a nominal “cruise-climb” mission. The metallic wingbox is subjected to strains, stresses and buckling constraints of a symmetric 2.5g pull-up manoeuvre. Results are validated against 3D full CFD Euler solutions for the NASA Common Research Model. It is shown that the aeroservoelastically tailored design allows for significant weight and moderate drag reductions when compared to traditional aircraft configurations.