Variable Stiffness Concept For Efficient Aircraft Vertical Tail Design

摘要

This report results from a contract tasking University of Manchester as follows: The contractor will investigate using a variable stiffness vertical tail attachment to control aeroelastic performance over a range of dynamic pressures. The contractor will (1) Develop an adaptive stiffness attachment for vertical tail aircraft; (2) Develop an analytical model of the attachment and predict aeroelastic performance; (3) Design build and test a vertical tail model with and without a rudder to demonstrate the concept and validate the theoretical predictions; and (4) Conduct wind tunnel testing at sub and supersonic Mach Numbers; and (5) Consider the extension of the design for full- size aircraft and to quantify the benefits.