Formulation of a structural model for flutter analysis of low aspect ratio composite aircraft wings

Abstract

The research contributes toward a fully integrated multidisciplinary wing design synthesis by development of an appropriate structural model. The goal is to bridge the gap between highly idealized structural beam / aerodynamic strip models and the very detailed finite element and computational fluid dynamics, FEM/CFD, techniques. The former provides insufficient accuracy for flutter analysis of modern low aspect ratio composite wings. The latter is too computationally intensive for use in the inner loop of a simultaneous multidisciplinary optimization problem. The derived model provides a useful preliminary design tool as well.