Abstract
In the present work, the aerodynamic shape design of an advanced high-lift system for a natural laminar flow (NLF) wing, based on the combination of a morphing droop nose and a single slot trailing edge flap, is presented. The paper presents both the aerodynamic design and optimization of the NLF wing and the high-lift configuration considering the mutual effects of both flap devices. Concerning the morphing droop nose (DN), after defining the parameterization techniques adopted to describe the geometry in terms of morphing shape and flap settings, the external configuration is obtained by an aerodynamic shape optimization procedure able to meet geometrical constraints and the skin structural requirements due to the morphing. The final performance assessment of the three-dimensional high-lift configurations is performed by high-fidelity aerodynamic analyses. The design procedure is applied to a twin-prop regional aircraft equipped with a natural laminar flow wing. The morphing droop nose is compatible with an NLF wing that requires the continuity of the skin and, at the same time, extends the possibilities to improve the performances of the class of regional aircraft which usually are not equipped with conventional leading edge devices. Additionally, the morphing technology applied to the flap allows the design of a tracking system fully integrated inside the airfoil geometry, leading to a solution without external fairings and so with no extra friction drag penalty for the aircraft.
Highlights
In the field of the innovative high-lift device technologies, the active camber morphing represents an interesting concept, due to its capabilities to improve the aerodynamic performances and to redefine the takeoff and landing maneuvers configurations, offering the possibility to be immediately installed on the existing wing without the need to replace the structural wing box
This paper summarizes the results obtained during this work and is organized in three main parts: the optimization of the natural laminar flow (NLF) wing, followed by the flap system design; the morphing droop nose shape optimization; and the performance assessment at the aircraft level in high-lift configurations by advanced chimera techniques and aerodynamic computations
The initial Green Regional Aircraft wing has been redesigned in order to have an extended natural laminar flow on the upper and lower surfaces in cruise conditions, by an optimization process based on the PARSEC airfoil geometry representation [21]
Summary
In the field of the innovative high-lift device technologies, the active camber morphing represents an interesting concept, due to its capabilities to improve the aerodynamic performances and to redefine the takeoff and landing maneuvers configurations, offering the possibility to be immediately installed on the existing wing without the need to replace the structural wing box. One of the most technologically advanced companies in the field of adaptable shape structures is FlexSys Inc. which developed specific tools for the design of devices based on the compliant structure concept They cover different fields of application, including morphing wing equipped with seamless and hingeless leading and trailing edge devices, without any rigid mechanism [15, 16]. Starting from the studies carried out during the participation to previous EU projects, such as SARISTU and NOVEMOR [17, 18], the optimal morphing droop nose has been designed to be installed on the Green Regional Aircraft, in terms of both external morphing shape and internal compliant mechanism [19, 20] In this manuscript, only the dedicated shape optimization process, adopted for the aerodynamic shape design of the complete high-lift device, is described starting from the “clean” NLF wing geometry. This paper summarizes the results obtained during this work and is organized in three main parts: the optimization of the NLF wing, followed by the flap system design; the morphing droop nose shape optimization; and the performance assessment at the aircraft level in high-lift configurations by advanced chimera techniques and aerodynamic computations
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