Aeroelastic analysis of swept pre-twisted wings

Abstract

In this paper, aeroelastic modeling of aircraft wings with variations in sweep angle, taper ratio, and variable pre-twist angle along the span is considered. The wing structure is modeled as a classical beam with torsion and bending flexibility. The governing equations are derived based on Hamilton’s principle. Moreover, Peters’ finite state aerodynamic model which is modified to take into account the effects of the wing finite-span, the wing sweep angle, and the wing pre-twist angle, is used to simulate the aerodynamic loads on the wing. The coupled partially differential equations are discretized to a set of ordinary differential equations using Galerkin’s approach. By solving these equations the aeroelastic instability conditions are derived. The results are compared with some experimental and analytical results of previous published papers and good agreement is attained. Effects of the wing sweep angle, taper ratio, bending to torsional rigidity, and pre-twist angle on the flutter boundary in several cases are studied. Results show that these geometrical and physical parameters have considerable effects on the wing flutter boundary.