Abstract
A mid-fidelity aerodynamic solver based on the vortex particle method for wake modeling, DUST, is coupled through the partitioned multi-physics coupling library preCICE to a multibody dynamics code, MBDyn, to improve the accuracy of aeroelastic numerical analysis performed on rotary-wing vehicles. In this paper, the coupled tool is firstly validated by solving simple fixed-wing and rotary-wing problems from the open literature. The transient roll maneuver of a complete tiltrotor aircraft is then simulated, to show the capability of the coupled solver to analyze the aeroelasticity of complex rotorcraft configurations. Simulation results show the importance of the accurate representation of rotary wing aerodynamics provided by the vortex particle method for loads evaluation, aeroelastic stability assessment, and analysis of transient maneuvers of aircraft configurations characterized by complex interactional aerodynamics. The limited computational effort required by the mid-fidelity aerodynamic approach represents an effective trade-off in obtaining fast and accurate solutions that can be used for the preliminary design of novel rotary-wing vehicle configurations.
Highlights
The design of complex rotary-wing vehicles, such as tiltrotors, represents a challenge for engineers and scientists
DUST simulations only require surface meshes, as the core of the mid-fidelity aerodynamic code is the vortex particles method (VPM) [31,32], a Lagrangian grid-free approach that is used to model the free vorticity of wakes and that does not require a volume mesh of the flow surrounding the object of investigation
The performance reduction due to the proprotor aerodynamics, confirmed by the comparison of roll rate evolution (φ) presented in Figure 15b, is related to a backward tilting of the rotor induced by the component of reference velocity associated with roll rate in the rotor disk plane
Summary
The design of complex rotary-wing vehicles, such as tiltrotors, represents a challenge for engineers and scientists. Considerable effort was dedicated by several research groups to the development of mid-fidelity aerodynamic solvers based on the use of the vortex particle method (VPM) [31,32] for wake modeling This numerical methodology showed a quite accurate representation of the aerodynamic interactions among several bodies typical of complex rotorcraft configurations and limited computational time with respect to URANS CFD simulations. The coupled simulation of the complete tiltrotor model, representative of the Bell XV-15, was aimed at indicating the role of an accurate reproduction of rotary-wing aerodynamics and aeroelasticity, resulting from VPM and including the effects of the mutual interactions between the components of the complete aircraft, to correctly reproduce the dynamics of a roll maneuver.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
