Static aeroelastic tailoring for oblique wing lateral trim

Abstract

Due to its asymmetrical configuration, an oblique wing aircraft may exhibit a roll-trim imbalance. To correct this imbalance, control surfaces, such as ailerons, might be deflected or built-in twists might be added. This paper explores an alternative method of achieving oblique wing roll trim. This is the concept of applying composite tailoring to the oblique wing for lateral trim. The practical use of this concept to trim an oblique wing is demonstrated through analysis of a realistic wing by a static aeroelastic computational procedure. The computational method includes the full-potential transonic aerodynamic code FLO22 and a Ritz structural plate program that is used to model the stiffness created by symmetrical, but unbalanced, advanced composite wing skins. Analysis results indicate that asymmetric composite tailoring reduces the aileron deflection needed for roll equilibrium of the oblique wing. Furthermore, the use of aeroelastic tailoring for lateral trim can reduce control surface hinge moments and drag, resulting in performance benefits when compared to an untailored wing. At the same time, however, wing-skin stresses are greater when tailoring is used, leading to potential design tradeoffs. As such, an integrated design approach would be required to evaluate the true impact of aeroelastic tailoring on the overall performance of an oblique wing.