Structural and aeroelastic analyses of a wing with tip rotor

Abstract

Based on parametric studies, this paper studies the structural and aerodynamic properties of a typical wing-rotor system by considering additional coupling effects from the tip rotor. The governing equations are established by virtue of Yamanaka’s theory and Hamilton’s principle in an Euler–Bernoulli precision. In the derivation process, complex mode theory and the Rayleigh–Ritz approach are employed to obtain the analytical solution and the numerical solution, respectively, and a set of trial functions are generated for the sake of reliability. Two aeroelastic models are generated via steady and unsteady aerodynamic models to investigate the divergence and flutter performance, respectively, where the computational p-k method is adopted because of the gyros matrix. In case studies, the effectiveness of the numerical solution is validated through comparative analysis; thereafter, the aeroelastic solutions are further verified. The results demonstrate that the gyro effect and the thrust effect have significant influences on the fundamental structural and aeroelastic performances, and parametric designs have great potential to postpone aeroelastic instabilities.