Airplane Wing Research Articles

Enhanced Fatigue Crack Detection in Complex Structure with Large Cutout Using Nonlinear Lamb Wave

The large cutout structure is a key component in the bottom skin of an airplane wing, and is susceptible to developing fatigue cracks under service loads. Early fatigue crack detection is crucial to ensure structural safety and reduce maintenance costs. Nonlinear Lamb wave techniques show significant potential in microcrack monitoring. However, nonlinear components are often relatively weak. In addition, a large cutout structure introduces complex boundary conditions for Lamb wave propagation, making nonlinear Lamb wave monitoring more challenging. This article proposes an integrated data processing method, combining phase inversion with continuous wavelet transform (CWT) to enhance crack detection in complex structures, with phase-velocity desynchronization adopted to suppress the material nonlinearity. Experiments on a large cutout aluminum alloy plate with thickness variations were conducted to validate the proposed method, and the results demonstrated its effectiveness in detecting fatigue cracks. Furthermore, this study found that nonlinear components are more effective than linear components in monitoring closed cracks.

The future of flying: Explore more energy-efficient airplane wings

In recent years, there has been a substantial rise in the popularity of air travel, bringing with it a surge in the consumption of jet fuel, a nonrenewable resource responsible for 2.4% of global carbon emissions. As air travel continues to gain prevalence, the anticipation of a significant increase in carbon emissions and a subsequent surge in jet fuel costs looms large. Maintaining affordability in air travel while mitigating carbon emissions necessitates a focus on maximizing airfoil efficiency. This study investigates how airplane wing design affects the aerodynamic performance of aircraft, with a specific focus on the impact of wing angle of attack, wing length, and winglets. In this research, this study use Computational Fluid Dynamics software to simulate and analyze the aerodynamic forces acting upon an aircraft to deduce its drag and lift coefficients. Employing diverse fluid dynamics formulas, the research calculates the aerodynamic performance of various aircraft airfoil designs, aiming to identify the optimal design. The envisioned optimal configuration is likely to feature an elongated wing, a 20 angle of attack, and suitable winglets stalled, strategically incorporated to enhance overall efficiency in air travel.

Laser cleaning of insect residue without surface alteration

AbstractInsect residues disturb and interrupt the laminar air flow on airplane wings after a while. These residues therefore need to be repeatedly removed. Shockwave‐based laser cleaning of insect residue on stainless steel (1.4544.9) is presented as a possible method to reduce insect residues in a single pass and without influencing the base material, as confocal laser‐scanning microscope images demonstrate.

Vibration mitigation of a model aircraft with high-aspect-ratio wings using two-dimensional nonlinear vibration absorbers

High-aspect-ratio (HAR) airplane wings have higher energy efficiency and present an economical alternative to standard airplane wings. HAR wings have a high span and a high lift-to-drag ratio, allowing the wing to require less thrust during flight. However, due to their length and construction, HAR wings exhibit low-frequency, high-amplitude vibrations in both vertical (yaw axis) and longitudinal (roll axis) directions. To combat these unwanted vibrations, a two-dimensional nonlinear vibration absorber (2D-NVA) is constructed and attached to a model HAR-wing airplane to verify its effectiveness at reducing vibrational motion. The 2D-NVA design, which was presented in a previous study, consists of two low-mass, rigid bodies namely the housing and the impactor. The housing consists of a ring-like rigid body in the shape of an ellipse, while the impactor is a solid cylindrical mass which resides inside the cavity of the housing. The 2D-NVA is designed such that the impactor can contact the inner surface of the housing under both impacts and constrained sliding motion. The present study focuses on the use of the 2D-NVA to mitigate multiple modes of vibration excited by impulsive loading of a model airplane with HAR wings in both vertical and longitudinal directions. The effectiveness of a single 2D-NVA is investigated computationally using a finite element model of the model airplane. These results are verified experimentally and the performance of two 2D-NVAs (one on each wing) is also investigated. The contributions of this work are that: 1) the 2D-NVA alters the global response of the model aircraft by mitigating all relevant modes in both directions simultaneously; 2) a single 2D-NVA is optimal for mitigating motion in the vertical direction, while two active 2D-NVAs are optimal for the longitudinal direction; and 3) the performance of the 2D-NVA is robust to changes in the frequency content of the parent structure.

Research of correlation between aspect ratio and descent rate-Based on paper-plane using experiment

The aspect ratio is important to airplane performance because it affects the aircrafts performance by changing the geometry of the aerofoil, which affects the lift the aerofoil can generate. An experiment of testing 5 planes with different wing aspect ratio has performed in order to figure out the relationship between aspect ratio and descent rate. The experiment is based on small scale model. Before the experiment, analysis based on physics computation show some advantage of small scale model. The wing of the model airplane is made of paper, and the fuselage is made from paperboard. The plane is released at a certain height by a rubber band which allow the plane to glide. Finally, the experiment shows that although the increase in aspect ratio can improve the performance of the plane, the performance will get worst as aspect ratio increases after a critical aspect ratio. Computation of the average descent rate and comparison in gliding distance of different wing aspect ratio obtained by the experiments show the optimal value of AR is 5.1.

Real-Time SHM of composite wing in a wind tunnel test using PCA-Based statistics

Structural health monitoring could prove particularly valuable in the case of composite aerostructures, where traditional inspection methods for critical components face challenges due to limited accessibility. An effective online SHM system can be achieved by employing fiber optic sensors, facilitating the integration of a 'fiber optic nervous system' into the composite structure, enabling the detection, measurement, and communication of a number of critical structural parameters. While the success of such system relies on selecting the right parameters to be monitored and the right sensing technology, it can also greatly benefit from on-board, real-time processing of the rather large amount of streamed data that ends with some data-driven real-time and continuous assessment as to the current state of the structure: Normal/Abnormal (based, of course, upon previously selected criteria). In this work we demonstrate fiber-optic-based structural health monitoring of a healthy/damaged composite airplane wing in a wind tunnel test. Real-time health assessment is based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA). We utilize two PCA-based measures, the Hotelling's T-squared distribution and the Q-statistics, as fault indicators. These statistics have been demonstrated to exhibit high sensitivity to structural anomalies. A PCA model accompanied by these statistics form a decision support tool that offers dependable real-time information regarding the health of the airborne structure, including the reporting of deviations from a prescribed flight envelope. We demonstrate the performance of the method on real-time structural data gathered in a wind tunnel test, performed on a composite wing. Here, a PCA model was built based on the wing in its healthy state under a nominal loading regime. During the test, the system, processing the data collected from 10 FBGs, using a standard PC, successfully identified deviations, such as overload and initial damage.

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Experience and effectiveness of the no-loft linking shape and dimension method using laser optical systems in aircraft production

The object of research is the application of the no-loft linking shapes and dimension method using laser measuring tools to reduce the labor intensity and cycle of mounting work. The study of the accuracy of the geometric parameters of cantilever wing and technological equipment at various stages of production was carried out. The problem is to create a method of using laser optical systems in aircraft production at the stage of mounting of technological equipment to minimize the impact on the accuracy of the dimensions of assembled parts of aggregates. The following results were obtained: the advantages of using the no-loft linking method in the modern production of aviation equipment were analyzed, which makes it possible to reduce the preparation cycle by 2–3 times. A study was conducted on the effective use of the Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) of laser tracker in the manufacture of the cantilever wing (CW) of the AN series airplane at all stages of mounting, as well as on the accuracy inspection of geometric parameters in comparison with the theoretical master geometry (MG). The practical significance of the research is that the proposed method of using laser optical systems during the installation of equipment allows to reduce to a minimum the impact on the accuracy of low rigidity frames. And also, to reduce the equipment deformation due to the mass of the parts of the assembled aggregates and temperature deformations, which allows to ensure a reduction of the mounting error to ±0.1 mm. Also, the application of this technique allows to enter the plane's coordinate system without prior leveling, to mounting and inspection the installation of the wing, fin, stabilizer, engines and landing gear on the fuselage. In general, the application of the no-loft linking shape and dimension method with using laser optical systems in aircraft production allows to reduce the labor intensity and cycle of mounting work up to 10 times.

Research on the aerodynamic causes of airplane wings

As the fastest means of transportation in the globe for people, airplanes are receiving more and more attention in the fields of science and engineering. Experts around the world try to figure out methods of increasing safety for airplanes, while it may elicit an ongoing debate on how to explain wing aerodynamics. This essay delves into the intricate world of wing aerodynamics, first presenting an analysis of forces acting on the airplane which could help provide basic knowledge and serve as background information. Three main theories, Bernoullis equation, Newtons third law, and the Coanda effect are analyzed and compared here to get a relatively accurate explanation. By figuring out how wings work to make a plane uplift in the air, the results help improve the design of traditional airliners and increase their stability.

Research on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of the Relationship between Lift-to-drag Ratio and Wing Shape of Gliders

A glider is a special type of aircraft without a power unit, which relies on the lift of airflow to resist weight. The characteristics of a glider are essential to its flight performance, which includes aspect ratio, sweepback, and taper ratio. Proper design of the wing shape can help achieve good performance, so research on these elements can be helpful. This paper aims to calculate the relationship between the aspect ratio and lift-drag coefficient which affects the performance of gliders. By calculation, this paper found out that high aspect ratio aircraft could generate more lift force and was optimum in designing gliders. Then an experiment with a paper plane was designed to show the impact of aspect ratio on glider performance. Then a paper airplane experiment was designed, and the changes in different aspect ratios were achieved by reshaping the wings of the paper airplane, while flight performance was estimated by the lift drag coefficient and descent angle of the glider. After data collection, calculation and analysis, different flight routes were recorded, and based on this, the lift drag coefficient and descent angle were calculated. The experimental results indicate that aspect ratio is one but not the only factor affecting the flight performance of gliders. Through theoretical analysis and experiments, this study verifies the basic mechanism of the influence of wing shape, especially aspect ratio, on glider flight, providing new ideas for improving glider performance.

Multi-DORGP for fast uncertainty quantification of multi-scale irregular defects in super large-scale fiber-reinforced composite

The presence of randomly distributed irregular defects in fiber-reinforced composites significantly impacts the structural response, yet traditional machine learning schemes often require an extensive number of samples, resulting in time-consuming processes. Therefore, this paper introduces a novel approach, termed the dual order-reduced Gaussian Process emulators (Multi-DORGP), aimed at efficiently quantifying the uncertainty of multi-scale irregular defects in fiber-reinforced composites. This is achieved by accurately characterizing the multi-scale irregular defects through precise geometric representations, utilizing massive discrete nodes and fine meshes to address the limitations of parameterization methods that may overlook shape and size differences of defects. Moreover, we comprehensively quantify uncertainty across micro, meso, and macro scales, considering spatially randomly distributed locations, sizes, and irregular shapes of defects. Notably, the Multi-DORGP scheme is presented to alleviate the computational burden associated with extremely high-dimensional data (e.g., up to 23.3 million variables). In which, we decouple and build the latent spaces for raw data assisted by principal component analysis, and Gaussian Process regression is built and trained by the coefficients between the latent spaces. Through illustrative examples, including a real-life application involving an airplane wing, we validate the proposed scheme's capability to accurately quantify the uncertainty of multi-scale irregular defects in large-scale fiber-reinforced composites using significantly few samples (e.g., 100).

A Soft, Centimeter‐Scaled, Thin‐Cable‐Crawling Robot for Narrow Space Inspection

Cables are critical in engineering structures for load‐bearing, electronic connection, and mechanical transmission. Various cable‐crawling robots (CCRs) have been developed to perform scheduled inspection or convey supplies. Most existing CCRs are often actuated by motors and used in large‐scaled engineering structures. The heavy bodies of these CCRs can cause damage or even casualties once slippage or drop occurs. A small and lightweight CCR that can crawl on thin cables is highly demanded for safety inspection in narrow and confined inner spaces of engineering structures. Herein, a soft CCR (weight, 2.1 g; length, 43 mm) is developed by utilizing multilayered dielectric elastomer actuators. Compared with existing solutions, this CCR achieves crawling on thin cables (diameter: <1 mm) while crawling fastest (horizontal: 0.72 body length per second). The CCR is also capable of transporting objects (horizontal: 3.69 times its own weight; vertical: 0.76 times its own weight), climbing upward on a vertical cable, and locomoting across the water–air interface. The CCR is also demonstrated to crawl on a slack cable and circular/spiral cables. Finally, the soft robot, equipped with an endoscope, demonstrates inspections on a tensegrity structure as well as in an airplane wing model with a preplaced cable.

Thermal transport energy performance on tangent hyperbolic hybrid nanofluids and their implementation in concentrated solar aircraft wings

Abstract The primary heat source from the sunlight is solar energy (SE), which is used in photovoltaic (PV) panels, solar power plates, PV, streetlights, and solar-based hybrid nanocomposites. Currently, research is focused on analyzing and improving the efficiency of SE, particularly for powering aircraft, by combining solar power with nanotechnology advancements. As such, this study focuses on examining concentrated solar power and proposes a method to improve the performance of solar airplanes by employing nanotechnology. Furthermore, the work is based on the investigation of the flow rate, thermal distribution, and entropy generation of the magnetized tangent hyperbolic hybrid nanofluid (HNF) along the interior parabolic solar trough collector of an aircraft wing. This work utilizes similarity variables to simplify the partial derivative model into ordinary differential equations. These equations are then solved using the Galerkin weighted residual approach with the help of MATHEMATICA 11.3 software. From the obtained outcomes, it is reflected that the HNFs have high thermal conductivity than the NF. Intensification of Weissenberg number improves the performance of airplane wings subjected to heat transmission. Therefore, this research contributes to improved thermal management in advanced nanotechnology and solar aircraft.

Investigation on Solid Particle Erosion Performance of Aluminum Alloy Materials for Leading-Edge Slat

This study aims to characterize solid particle erosion behaviors of three different aluminum alloys (AA2024-T351, AA6061-T651, and AA7075-T651) and reveal their erosion performances on leading-edge slat of airplane wings. Solid particle erosion tests were conducted using silicon carbide erodent particles under the conditions of six different impingement angles (20°-90°) and four different impact velocities (70-192 m/s). The erosion simulations of a leading-edge slat of the aforementioned aluminum alloys were numerically simulated at four different rotation angles (0°-15°) for three different impact velocities (130-250 m/s). A commercial ANSYS Fluent software using the Euler-Lagrange equation and an experimental data-based erosion model was used for the erosion simulations. The experimental results showed that the erosion rate increases with increasing impact velocity and the maximum erosion rate is obtained at the impingement angle of 30° which reflects the ductile manner. Of the three aluminum alloys, the AA6061-T651 exhibited the worst erosion behavior followed by the AA2024-T351 sample, whereas the AA7075-T651 had the best erosion resistance. The numerical results indicated that the erosion rate values of slat surfaces made up of three different aluminum alloys showed a slight increase after a slat rotation angle of 5°.

Fuzzy logic system-based force tracking control of robot in highly dynamic environments

PurposeThe study aims to equip robots with the ability to precisely maintain interaction forces, which is crucial for tasks such as polishing in highly dynamic environments with unknown and varying stiffness and geometry, including those found in airplane wings or thin, soft materials. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel adaptive force-tracking admittance control scheme aimed at achieving a faster response rate with higher tracking accuracy for robot force control.Design/methodology/approachIn the proposed method, the traditional admittance model is improved by introducing a pre-proportional-derivative controller to accelerate parameter convergence. Subsequently, the authors design an adaptive law based on fuzzy logic systems (FLS) to compensate for uncertainties in the unknown environment. Stability conditions are established for the proposed method through Lyapunov analysis, which ensures the force tracking accuracy and the stability of the coupled system consisting of the robot and the interaction environment. Furthermore, the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control algorithm are demonstrated by simulation and experiment.FindingsA variety of unstructured simulations and experimental scenarios are designed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in force control. The outcomes demonstrate that this control strategy excels in providing fast response, precise tracking accuracy and robust performance.Practical implicationsIn real-world applications spanning industrial, service and medical fields where accurate force control by robots is essential, the proposed method stands out as both practical and straightforward, delivering consistently satisfactory performance across various scenarios.Originality/valueThis research introduces a novel adaptive force-tracking admittance controller based on FLS and validated through both simulations and experiments. The proposed controller demonstrates exceptional performance in force control within environments characterized by unknown and varying.

Structural Reliability and Optimization Using Differential Geometric Approaches

This study investigates how differential geometry ideas can be used to effectively carry out structural optimization and reliability analysis. Strong mathematical representations and methods for examining intricate surfaces and forms are provided by differential geometry. The basic ideas of differential geometry, such as tensors, manifolds, and curvature, are initially introduced in the work. Then, to account for ambiguities in the geometry, the probability theory in tangent spaces is developed. As a result, structural reliability can be determined using propagating uncertainty. To enable reliability-based design optimization, differential geometry representations are linked with optimization techniques. The proposed differential geometry-based approach is applied in a number of case studies to trusses, airplane wings, car bodies, and ship hulls. The outcomes show a significant increase in productivity and scalability compared to conventional finite element methods. The article offers new tools for dealing with uncertainty.

Femtosecond laser composite manufactured double-bionic micro-nano structure for efficient photothermal anti-icing/deicing.

The solar anti-icing/deicing (SADI) strategy represents an environmentally friendly approach for removing ice efficiently. However, the extensive use of photothermal materials could negatively impact financial performance. Therefore, enhancing light utilization efficiency, especially by optimizing the design of a structure with a low content of photothermal materials, has rapidly become a focal point of research. Drawing inspiration from the antireflective micro-nano structure of compound eyes and the thermal insulating hollow structure of polar bear hair, we proposed a new strategy to design a bionic micro-nano hollow film (MNHF). The MNHF was created using a composite manufacturing process that combines femtosecond laser ablation with template transfer techniques. Both theoretical simulations and empirical tests have confirmed that this structure significantly improves photothermal conversion efficiency and thermal radiation capability. Compared to plane film, the photothermal conversion efficiency of MNHF is increased by 45.85%. Under 1.5 sun, the equilibrium temperature of MNHF can reach 73.8 °C. Moreover, even after 10 icing-deicing cycles, MNHF maintains an ultra-low ice adhesion strength of 1.8 ± 0.3 kPa. Additionally, the exceptional mechanical stability, chemical resistance, and self-cleaning capabilities of the MNHF make its practical application feasible. This innovative structure paves the way for designing cost-effective and robust surfaces for efficient photothermal anti-icing/deicing on airplane wings.

Ұшу аппаратының композиттік материалының беріктігін көтеру

Metals have been widely used as the preferred material for aircraft construction since the 1930s. The base metals used in the aerospace industry range from alloyed and heat-treated aluminum to titanium, magnesium and superalloys, the latter being designed for special use. However, changes in the design of the aircraft, especially with regard to the materials used, began in the 1970s, when composite materials were introduced into commercial aircraft. One of the driving forces behind the increased use of composite materials is their ability to create relatively lightweight components and aerodynamically engineered structures that reduce fuel costs while maintaining high strength and performance. Safety is an mportant factor in aviation and therefore has a decisive influence on the choice of materials. Therefore, when choosing materials for the aircraft structure, it is necessary to take into account design parameters such as weight and strength, as well as safety factors such as failure modes and performance. The aerospace industry shows that when switching to composite materials, it is very important to understand how relatively new materials react to failures and damage. This article uses an example of an airplane wing design to demonstrate the capabilities of modeling composite materials in a SolidWorks environment. The mechanical properties of composite materials used in aircraft and the process of modeling such structures are written in SolidWorks. The purpose of this study is to simulate flow calculations and reliability analysis in SolidWorks Flow Simulation. For each analyzed load type, different values of displacement, voltage and safety factor were obtained for each analyzed load type.

Simultaneous surrogate modeling and dimension reduction using unsupervised learning. Application to parametric wing shape optimization

This paper presents a machine-learning-based approach that enables simultaneous surrogate modeling and dimension reduction and applies it to aerodynamic parametric shape optimization. Aerodynamic shape optimization is a crucial process in various industries, including aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy. It involves iteratively improving the properties of a system by evaluating an objective function and driving its minimization or maximization using an optimization algorithm. However, the evaluation of aerodynamic objective functions requires computationally expensive operations, such as solving complex fluid dynamics equations and calculating performance metrics like lift and drag coefficients. This computational cost becomes particularly burdensome when derivative-free optimization algorithms need to evaluate numerous samples per iteration. Additionally, when the design space dimension is high, the efficiency and effectiveness of the optimization process decrease. To address these challenges, the paper proposes combining surrogate modeling and dimension reduction. Surrogate modeling constructs a reduced order model that approximates the coefficients of interest in a cost-effective manner, while dimension reduction identifies the most relevant design space dimensions using techniques like Proper Orthogonal Decomposition. The paper suggests an integrative approach that employs Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Unsupervised Learning, specifically AutoEncoder networks, to simultaneously build a surrogate model and reduce the problem dimension. This technique is applied to optimize the shape of an airplane wing aerofoil under trans-sonic flight conditions. The wing shape is parameterized using Free Form Deformation (FFD). The paper demonstrates that the suggested approach enables rapid and effective shape optimization.

Study and Validation of an Electrical Anti-Ice Integrated System for Carbon Fiber Leading Edge Airplane Wing Section

Study and Validation of an Electrical Anti-Ice Integrated System for Carbon Fiber Leading Edge Airplane Wing Section