Aeroelastic stability of folding tiltrotor aircraft in cruise flight with composite wings

Jason C. Slaby, Edward C. Smith

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The presence of a folded rotor pylon on the end of the wing for a stop/fold rotorcraft has an effect on the structural response at high speed cruise. A forward swept wing would be required for the stopping and folding process as well as the high speed flight. Divergence velocity of a forward swept wing can be greatly decreased in a standard metallic isotropic wing structure because the bending will cause the angle of attack to increase and cause a feedback of bending and twisting. The addition of the rotor pylon influenced the lift and drag to the wingtip depending on the shape and placement of the pylon. The shape of the pylon on the wing tip was found to have a greater influence on the divergence velocity, than the location of the pylon relative to the wing. Changing the shape of the pylon decreased the divergence velocity by over 15% while changing the location of the pylon only affected the divergence by 4%. The addition of the pylon drag on the deflecting wing caused a torque that had the largest influence on the divergence velocity from the pylon. Depending on the sweep of the wing the drag force reduced the divergence velocity from 25%-60%. Composite tailoring was used to lessen the loss by inducing a bending-torsion coupling in the opposite direction by stiffening the structure off axis. The main concern of the composite tailoring was to maintain the bending and torsional stiffness on the wing. When composite tailoring was included, while maintaining the effective stiffnesses, the divergence velocity was maintained at a value greater than the loss from the lift or drag caused by the pylon.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication52nd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference
DOIs
StatePublished - 2011
Event52nd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference - Denver, CO, United States
Duration: Apr 4 2011Apr 7 2011

Publication series

NameCollection of Technical Papers - AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference
ISSN (Print)0273-4508

Other

Other52nd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityDenver, CO
Period4/4/114/7/11

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Architecture
  • General Materials Science
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

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