A Non-Intrusive Nonlinear Aeroelastic Extension of Loads Packages with Application to Long Range Transport Aircraft Configuration

Abstract

A new method for constructing geometrically-nonlinear aeroelastic systems from standard linear models is applied to an industry-level aircraft configuration. The new approach seamlessly integrates with current aeroelastic load packages performing linear analysis based on generic finite-element models (FEMs) and aerodynamic influence coefficient matrices (AICs). We generalize the methodology to incorporate control inputs, find the trimmed aircraft state, or generate gusts disturbances, which can be employed separately or combined to obtain a simplified flight dynamics model for load analysis. An initial study of the aeroelastic response of a long range aircraft is presented. Linear and nonlinear results are introduced in static and dynamic computations of manoeuvres, trim, and gust disturbances. These are compared to commercial software calculations, showing the need for geometrically nonlinear analysis in the production environment of airplanes with ultra high aspect ratio wings.