Reduced order nonlinear aeroelasticity of swept composite wings using compressible indicial unsteady aerodynamics

Nonlinear dynamic aeroelasticity of composite wings in compressible flows is investigated. To provide a reasonable model for the problem, the composite wing is modeled as a thin walled beam (TWB) with circumferentially asymmetric stiffness layup configuration. The structural model considers nonlinear strain displacement relations and a number of non-classical effects, such as transverse shear and warping inhibition. Geometrically nonlinear terms of up to third order are retained in the formulation. Unsteady aerodynamic loads are calculated according to a compressible model, described by indicial function approximations in the time domain. The aeroelastic system of equations is augmented by the differential equations governing the aerodynamics lag states to derive the final explicit form of the coupled fluid-structure equations of motion. The final nonlinear governing aeroelastic system of equations is solved using the eigenvectors of the linear structural equations of motion to approximate the spatial variation of the corresponding degrees of freedom in the Ritz solution method. Direct time integrations of the nonlinear equations of motion representing the full aeroelastic system are conducted using the well-known Runge-Kutta method. A comprehensive insight is provided over the effect of parameters such as the lamination fiber angle and the sweep angle on the stability margins and the limit cycle oscillation behavior of the system. Integration of the interpolation method employed for the evaluation of compressible indicial functions at any Mach number in the subsonic compressible range to the derivation process of the third order nonlinear aeroelastic system of equations based on TWB theory is done for the first time. Results show that flutter speeds obtained by the incompressible unsteady aerodynamics are not conservative and as the backward sweep angle of the wing is increased, post-flutter aeroelastic response of the wing becomes more well-behaved. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.