A numerical study of aircraft empennage buffet

A method to predict tightly-coupled dynamic aeroelastic vertical tail buffet was presented. Analysis of high angle of attack vertical tail buffet was performed. A Navier-Stokes fluid dynamics method was coupled with a modal structural dynamics method. The approach was to improve upon existing methods to evaluate complex geometric arrangements with general multi-zone interfacing. The method was demonstrated through a step-wise approach beginning with a simple configuration and building up to a complete aircraft at high angle of attack with flexible tail surfaces. Results compared well with in-flight and Full-scale wind tunnel measured trends and frequency content. Comparisons with measured absolute values of buffet loads showed the computations to be under-predicting the test data. This was primarily attributed to insufficient grid resolution, in particular in the vicinity of the main vortex flow. The demanding computational requirements of full-configuration tail buffet prediction limited the fidelity.; The primary contribution of the present study was the extension and demonstration of a tightly-coupled aeroelastic computational fluid dynamics/structural dynamics based analysis method for analysis of aircraft empennage buffet. The focus was on improving the development process associated with characterizing empennage buffet loads and the resulting structural response. The intent was to establish a computationally based alternative approach to the experimentally based process currently employed. The computational method was employed to provide far greater insight into the flow physics phenomena associated with specific configurations and conditions of interest.