Improved Aerodynamic Influence Coefficients for Dynamic Aeroelastic Analyses

Currently at Bombardier Aerospace, aeroelastic analyses are performed using the Doublet Lattice Method (DLM) incorporated in the NASTRAN solver. This method proves to be very reliable and fast in preliminary design stages where wind tunnel experimental results are often not available. Unfortunately, the geometric simplifications and limitations of the DLM, based on the lifting surfaces theory, reduce the ability of this method to give reliable results for all flow conditions, particularly in transonic flow. Therefore, a new method has been developed involving aerodynamic data from high-fidelity CFD codes which solve the Euler or Navier-Stokes equations. These new aerodynamic loads are transmitted to the NASTRAN aeroelastic module through improved aerodynamic influence coefficients (AIC).;The methodology developed in this research creates weighting factors based on steady CFD analyses which have an equivalent reduced frequency of zero. These factors are applied to both the real and imaginary part of the aerodynamic matrices as well as all reduced frequencies used in the PK-Method which solves flutter problems. The modal-based AIC method's evaluation, performed with CFD data calculated by the DLM, is essential to find the natural modes which are most influential on the flutter solutions of the different configurations. Finally, Euler and Navier-Stokes results are used to obtain improved flutter solutions for a subsonic case at Mach 0.7 and dispositions are made to accomplish the same exercise for transonic speeds.;A cantilevered wing model is created from the Global Express structural model and a set of natural modes is calculated for a baseline configuration of the structure. The baseline mode shapes are then combined with an interpolation scheme to deform the 3-D CFD mesh necessary for Euler and Navier-Stokes analyses. An uncoupled approach is preferred to allow aerodynamic information from different CFD codes. Following the steady state CFD analyses, pressure differences ( DeltaCp), calculated between the deformed models and the original geometry, lead to aerodynamic loads which are transferred to the DLM model. A modal-based AIC method is applied to the aerodynamic matrices of NASTRAN based on a least-square approximation to evaluate aerodynamic loads of a different wing configuration which displays similar types of mode shapes.