Development of Nonlinear Aeroelastic/Flight Dynamic Analysis Tools
When people analyze the aeroelasticity of very flexible aircraft, e.g., High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) UAVs, traditional linear methodology does not give the accurate answer. Instead, a nonlinear structural model that accounts for the large deformation is required. As the HALE aircraft feature high-aspect-ratio wings, a nonlinear beam model is usually used. Here is our development with a novel, strain-based geometrically nonlinear beam model, coupled with aerodynamics and flight dynamic equations.
