Nonlinear Aeroelastic Analysis for Highly Flexible Flapping Wing in Hover

Aeromechanics of highly flexible flapping wings is a complex nonlinear fluid–structure interaction problem and, therefore, cannot be analyzed using conventional linear aeroelasticity methods. This paper presents a standalone coupled aeroelastic framework for highly flexible flapping wings in hover for micro air vehicle (MAV) applications. The MAV-scale flapping wing structure is modeled using fully nonlinear beam and shell finite elements. A potential-flow-based unsteady aerodynamic model is then coupled with the structural model to generate the coupled aeroelastic framework. Both the structural and aerodynamic models are validated independently before coupling. Instantaneous lift force and wing deflection predictions from the coupled aeroelastic simulations are compared with the force and deflection measurements (using digital image correlation) obtained from in-house flapping wing experiments at both moderate (13 Hz) and high (20 Hz) flapping frequencies. Coupled trim analysis is then performed by simultaneously solving wing response equations and vehicle trim equations until trim controls, wing elastic response, inflow and circulation converge all together. The dependence of control inputs on weight and center of gravity (cg) location of the vehicle is studied for the hovering flight case.

Investigating the Level of Fidelity of an Actuator Line Model in Predicting Loads and Deflections of Rotating Blades under Uniform Free-Stream Flow

In this paper, the accuracy of an in-house Actuator Line (AL) model is tested on aeroelastic simulations of a Wind Turbine (WT) rotor and a helicopter Main Rotor (MR) under uniform free-stream flow. For the scope of aeroelastic analyses, the AL model is coupled with an in-house multibody dynamics code in which the blades are modeled as beams. The advantage from the introduction of CFD analysis in rotorcraft aeroelasticity is related to its capability to account in detail for the interaction of the rotor wake with the boundary layer developed on the surrounding bodies. This has proven to be of great importance in order to accurately estimate the aerodynamic forces and thus the corresponding structural loads and deflections of the blades. In wind turbine applications, a good example of the above is the rotor/ground interaction. In helicopter configurations, the interaction of MR with the ground or the fuselage and the interaction of tail rotor with the duct in fenestron configurations are typical examples. Furthermore, CFD aerodynamic analysis is an obvious modeling option in which the above mentioned asset can be combined with the consideration of the mutual interaction of the rotor with the ambient turbulence. A WT rotor operating inside the atmospheric boundary layer under turbulent free-stream flow is such a case. In the paper, AL results are compared against Blade Element Momentum (BEM) and Lifting Line (LL) model results in the case of the WT, whereas LL and measured data are considered in the helicopter cases. Blade loads and deflections are mainly compared as azimuthal variations. In the helicopter MR cases, where comparison is made against experimental data, harmonic analysis of structural loads is shown as well. Overall, AL proves to be as reliable as LL in the canonical cases addressed in this paper in terms of loads and deflections predictions. Therefore, it can be trusted in more complex flow conditions where viscous effects are pronounced.

Aeroelastic simulations of a delta wing with a Chimera approach for deflected control surfaces

A numerical tool for the computation of aircraft control surface aerodynamics with flexibility effects is presented. The solution is based on coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM) simulations embedded in the multidisciplinary simulation environment SimServer. In SimServer, the DLR-TAU Code is utilized to obtain the CFD solution by solving the Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations. Structural displacements are computed with a modal solver. The Chimera implementation of SimServer, suited for hybrid grids, is applied to model the control surfaces. Numerical simulations with the flexible Chimera method are performed for the Model53 wing configuration, which is a generic delta wing with a deployed slat as well as an inboard and outboard trailing edge flap. Aerodynamic and aeroelastic simulations at high dynamic pressure $$q=45$$ q = 45 kPa and transonic speed $${\text {Ma}} = 0.8$$ Ma = 0.8 are performed for several angles of attack $$10^\circ \le \alpha \le 25^\circ$$ 10 ∘ ≤ α ≤ 25 ∘ and flap deflection angles $$-30^\circ \le \delta \le 30^\circ$$ - 30 ∘ ≤ δ ≤ 30 ∘ . The effect of structural deformations on the flow field and control surface effectiveness are analyzed and compared to computations of components treated fully rigid. At the targeted freestream condition $$M=0.8$$ M = 0.8 and $${\text {Re}}=15.1 \times 10^7$$ Re = 15.1 × 10 7 , the flow field around the Model53 configuration is characterized by the interaction of vortices and shock waves. The results of the lift and pitching moment coefficient for the rigid and flexible configuration revealed the importance of taking the structural flexibility into account in order to obtain more accurate results for the considered range of flap deflections. Furthermore, the computational effort of the aerodynamic and aeroelastic simulations are evaluated. The increase in computational effort is shown to be adequate for the given increase in accuracy.

Nonlinear Aeroelastic Simulations and Stability Analysis of the Pazy Wing Aeroelastic Benchmark

The Pazy wing aeroelastic benchmark is a highly flexible wind tunnel model investigated in the Large Deflection Working Group as part of the Third Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop. Due to the design of the model, very large elastic deformations in the order of 50% span are generated at highest dynamic pressures and angles of attack in the wind tunnel. This paper presents static coupling simulations and stability analyses for selected onflow velocities and angles of attack. Therefore, an aeroelastic solver developed at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is used for static coupling simulations, which couples a vortex lattice method with the commercial finite element solver MSC Nastran. For the stability analysis, a linearised aerodynamic model is derived analytically from the unsteady vortex lattice method and integrated with a modal structural model into a monolithic aeroelastic discrete-time state-space model. The aeroelastic stability is then determined by calculating the eigenvalues of the system’s dynamics matrix. It is shown that the stability of the wing in terms of flutter changes significantly with increasing deflection and is heavily influenced by the change in modal properties, i.e., structural eigenvalues and eigenvectors.

Statistical impact of wind-speed ramp events on turbines, via observations and coupled fluid-dynamic and aeroelastic simulations

Via 11 years of high-frequency measurements, we calculated the probability space of expected offshore wind-speed ramps, recasting it compactly in terms of relevant load-driving quantities for horizontal-axis wind turbines. A statistical ensemble of events in reduced ramp-parameter space (ramp acceleration, mean speed after ramp, upper-level shear) was created to capture the variability of ramp parameters and also allow connection of such to ramp-driven loads. Constrained Mann-model (CMM) turbulence simulations coupled to an aeroelastic model were made for each ensemble member, for a single turbine. Ramp acceleration was found to dominate the maxima of thrust-associated loads, with a ramp-induced increase of 45 %–50 % for blade-root flap-wise bending moment and tower-base fore–aft moment, plus ∼ 3 % per 0.1 m/s2 of bulk ramp-acceleration magnitude. The ensemble of ramp events from the CMM was also embedded in large-eddy simulation (LES) of a wind farm consisting of rows of nine turbines. The LES uses actuator-line modeling for the turbines and is coupled to the aeroelastic model. The LES results indicate that the ramps, and the mean acceleration associated with them, tend to persist through the farm. Depending on the ramp acceleration, ramps crossing rated speed lead to maximum loads, which are nearly constant for the third row and further downwind. Where rated power is not achieved, the loads primarily depend on wind speed; as mean winds weaken within the farm, ramps can again have U < Vrated. This leads to higher loads than pre-ramp conditions, with the distance where loads begin to increase depending on inflow Umax⁡ relative to Vrated. For the ramps considered here, the effect of turbulence on loads is found to be small relative to ramp amplitude that causes Vrated to be exceeded, but for ramps with Uafter < Vrated, the combination of ramp and turbulence can cause load maxima. The same sensitivity of loads to acceleration is found in both the CMM-aeroelastic simulations and the coupled LES.

Statistical impact of wind-speed ramp events on turbines, via observations and coupled fluid-dynamic and aeroelastic simulations

Via 11 years of measurements, we calculated the probability space of expected offshore wind speed ramps, recasting it compactly in terms of relevant load-driving quantities for horizontal-axis wind turbines. A statistical ensemble of events in reduced ramp-parameter space (ramp acceleration, mean speed after ramp, upper-level shear) was created, to capture the variability of ramp parameters and also allow connection of such to ramp-driven loads. Constrained Mann-model (CMM) turbulence simulations coupled to an aero-elastic model were made for each ensemble member, for a single turbine. Ramp acceleration was found to dominate the maxima of thrust-associated loads, with a ramp-induced increase of 45–50 % for blade-root flap-wise bending moment and tower base fore-aft moment, plus ~3 % per 0.1 m s−2 of bulk ramp acceleration magnitude. The ensemble of ramp events from the CMM was also embedded in large-eddy simulation (LES) of a wind farm consisting of rows of nine turbines. The LES uses actuator-line modelling for the turbines and is coupled to the aero-elastic model. The LES results indicate that the ramps, and the mean acceleration associated with them, tend to persist through farm. Depending on the ramp acceleration, ramps crossing rated speed lead to maximum loads, which are nearly constant for the third row and further downwind. Where rated power is not achieved, the loads primarily depend on wind speed; as mean winds weaken within the farm, ramps can again have U < Vrated. This leads to higher loads than pre-ramp conditions, with the distance where loads begin to increase depending on inflow Umax relative to Vrated. For the ramps considered here, the effect of turbulence on loads is found to be small relative to ramp amplitude that causes Vrated to be exceeded, but for ramps with Uafter < Vrated, the combination of ramp and turbulence can cause load maxima. The same sensitivity of loads to acceleration is found in both the the CMM-aeroelastic simulations and the coupled LES.

Surrogate-based aeroelastic design optimization of tip extensions on a modern 10 MW wind turbine

Advanced aeroelastically optimized tip extensions are among rotor innovation concepts which could contribute to the higher performance and lower cost of wind turbines. A novel design optimization framework for wind turbine blade tip extensions based on surrogate aeroelastic modeling is presented. An academic wind turbine is modeled in an aeroelastic code equipped with a near-wake aerodynamic module, and tip extensions with complex shapes are parametrized using 11 design variables. The design space is explored via full aeroelastic simulations in extreme turbulence, and a surrogate model is fitted to the data. Direct optimization is performed based on the surrogate model seeking to maximize the power of the retrofitted turbine within the ultimate load constraints. The presented optimized design achieves a load-neutral gain of up to 6 % in annual energy production. Its performance is further evaluated in detail by means of the near-wake model used for the generation of the surrogate model and compared with a higher-fidelity aerodynamic module comprising a hybrid filament-particle-mesh vortex method with a lifting-line implementation. A good agreement between the solvers is obtained at low turbulence levels, while differences in predicted power and flapwise blade root bending moment grow with increasing turbulence intensity.