Efficient nonlinear static aeroelastic wing analysis

The objective of this work is to demonstrate a computationally efficient, h igh-fidelity, integrated static aeroelastic analysis procedure. The aerodyn amic analysis consists of solving the nonlinear Euler equations by using an upwind cell-centered finite-Volume scheme on unstructured tetrahedral mesh es. The use of unstructured grids enhances the discretization of irregularl y shaped domains and the interaction compatibility with the wing structure. The structural analysis utilizes finite elements to model the wing so that accurate structural deflections are obtained and allows the capability for computing detailed stress information for the configuration. Parameters ar e introduced to control the interaction of the computational fluid dynamics and structural analyses; these control parameters permit extremely efficie nt static aeroelastic computations. To demonstrate and evaluate this proced ure, static aeroelastic analysis results for a flexible wing in low subsoni c, high subsonic (subcritical), transonic (supercritical), and supersonic f low conditions are presented. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights res erved.