Analysis and Wind Tunnel Experiment for High Aspect Ratio Wing Dynamics under Fuselage Vibration
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High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) planes have lightweight, high-aspect-ratio wings used for flying at high altitudes and providing internet connections in places where internet access is scarce. However, because of these wing characteristics, the wings can easily undergo large dynamic deformation that may lead to structural failure. Therefore, past research [1], [2] has conducted wind tunnel experiments to analyze wing dynamics under aeroelastic effects. However, fuselage vibrations, which can occur in flying planes operating in unsteady wind environments, have not been often considered. Therefore, in this research, we conducted fuselage vibration experiments and simulations of a plane model with flexible high-aspect-ratio wings made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). A Magnetic Suspension and Balancing System (MSBS) capable of six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) control was used to float and vibrate the plane model at different frequencies. In addition, we developed a numerical model of the high-aspect-ratio wing based on a nonlinear finite element method called the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF). Fuselage vibration was considered in the simulation by applying sinusoidal displacement to the numerical wing model. The displacement of the flexible wing was measured during both the vibration experiments and simulations and was subsequently compared. The root mean square (RMS) deflection of the wing, calculated after centering the vibration waveform about the x-axis, showed good agreement between the experiment and the simulation. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first research to use the MSBS wind tunnel for the research of high-aspect-ratio wing dynamics. The obtained experimental data will be useful for validating numerical models of high-aspect-ratio wings.
