Aeroelastic Model Updating

Clear Science Corp. proposes to develop and demonstrate the technical merit and feasibility of compact aeroelastic models that incorporate structural and flow dynamics and their coupled effects in a low-dimensional form for safer and more efficient flutter testing of military aircraft. The reduced-order model (ROM) of the coupled flow and structure will be based on computational and experimental data from CFD and structural FEM simulations and flight or wind tunnel tests. The ultimate objectives are to reduce the costs and risks of certification testing by reducing the number of required test conditions. Coupling CFD-based ROMs of the flow with the data that are collected during flight tests will improve predictions of linear and nonlinear aeroelastic responses, providing the means of accurately interpolating between test points and extrapolating beyond them. Phase I testing of the proposed software will use CFD data and wind tunnel (rather than flight) data to construct the aeroelastic model with evaluations of model performance at on- and off-design conditions. Tests will involve canonical wings with relatively small numbers of aeroelastic modes; however, the software will be configured for future applications involving full aircraft with complex geometries, control surfaces, and a much larger set of (aeroservoelastic) structural modes.