Browsing by Author "Reschke, Christian"

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Open Access
Integrated flight loads modelling and analysis for flexible transport aircraft
(2006) Reschke, Christian; Well, K. H. (Prof. Ph.D.)
This thesis is concerned with the derivation of nonlinear equations of motion for flexible aircraft in flight. These equations are intended for the accurate simulation of the flight dynamics of flexible aircraft in general and for the analysis of resulting dynamic structural loads in particular. The main focus is on the inertial coupling effects between the maneuvering flight and structural dynamics of the airframe. The field of flight loads computation is concerned with the provision of loads due to maneuvering flight or turbulence. Hereby, the underlying simulation model consists of a model for the flexible aircraft as well as peripheral models, like the Electronic Flight Control System, a pilot model, etc. The analysis is performed for a variety of flight points and load cases. Subsequently a loads envelope is determined. It consists of maximum structural loads over the airframe due to prescribed maneuvers, gust and turbulence at different flight points and loading conditions. Traditionally, specific models are used for either maneuver loads or gust loads computation. A six degree of freedom (6DOF) nonlinear aircraft model is employed for maneuver simulation. The dynamic response of the aircraft due to turbulence and gust is estimated with linear aeroelastic models, primarily employed in the frequency domain. Particularly for large flexible transport aircraft, these specific models have important limitations. Commercial transport aircraft are getting larger and the airframes are becoming more slender and flexible due to lightweight design. This causes an increasing interaction of flight mechanics and structural dynamics, including inertial coupling effects. Therefore, it is important to extend 6DOF quasi-flexible maneuver loads models with finite element based full flexible aircraft models. Secondly, it may become necessary to perform dynamic response analysis in the time domain in order to account for nonlinear flight control systems. For this reasons a consistent mathematical model that integrates methods and data from both disciplines has to be developed. This implies a derivation of equations of motion and the development of equations for the computation of loads. Furthermore the integration of the respective aerodynamic models has to be addressed. In a first step the equations of motion are derived from first principles. The formulation is developed in such a way that industrial model data and industrial constraints can be considered and efficiently incorporated. The inertial coupling terms are cast in generalized form providing differential equations suited for rapid time domain simulation. In a second step the generalized equations of motion are augmented with a consistent set of nonlinear equations for the computation of internal structural loads over the airframe. The new formulation accounts for nonlinear flight mechanical motion and inertial coupling effects with structural dynamics. In a third step external forces, particularly aerodynamic forces that are driving the equations of motion are modeled. The approach is tailored towards the integration of industrial aerodynamic models used in maneuver loads and dynamic response analysis. The presented integration method extents the distributed quasi-flexible aerodynamic model as used for maneuver loads analysis by unsteady dynamic force increments. The developed set of equations of motion and equations of loads are implemented in a state-of-the-art industrial simulation environment in order to validate the formulation and to perform simulations. A relevant test case is studied to analyze maneuvering flight, dynamic response and structural loads. The influence of inertial coupling effects is emphasized and structural components that are significantly affected are indicated. The key result of this thesis is the increased precision of simulation and loads computation at the cost of a minimum increase of computing effort. No additional model data other than currently used for industrial maneuver loads and dynamic response analysis is required.