Strength analysis of regional aircraft prospective wing structures based on parametric models

DOI: 10.34759/vst-2022-2-61-76

Аuthors

Vedernikov D. V., Shanygin A. N.

Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after N.E. Zhukovsky (TsAGI), 1, Zhukovsky str., Zhukovsky, Moscow Region, 140180, Russia

Abstract

The article presents the results of complex studies on parametric dependencies of the strength, stiffness and weight characteristics of the wing structure on the values of the set of design parameters for the regional aircraft with both strut-braced and non-strut-braced layout. A new version of the four-level designing algorithm, which employs the decomposition principle of loading cases within the framework of parametric strength and aerodynamic models while searching for the computed loading cases were used while computational studies conducting.

The article presents the description of the algorithm, which realizes the principle of inflight loading cases, employing the bond of finite element model of the airframe structure and aerodynamic parametric model based of the single vortexes method. The ability of both models for automatic dimensionality changing of loading cases allows ensuring dividing the acceptable loading cases into the groups by the degree of criticality. This ability allows also the possibility of realizing a multi-stage search procedure, when strength and aerodynamic models with low dimensionality are being used for all alternative loading cases at the first stage of the analysis, while at the subsequent stages, the models with higher dimensionality are being used to analyze the critical cases selected at the first stage.

The modified version of the algorithm demonstrated high performance and reliability for the strength analysis and design of the wing structures with high level of elastic displacements.

The efficiency of the loading cases decomposition principle in conjunction with other decomposition principles, such as structure decomposition and decomposition of the strength problems, used within the framework of the basic four-level algorithm, is demonstrated within the framework of this article on the example of the hypothetic regional aircraft of 15 tons take-off weight and passenger capacity up to 50 persons.

The values of the wing structure weight, as well as the values of the strut attachment point position on a wing (which are 50-65% of the semi wingspan depending on the aspect ratio) were obtained. The better weight efficiency of the wing structure based on the strut-braced layout compared to the non-strut-braced one was confirmed for the hypothetic regional aircraft under consideration.

Weight savings for the wing structure option with the aspect ratio of λ₀ = 11.7 is 12.3%, whereas for the alternative options with λ₁ = 15 and λ₂ = 20 the weight savings are 31% and 37 % respectively.

The labor intensity analysis of the parametric strength studies, associated with significant parameters variations of the airframe external geometry and high levels of elastic displacements of lifting surfaces, revealed that application of the loading cases principle of decomposition allows no less than tenfold labor intensity reduction of the strength analysis procedures.

The results of the performed studies have proved the efficiency of the modified four-level algorithm application for solving the design tasks for:

• An aircraft with non-conventional aerodynamic layouts;
• Regional aircraft, for which the elastic displacements impact on the external aerodynamic loads is significant.

Keywords:

decomposition of loading cases, multilevel strength FEM models, high-aspect ratio wing with strut, parametric loading models, weight estimation of structure of wing of regional aircraft wing weight estimate

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