Robust Aeroelastic Tailoring for Highly Flexible Aerostructures using Composite Material

The project I am proposing is titled 'Robust Aeroelastic Tailoring for Highly Flexible Aerostructures using Composite Material 'under the supervision of Dr Jie Yuan, with the aim of developing robust numerical tools for aeroelastic analysis. In modern aircraft design numerical tools are required to consider the dynamic characteristics of structures in response to fluid flows and when composite materials are also taken into account the models can become extremely complex. It is an exciting area of research, where further work is required that I aim to contribute to. This will be achieved through in-depth research, numerical analysis, coding, and computational experimentation.
The main challenge that will be tackled is development of tools to effectively consider structural uncertainties that come with composite materials and nonlinearities in aeroelastic analysis. With these tools' analysis will be performed to predict the flutter characteristics of aerospace structures and methods of mitigating any negative response will be investigated. Once a tool is completed it will hopefully be capable of accurate predictions in composite-made flexible aerospace structures such as high aspect ratio wings, tiltrotor systems and fan blade systems in engines.
There are many areas of the field to engage with, but before starting any work an extensive literature review will take place to deepen my knowledge of flutter modelling and the most up to date research in the area. Once a confident understanding is achieved and an in-depth knowledge of the direction the most contemporary research is heading is reached, the development of numerical tools will start. Similar to the methods carried out in my previous project work, the tools will be based around integration of mathematical models constructed to describe specific aircraft structures, employing Lagrange's energy equations and characteristic equations of aerodynamic behaviour. At first, low degrees of freedom will be considered to set up a base, but once confidence and a firm methodology has been built, higher degrees of freedom will be investigated and modelled. Dealing with nonlinearities is a key factor in the project that Limit Cycle Oscillations will aid with. Quantifying the effects of uncertainties in composite materials is another important role the tools must play, where complex modelling and understanding of materials will be required. Implementing state of the art numerical solvers with stochastic polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) models to handle uncertainties is a possibility. Finally, if required, FEA and CFD experimentation will take place, either to support results obtained form the constructed tools or collaborate with them. Hopefully through this work groundwork will be set for future researchers at the University to continue and expand further, while also developing tools that are to an industry standard.