Researcher : Thiago Versiani
Sponsor : Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
Summary:
Thiago’s research is to fundamentally study nonlinear aeroelastic problems, including the effects of rigid-body pitch and plunge motions, and how to incorporate and reconcile predictions from the relevant design tools in the experimental validation process.
The approach for this study is:
- Develop the ability to conduct aeroelastic tests with pitch/plunge degrees of freedom
- Simulate physical models with UM/NAST (Nonlinear Aeroelastic Simulation Toolbox)
- Collect data from wind tunnel experiments for possible code validation
- Assess impact of rigid body degrees of freedom in aeroelastic predictions
One topic addressed in this study is the impact of ground effect on very flexible wings. A numerical implementation has been developed to predict the aeroelastic response involving such phenomena and wind tunnel tests have been performed to analyze the accuracy of the predictions.
