Constructal approach in aeroelastic design and analysis of flying wing aircraft
A high-aspect ratio aircraft exhibits primarily a nonlinear aeroelastic behavior, and a change in the geometric features of the structure could drastically alter the aeroelastic stability of the system. Here, we show how a certain design parameter would influence the performance of the structure. The performance is evaluated based on the constructal design theory, and the principle that the better design provides better access for the flows that inhabit the system. The design is a flying wing aircraft, with its geometry manipulated only by changing the location of the engine (as one of the design parameters). It is found that the flutter speed varies significantly with these changes. Utilizing the flutter property of different configurations, three important cases are chosen to investigate the flow of stresses through the aircraft wings. The results reveal that when the stresses flow smoothly the stability of the wings improves. On the other hand, in the cases in which the engine location causes stress strangulation, flutter speed decreases considerably.
