Research on Static Aeroelasticity of High-Aspect-Ratio Flying Wing Configurations

Flying wing configuration is one of the important development directions for high altitude long endurance aircraft, and static aeroelastic deformation significantly impacts the aerodynamic characteristics of such aircraft. Taking a high-aspect-ratio flying wing aircraft as an example, this paper adopts a static aeroelastic calculation method using CFD/CSD coupling to analyze the impact of elastic deformation on parameters such as the lift characteristics of the entire aircraft and its components, as well as static stability margins. The analysis results indicate that elastic deformation reduces the lift increment of the entire aircraft, alters the lift increment and aerodynamic centers of the inner and outer wings, collectively leading to a forward shift of the aircraft’s aerodynamic center. This shift may substantially decrease the static stability margin of the aircraft. Therefore, this effect must be considered during the conceptual design phase of such aircraft; otherwise, it could result in design disruption.