Wing Aerodynamic Performance in Tilt-Duct Aircraft During Transition Phase

Tilt-ducted aircraft, which combine VTOL capability with efficient high-speed cruise, represent a key direction for future aviation. The most critical and complex flight phase is the tilt transition, where accurate aerodynamic and structural analysis is essential. This study investigates the aero-structural coupling effects on the wings of a lab-developed tilt-ducted aircraft across its tilt transition corridor. We first conduct high-fidelity, single-discipline aerodynamic analysis. Building on this, we carry out the aero-structural coupled analysis for the transition phase. A comparison of results demonstrates that the coupled analysis can capture the aircraft performance more accurately, revealing interactions neglected by isolated disciplinary analyses. Specifically, in the latter half of the transition, the discrepancy in lift-to-drag ratio between the single-discipline and coupled analyses exceeds 5%, highlighting the need for coupling to capture the relevant physics. The results provide a foundation for subsequent multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) and for refining flight dynamics and control strategies within the tilting transition corridor.