Nonlinear Aeroelastic Analysis Framework for the Large-Deformation Wing Considering Distributed Propellers’ Effects

A nonlinear aeroelastic analysis framework is presented, verified and employed to investigate the distributed propellers’ influence on the static aeroelastic response of a high-aspect-ratio wing under large deformation. In the framework, CR beam elements are applied for the large-deformation wing structure, and an efficient cylinder coordinate generation method is proposed for attached propellers at different position. Skewed vortex cylinder theory and non-planar vortex lattices are applied to capture the aerodynamic interference of propellers on the flexible wing. Meanwhile, the induced velocity distribution and static aeroelastic displacement are validated and show good agreement with reference results. For the numerical cases explored, results indicate that thrust can cause structural negative torsion, while slipstream brings the lift gain. Under the same total thrust, the lift increases with the decrease of propeller size. It is also found that compared with rigid configurations, the deformation will reduce the lift increment from propellers. The analysis methods established in this paper can provide further guidance for the coupling design of such aircrafts.