The interaction of an aircraft's structure and the flight dynamics can degrade the performance of a controller designed only considering the rigid body flight dynamics. These concerns are greater for the next generation adaptive controls. These interactions lead to an increase in the tracking error, instabilities in the control parameters, and significant structural excitations. To improve the understanding of these issues the interactions have been examined using simulation as well as flight testing of a subscale aircraft. The scaling required for such a subscale aircraft has also been examined. For the simulation a coordinate system where the non-linear flight dynamics are orthogonal to the linear structural dynamics was defined. The orthogonality allows the use of separates models for the aerodynamics. For the non-linear flight dynamics, preexisting table lookups with extended vortex lattice are used to determine the aerodynamic forces. Strip theory is then used to determine the smaller, but still important, unsteady aerodynamic forces due to the flexible motion. Because the orientation of the engines is dependent on the structural deformations, the propulsive force is modeled as a non-conservative follower force. The simulation of the integrated dynamics is then used to examine the effects of the aircraft flexibility and resultant ASE interactions on the performance of adaptive controls. For the scaling, the complete similitude of a flexible aircraft was examined. However, this complete similitude is unfeasible for an actual model, so partial similitude is investigated using two approaches. First, the classical approximations of the flight dynamic modes are used to reduce the order of the coupled model, and consequently the number of scaling parameters required to maintain the physics of the system. The second approach uses sensitivity of the response to errors in the aircraft's nondimensional parameters. Both methods give a consistent set of nondimensional parameters which do not have significant influence on the aeroservoelastic interaction. These parameters do not need to be scaled, thus leading to a viable scaled model. A subscale vehicle has been designed which shows significant coupling between the flight dynamics and structural dynamics. This vehicle was used to validate the results of the scaling theory. Output error system identification was used to identify a model from the flight test data. This identified model provides the frequency of the short-period mode, and the effects of the Froude number on the flexibility. / Ph. D.

This dissertation integrates in a single mathematical formulation the disciplines pertinent to the flight of flexible aircraft, namely, analytical dynamics, structural dynamics, aerodynamics and controls. The unified formulation is based on fundamental principles and incorporates in a natural manner both rigid body motions of the aircraft as a whole and elastic deformations of the flexible components (fuselage, wing and empennage), as well as the aerodynamic, propulsion, gravity and control forces. The aircraft motion is described in terms of three translations (forward motion, sideslip and plunge) and three rotations (roll, pitch and yaw) of a reference frame attached to the undeformed fuselage, and acting as aircraft body axes, and elastic displacements of each of the flexible components relative to corresponding body axes. The mathematical formulation consists of six ordinary differential equations for the rigid body motions and one set of ordinary differential equations for each elastic displacement. A perturbation approach permits division of the problem into a nonlinear "zero-order Problem" for the rigid body motions, corresponding to flight dynamics, and a linear "first-order problem" for the elastic deformations and perturbations in the rigid body translations and rotations, corresponding to "extended aeroelasticity." Due to computational speed advantages, the aerodynamic forces are derived by means of strip theory. The control forces for the flight dynamics problem are obtained by an "inverse" process. On the other hand, the feedback control forces for the extended aeroelasticity problem are derived by means of LQG theory. A numerical example corresponding to steady level flight and steady level turn maneuver is included. / Ph. D.

The study of the motion of manoeuvring aircraft has traditionally considered the aircraft to be rigid. This simplifying assumption has been shown to give quite accurate results for the flight dynamics of many aircraft types. As modern transport aircraft have developed however, there has been a marked increase in the size and weight of these aircraft. This trend is likely to continue with the development of future blended-wing-body and supersonic transport aircraft. This increase in size and weight has brought about a unique set of aeroelastic and handling quality issues. The aerodynamic forces and moments acting on an aeroplane have traditionally been represented using the aerodynamic derivative approach. It has been shown that this quasisteady aerodynamic model inadequately predicts the aircraft’s stability characteristics, and that the inclusion of unsteady aerodynamics “greatly improves the fidelity” of aircraft models. This thesis thus presents a novel numerical simulation of an aeroelastic aeroplane for real-time analysis. The model is built around the standard six degree-of-freedom equations of motion for a rigid aeroplane using the mean-axes system, and includes unsteady aerodynamics and structural dynamics. This is suitable for pilot-in-the-loop simulation, handling qualities and flight loads analysis, and control law development. The dynamics of the structure are modelled as a set of normal modes, and the equations of motion are realised in state-space form. The unsteady aerodynamic forces acting on the aeroplane are described by an indicial state-space model, including unsteady tailplane downwash and compressibility effects. An implementation of the model is presented in the MATLAB/ Simulink environment. The interaction between the flight control system, the aeroelastic system and the rigidbody motion of the aeroplane can result in degraded handling qualities, excessive actuator control, and fatigue problems. The introduction of load alleviation systems for the management of loads due to manoeuvres and gusts is also likely to result in the handling qualities of the aeroplane being degraded. This thesis presents a number of studies into the impact of structural dynamics, unsteady aerodynamics, and load alleviation on the handling qualities of a flexible civil transport aeroplane. The handling qualities of the aeroplane are assessed against a number of different handling qualities criteria and flying specifications, including the Neal-Smith, Bandwidth, and CAP criterion. It is shown that aeroelastic effects alter the longitudinal and lateral-directional characteristics of the aeroplane, resulting in degraded handling qualities. Manoeuvre and gust load alleviation are similarly found to degrade handling qualities, while active mode control is shown to offer the possibility of improved handling qualities.

The study of the motion of manoeuvring aircraft has traditionally considered the aircraft to be rigid. This simplifying assumption has been shown to give quite accurate results for the flight dynamics of many aircraft types. As modern transport aircraft have developed however, there has been a marked increase in the size and weight of these aircraft. This trend is likely to continue with the development of future blended-wing-body and supersonic transport aircraft. This increase in size and weight has brought about a unique set of aeroelastic and handling quality issues. The aerodynamic forces and moments acting on an aeroplane have traditionally been represented using the aerodynamic derivative approach. It has been shown that this quasisteady aerodynamic model inadequately predicts the aircraft’s stability characteristics, and that the inclusion of unsteady aerodynamics “greatly improves the fidelity” of aircraft models. This thesis thus presents a novel numerical simulation of an aeroelastic aeroplane for real-time analysis. The model is built around the standard six degree-of-freedom equations of motion for a rigid aeroplane using the mean-axes system, and includes unsteady aerodynamics and structural dynamics. This is suitable for pilot-in-the-loop simulation, handling qualities and flight loads analysis, and control law development. The dynamics of the structure are modelled as a set of normal modes, and the equations of motion are realised in state-space form. The unsteady aerodynamic forces acting on the aeroplane are described by an indicial state-space model, including unsteady tailplane downwash and compressibility effects. An implementation of the model is presented in the MATLAB/ Simulink environment. The interaction between the flight control system, the aeroelastic system and the rigidbody motion of the aeroplane can result in degraded handling qualities, excessive actuator control, and fatigue problems. The introduction of load alleviation systems for the management of loads due to manoeuvres and gusts is also likely to result in the handling qualities of the aeroplane being degraded. This thesis presents a number of studies into the impact of structural dynamics, unsteady aerodynamics, and load alleviation on the handling qualities of a flexible civil transport aeroplane. The handling qualities of the aeroplane are assessed against a number of different handling qualities criteria and flying specifications, including the Neal-Smith, Bandwidth, and CAP criterion. It is shown that aeroelastic effects alter the longitudinal and lateral-directional characteristics of the aeroplane, resulting in degraded handling qualities. Manoeuvre and gust load alleviation are similarly found to degrade handling qualities, while active mode control is shown to offer the possibility of improved handling qualities.

In this thesis, an aeroservoelastic test appratus is designed to investigate the flutter phenomena in a low speed wind tunnel environment. Flutter is an aeroelastic instability that may occur at control surfaces of aircrafts and missiles. Aerodynamic, elastic, and inertial forces are involved in flutter. A mathematical model using aeroelastic equations of motion is derived to investigate flutter and is used as a basis to design the test setup. Simulations using this mathematical model are performed and critical flutter velocities and frequencies are found. Stiffness characteristics of the test setup are determined using the results of these simulations. The test setup is a two degrees of freedom system, with motions in pitch and plunge, and is controlled by a servomotor in the pitch degree of freedom. A NACA 0012 airfoil is used as a control surface in the test setup. Using this setup, the flutter phenomena is generated in Ankara Wind Tunnel (AWT) and experiments are conducted to validate the results of the theoretical aeroelastic mathematical model calculations.

Flutter is one of the most important phenomena in which aerodynamic surfaces become unstable in certain flight conditions. Since the 1930&amp / #8217 / s many studies were conducted in the areas of flutter prediction in design stage, research of design methods for flutter prevention, derivation and confirmation of flutter flight envelopes via tests, and in similar subjects for aircraft wings. With the use of controllers in 1960&amp / #8217 / s, studies on the active flutter suppression began. First the classical controllers were used. Then, with the improvement of the controller synthesis methods, optimal controllers and later robust controllers started to be used. However, there are not many studies in the literature about fully movable control surfaces, commonly referred to as fins. Fins are used as missile control surfaces, and they can also be used as a horizontal stabilizer or as a canard in aircraft. In the scope of this thesis, controllers satisfying the performance and flutter suppression requirements of a fin are synthesized and compared. For this purpose, H2, Hinf, and mu controllers are used. A new flutter suppression method is proposed and used. In order to assess the performance of this method, results obtained are compared with the results of another flutter suppression method given in the literature. or the purpose of implementation of the controllers developed, aeroelastic model equations are derived by using the typical section wing model with thin airfoil assumption. The controller synthesis method is tested for aeroelastic models that are veloped for various flow regimes / namely, steady incompressible subsonic, unsteady incompressible subsonic, nsteady compressible subsonic, and unsteady compressible supersonic.

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