Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Computational Aeroelasticity is a complex research field which combines structural and aerodynamic analyses to describe a vehicle in flight. This thesis investigates the feasibility of including such an analysis in the development of control systems for unmanned aerial vehicles within the Electronic Systems Laboratory at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Stellenbosch University. This is done through the development of a structural analysis algorithm using the Finite Element Method, an aerodynamic algorithm for Prandtl’s Lifting Line Theory and experimental work. The experimental work was conducted at the Low-Speed Wind Tunnel at the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering. The structural algorithm was applied to 20-noded hexahedral elements in a winglike structure. The wing was modelled as a cantilever beam, with a fixed and a free end. Natural frequencies and deflections were verified with the experimental model and commercial software. The aerodynamic algorithm was applied to a Clark-Y airfoil with a chord of 0:1m and a half-span of 0:5m. This profile was also used on the experimental model. Experimental data was captured using single axis accelerometers. All postprocessing of data is also discussed in this thesis. Results show good correlation between the structural algorithm and experimental data. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Numeriese Aeroelastisiteit is ’n komplekse navorsingsveld waar ’n vlieënde voertuig deur ’n strukturele en ’n aerodinamiese analise beskryf word. Hierdie tesis ondersoek die toepaslikheid van hierdie tipe analise in die ontwerp van beheerstelsels vir onbemande voertuie binne die ESL groep van die Departement Elektriese en Elektroniese Ingenieurswese by Stellenbosch Universiteit. Die ondersoek bevat die ontwikkeling van ’n strukturele algoritme met die gebruik van die Eindige Element Methode, ’n aerodinamiese algoritme vir Prandtl se Heflynteorie en eksperimentele werk. Die eksperimentele werk is by die Department Meganiese en Megatroniese Ingensierswese toegepas in die Lae-Spoed Windtonnel. Die strukturele algoritme maak gebruik van ’n 20-nodus heksahedrale element om ’n vlerk-tipe struktuur op te bou. Die vlerk is vereenvouding na ’n kantelbalk met ’n vasgeklemde en ’n vrye ent. Natuurlike frekwensies en defleksies is met die eksperimentele werk en kommersiële sagteware geverifieer. Die aerodinamiese algoritme is op ’n Clark-Y profiel met 0:1m koord lengte en ’n halwe vlerk length van 0:5m geïmplementeer. Die profiel is ook in die eksperimentele model gebruik. Die eksperimentele data is met eendimensionele versnellingsmeters opgeneem. Al die verdere berekeninge wat op ekperimentele data gedoen is, word in die tesis beskryf. Resultate toon goeie korrelasie tussen die strukturele algoritme en die eksperimentele data.

Dans le contexte actuel, l'open-rotor contrarotatif connaît un regain d'intérêt. Cependant, en l'absence de carter extérieur, la prédiction des effets d'installation devient une problématique primordiale du cycle de conception. L'objectif de ces travaux de thèse est de construire une méthode de calcul qui permette à la fois de rendre compte de l'impact du bloc moteur sur la traînée de l'avion et de l'impact de l'installation sur les performances aérodynamiques des hélices. Suite à une étude bibliographique, nous nous sommes orientés vers le couplage des codes ligne portante LPC2 et RANS elsA, développés à l'Onera. La méthode de couplage se base sur la condition de disque d'action et est itérative afin de rendre compte de l'interaction.Dans un second temps, des résultats de calculs instationnaires et d'essais en soufflerie ont été comparés aux résultats fournis par le couplage afin de confirmer que ce dernier rendait bien compte des performances aérodynamiques du moteur en configuration installée. Afin de valider sur un large domaine de calcul, plusieurs configurations ont été utilisées, prenant en compte différentes installations, différentes hélices et plusieurs points de vol.Enfin, nous avons proposé une amélioration de la condition de disque d'action par une modélisation de la turbulence représentant l'impact du passage des hélices sur l'écoulement. En effet, en l'état actuel, cette condition n'est pas en mesure de retranscrire l'impact des hélices sur la turbulence, en particulier sur l'augmentation du taux de turbulence. C'est pourquoi une formulation originale d'un modèle de turbulence, basée sur les travaux de Mr Benay, a été proposée. / The counter rotating open rotor entered a period of renewed interest because of the current circumstances. However, due to the absence of outer casing, predicting the installation's effects became an essential issue of the design process. The objective of this thesis is to elaborate a calculation method able to give the impact of the engine on the aircraft drag as well as the installation impact on the propellers aerodynamic performances. As a result of a literature review, we headed for the coupling of the LPC2 lifting-line code and elsA RANS code, developed by the Onera. The coupling method is based on the actuator disc condition and was made iterative in order to take the interaction into account.In a second phase, results from unsteady simulations and wind tunnel experiments were compared to the coupling results so as to confirm that the later was able to produce the engine's aerodynamic performances under the influence of the installation. In order to validate the coupling on a wide computational domain, multiple configurations were used, taking different installations into account, with different propellers and multiple flight conditions.Finally, an improvement of the actuator disc condition was proposed through a turbulence modeling showing the impact of the blades passages on the flow. Indeed, the actuator disc condition is currently unable to faithfully transpose the propellers impact on the turbulence, especially on the turbulence rate increase. Therefore, an original formulation of a turbulence model was given, based on the works of Mr. Benay.

Cette thèse fait partie du projet beyond the sea® qui a pour but de développer la traction par cerf-volant à boudins gonflés (kite) comme système de propulsion auxiliaire des navires. Comme le kite est une structure souple, il est nécessaire de mettre en place une boucle d’interaction fluide-structure pour calculer la géométrie du kite en vol et ses performances aérodynamiques. Un modèle de Ligne Portante 3D Non-Linéaire a été développé pour pouvoir gérer ces ailes non planes, avec des angles de dièdre et de flèche qui varient le long de l’envergure, et également pour pouvoir prendre en compte la non-linéarité du coefficient de portance de la section aérodynamique. Le modèle a été vérifié par des simulations RANSE sur différentes géométries et donne des résultats satisfaisants pour des angles d’incidence et de dérapage variant jusqu’à 15°, avec des différences relatives de quelques pour cent pour l’estimation de la portance globale de l’aile. Les résultats locaux sont aussi correctement estimés, le modèle est capable d’estimer la position du minimum et du maximum de chargement local, selon l’envergure de l’aile, et cela même pour une aile en dérapage. En parallèle, un modèle structure a été développé. L’idée principale du modèle Kite as a Beam est de réduire le kite à un ensemble d’éléments poutre, chacun équivalent à une partie du kite composé d’une section du boudin d’attaque, de deux lattes gonflées et de la canopée correspondante. Le modèle Kite as a Beam a été comparé à un modèle éléments finis complet du kite sur des cas de déplacements élémentaires. Les résultats montrent certaines différences de comportement entre les deux modèles, avec notamment une surestimation de la raideur en torsion pour le modèle Kite as a Beam. Finalement, le modèle Kite as a Beam a été couplé avec la Ligne Portante 3D Non-Linéaire, puis comparé au modèle éléments finis, couplé également avec la Ligne Portante. La réduction du temps de calcul est réellement importante mais les résultats de la comparaison montrent la nécessité de calibrer le modèle Kite as a Beam pour pouvoir retrouver correctement les résultats du modèle éléments finis. / The present thesis is part of the beyond the sea® project which aims to develop tethered kite systems as auxiliary devices for ship propulsion. As a kite is a flexible structure, fluid-structure interaction has to be taken into account to calculate the flying shape and aerodynamic performances of the wing. A 3D Non-Linear Lifting Line model has been developed to deal with non-straight kite wings, with dihedral and sweep angles variable along the span and take into account the non-linearity of the section lift coefficient. The model has been checked with 3D RANSE simulations over various geometries and produces satisfactory results for range of incidence and sideslip up to 15°, with typical relative differences of few percent for the overall lift. The local results are also correctly estimated, the model is able to predict the position of the minimum and maximum loading along the span, even for a wing in sideslip. Simultaneously, a structure model has been developed. The core idea of the Kite as a Beam model is to approximate a Leading Edge Inflatable kite by an assembly of beam elements, equivalent each to a part of the kite composed of a portion of the inflatable leading edge, two inflatable battens and the corresponding canopy. The Kite as a Beam model has been compared to a complete kite Finite Element model over elementary comparison cases. The results show the behaviour differences of the two models, for example the torsion stiffness is globally overestimated by the Kite as a Beam model. Eventually, the Kite as a Beam model coupled with the 3D Non-Linear Lifting Line model is compared to the complete finite element model coupled with the 3D Non-Linear Lifting Line model. The gain in computation time is really significant but the results show the necessity of model calibration if the Kite as a Beam model should be used to predict the results of the complete finite element model.

Research into advanced wind turbine design has shown that load alleviation strategies like bend-twist coupled blades and coned rotors could reduce costs. However these strategies are based on nonlinear aero-structural dynamics providing additional benefits to components beyond the blades. These innovations will require Multi-disciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) to realize the full benefits. This research expands the MDO capabilities of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines. The early research explored the numerical stability properties of Blade Element Momentum (BEM) models. Then developed a provincial scale wind farm siting models to help engineers determine the optimal design parameters. The main focus of this research was to incorporate advanced analysis tools into an aero-elastic optimization framework. To adequately explore advanced designs with optimization, a new set of medium fidelity analysis tools is required. These tools need to resolve more of the physics than conventional tools like (BEM) models and linear beams, while being faster than high fidelity techniques like grid based computational fluid dynamics and shell and brick based finite element models. Nonlinear beam models based on Geometrically Exact Beam Theory (GEBT) and Variational Asymptotic Beam Section Analysis (VABS) can resolve the effects of flexible structures with anisotropic material properties. Lagrangian Vortex Dynamics (LVD) can resolve the aerodynamic effects of novel blade curvature. Initially this research focused on the structural optimization capabilities. First, it developed adjoint-based gradients for the coupled GEBT and VABS analysis. Second, it developed a composite lay-up parameterization scheme based on manufacturing processes. The most significant challenge was obtaining aero-elastic optimization solutions in the presence of erroneous gradients. The errors are due to poor convergence properties of conventional LVD. This thesis presents a new LVD formulation based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) that defines an objective convergence metric and analytic gradients. By adopting the same formulation used in structural models, this aerodynamic model can be solved simultaneously in aero-structural simulations. The FEM-based LVD model is affected by singularities, but there are strategies to overcome these problems. This research successfully demonstrates the FEM-based LVD model in aero-elastic design optimization. / Graduate / 0548 / pilot.mm@gmail.com

This thesis contributes to the state of the art in integrated design of insect-scale piezoelectric actuated flapping wing vehicles through the development of novel theoretical models for flapping wing aerodynamics and piezoelectric actuator dynamics, and integration of these models into a closed form design process. A comprehensive literature review of available engineered designs of miniature rotary and flapping wing vehicles is provided. A novel taxonomy based on wing and actuator kinematics is proposed as an effective means of classifying the large variation of vehicle configurations currently under development. The most successful insect-scale vehicles developed to date have used piezoelectric actuation, system resonance for motion amplification, and passive wing pitching. A novel analytical treatment is proposed to quantify induced power losses in normal hover that accounts for the effects of non uniform downwash, wake periodicity and effective flapping disc area. Two different quasi-steady aerodynamic modelling approaches are undertaken, one based on blade element analysis and one based on lifting line theory. Both approaches are explicitly linked to the underlying flow physics and, unlike a number of competing approaches, do not require empirical data. Models have been successfully validated against experimental and numerical data from the literature. These models have allowed improved insight into the role of the wing leading-edge vortex in lift augmentation and quantification of the comparative contributions of induced and profile drag for insect-like wings in hover. Theoretical aerodynamic analysis has been used to identify a theoretical solution for the optimum planform for a flapping wing in terms of chord and twist as a function of span. It is shown that an untwisted elliptical planform minimises profile power, whereas a more highly tapered design such as that found on a hummingbird minimises induced power. Aero-optimum wing kinematics for hovering are also assessed. It is shown that for efficient flight the flapping velocity should be constant whereas for maximum effectiveness the flapping velocity should be sinusoidal. For both cases, the wing pitching at stroke reversal should be as rapid as possible. A dynamic electromechanical model of piezoelectric bending actuators has been developed and validated against data obtained from experiments undertaken as part of this thesis. An expression for the electromechanical coupling factor (EMCF) is extracted from the analytical model and is used to understand the influence of actuator design variables on actuator performance. It is found that the variation in EMCF with design variables is similar for both static and dynamic operation, however for light damping the dynamic EMCF will typically be an order of magnitude greater than for static operation. Theoretical contributions to aerodynamic and electromechanical modelling are integrated into a low order design method for propulsion system sizing. The method is unique in that aside from mass fraction estimation, the underlying models are fully physics based. The transparency of the design method provides the designer with clear insight into effects of changing core design variables such as the maximum flapping amplitude, wing mass, transmission ratio, piezoelectric characteristics on the overall design solution. Whilst the wing mass is only around 10% of the actuator mass, the effective wing mass is 16 times the effective actuator mass for a typical transmission ratio of 10 and hence the wing mass dominates the inertial contribution to the system dynamics. For optimum aerodynamic effectiveness and efficiency it is important to achieve high flapping amplitudes, however this is typically limited by the maximum allowable field strength of the piezoelectric material used in the actuator.

Two models of a self-stabilizing hydrofoil system is developed where the effects from the struts and hydrofoil give torques for angular rotations. Lifting line theory for the hydrofoil which can twist is used. Nonlinear versions of the models are also developed and compared to find that the linear models use valid approximations. Backward Differentiation Formula is used to get numerical solutions, and eigenvalues of linear system matrices are used to get stability regions. The models did not accurately capture what has been seen in testing. / Två modeller för ett självstabiliserande bärplanssystem utvecklas där effekter från stöttor och bärplan ger vridmoment för vinkelrotationer. Lyftande linjeteori för det skevande bärplanet används. Icke-linjära versioner av modellerna tas också fram och jämförs för att finna att de linjära modellerna använder giltiga approximationer. Backward Differentiation Formula används för att fram numeriska lösningar, och egenvärden i det linjära systemetsmatriser används för att hitta stabilitetsregioner. Modellerna fångade inte korrekt vad som har setts i testning.