In this thesis, aeroelastic concepts for increased aircraft performance are developed and evaluated. Active aeroelastic concepts are in focus as well as robust analysis concepts aiming at efficient analysis using numerical models with uncertain or varying model parameters. The thesis presents different approaches for exploitation of fluid-structure interaction of active aeroelastic structures. First, a high aspect ratio wing in wind tunnel testing conditions is considered. The wing was developed within the European research project \textit{Active Aeroelastic Aircraft Structures} and used to demonstrate how structural flexibility can be exploited by using multiple control surfaces such that the deformed wing shape gives minimum drag for different flight conditions. Two different drag minimization studies are presented, one aiming at reduced induced drag based on numerical optimization techniques, another one aiming at reduced measured total drag using real-time optimization in the wind tunnel experiment. The same wing is also used for demonstration of an active concept for gust load alleviation using a piezoelectric tab. In all studies on the high aspect ratio wing, it is demonstrated that structural flexibility can be exploited to increase aircraft performance. Other studies in this thesis investigate the applicability of robust control tools for flutter analysis considering model uncertainty and variation. First, different techniques for taking large structural variations into account are evaluated. Next, a high-fidelity numerical model of an aircraft with a variable amount of fuel is considered, and robust analysis is applied to find the worst-case fuel configuration. Finally, a study investigating the influence of uncertain external stores aerodynamics is presented. Overall, the robust approach is shown to be capable of treating large structural variations as well as modeling uncertainties to compute worst-case configurations and flutter boundaries. / QC 20100713

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.