In this work rapid computational methods to support the designers in taking more informed decisions within the design process of a large aircraft manufacturer are developed. Since the design takes place in a soda-technical environment, a description of the existing multidisciplinary wing shape design process during the concept and pm-design phase is first provided, adopting a systems approach. The systems approach includes a thorough analysis of the actors involved, requirements, and several system methodologies that have been adopted to characterise the problem situation. Then, rapid, robust, and user friendly methods that fit into the existing design process are developed to aid designers to perform some specific tasks more efficiently. These include a method to modify the twist of a wing to match a target lift distribution, a method to take into account the effects of the structure flexibility, and a method to include the effects of propellers slipstream on the wing lift coefficient distribution. The commonality between these techniques is that they exploit a pm-computed aerodynamic database, generated using high fidelity simulations, coupled with a lifting line module to correct for 3-D effects. The optimum twist distribution is achieved through a correlation between the change in twist and downwash span distributions. The flexibility and propeller swirl effects on the wing lift distribution are taken into account by coupling the aerodynamic databases with a reduced structural model and a blade element momentum theory module respectively. Since the databases are available as a standard product of the design process, no extra effort is required by the designer for their generation. The methods proposed are applied to a number of test cases showing industrial complexity, and results compared against more expensive high fidelity simulations. Results show a satisfactory level of agreement for a vastly reduced cost. The methods proposed in this work have been implemented in an industrial context and made available to wing designers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:683390 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Agostinelli, Christian |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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