Cyber-physical wind-tunnel testing of a flexible wing
A wind-tunnel method that closes the loop between aerodynamic loads and structural response in real time. A computer feeds simulated flight loads to a wing held in the tunnel, so flight dynamics can be studied in the laboratory.
- Capability
- Aerospace testing, controls
- Sector
- Aeroelasticity
- Method
- Hardware-in-the-loop force emulation
- Published
- Journal of Fluids and Structures, 2016
Challenge, method, outcome
Challenge
Study stall and flutter of a flexible wing without the cost and risk of flight tests.
Method
A stationary flexible wing in the tunnel receives emulated aerodynamic loads in real time. A reduced-order model was built from structural measurements and used for control design.
Outcome
The method was demonstrated and published in 2016. A measurement-based model of stall flutter followed in 2017, along with a robust LQR design for flutter suppression (shown in simulation).
Source: J. Fluids & Structures, 2016; J. Fluids & Structures, 2017; IFAC-PapersOnLine, 2017