Author(s)

A. Maheri & A. Daadbin

Abstract

A high performance finite element analysis software tool has been developed for high fidelity deformation analysis of aeroelastic tailored wings and blades made of anisotropic composite materials. The package comprises an in-line semiautomatic adaptive mesh generator and a finite element solver. An aerodynamic solver can be plugged into the package to perform a coupled aero-structure analysis. The finite element solver employs a natural-mode triangular shell element, yielding accurate results with high convergence rate in deformation analysis of thin and moderately thick composite shell structures. In mesh generation, the aerodynamic and structural characteristics of the aeroelastic structure directly influence the domain discretization procedure. It has been shown that a mesh generated based on this algorithm has significant effect on improving the convergence rate of results. Keywords: FEA, mesh generation, elastic coupling, anisotropic composites, aeroelastic tailoring, anisotropic mesh, adaptive blade, smart wing. 1 Introduction Mainly due to their high strength-weight ratio and good fatigue life, fibrous composite materials have found a vast range of applications. More recently, another feature of these materials has been receiving great attention with proven or potential applications in the field of smart and adaptive lightweight aerostructures. Aerodynamic surfaces made of fibrous composites can be aeroelastically tailored. An implanted elastic coupling, due to a planned lay-up and fibre orientations, can have a favourable influence on the aerodynamic

Keywords

FEA, mesh generation, elastic coupling, anisotropic composites, aeroelastic tailoring, anisotropic mesh, adaptive blade, smart wing