Assessment of the Aeroelastic Stability of High Aaspect Ratio Wing Aircraft During The Preliminary Design

Kurzfassung

One concept to reduce an aircraft's fuel consumption is to increase the aspect ratio of the wing. Although such slender wings have low induced drag, a number of aeroelastic issues arise. As an example, high aspect ratio wings are relatively soft in bending and torsion when compared to conventional designs. These structural properties can lead to a reduction of the flutter speed. In the current research projects VirEnfREI and UP Wing, the Institute of Aeroelasticity of the German Aerospace Center performs the aeroelastic stability assessment of short/medium-range transport aircraft configurations equipped with high aspect ratio wings during the preliminary design phase. This paper compares results of preliminary aeroelastic stability assessments and discusses influences from the structural design on the aeroelastic behavior of the wings.