An Assessment of the Influence of Fuselage Deformations on the Numerical Prediction of High-Lift Performance

Abstract

Within the scope of the joint research project HINVA (High-Lift In-Flight Validation) a fluid-structure coupled simulation approach based on high-fidelity numerical fluid dynamics and structural analysis methods has been applied to DLR’s Airbus A320-232 Advanced Technology Research Aircraft (ATRA) in landing configuration. Coupled analyses were performed using an in-house simulation procedure built around DLR’s flow solver TAU and the commercial finite-element analysis code NASTRAN. In order to assess the influence of fuselage and empennage deformations in the context of high-lift aerodynamics, the existing coupling approach, which considers only the wing and high-lift system to be elastic, has been expanded to the full aircraft. Preliminary results show that fuselage bending deformations lead to a modified flow field on the wing’s upper surface along the wing root and over the engine nacelle where lift breakdown and wing stall originate. It is therefore assumed that for an accurate numerical prediction of maximum lift and associated angle of attack deformations of fuselage and horizontal stabilizer should be taken into account.