Computational Investigation to Exploring Potentials of Foldable Wings of Aircrafts

Abstract

Recent development in aircraft design is the use of foldable wing-tips with the aim of enabling higher aspect ratio in aircraft with less induced drag, but also meeting airport gate limitations. This study investigates the effect of exploiting folding wing-tips in-flight, as a device to reduce both static and dynamic loads. Static trim loads, dynamic discrete gusts and continuous turbulence as well as flutter stability are considered. The effects of hinge orientation, stiffness, damping and wing-tip weight on the static and dynamic response were investigated for a wing-tip passive linear spring device. Numerical investigation into foldable aircraft wings of type e aircraft was inspected by developing governing equations that relate the wheel displacement with the winglet displacement of a typical aircraft with the use of MATLAB. The relationship between the wheel and winglet was used to study the maximum deflection at critical region for the winglet deflection. The results show that significant loads alleviation performance and flutter stability are achieved for a swept hinge with no structural stiffness and damping and a minimum wing-tip weight. However, having a free hinge leads the wing-tip to be deflected during the cruise with a detrimental effect on the aerodynamic performance. Therefore, a series of nonlinear adaptive and active devices have been considered in order to minimize the drawbacks of the linear passive design while maintaining, if not enhancing, the loads alleviation performance.