Numerical investigation of structural geometric nonlinearity effect in high-aspect-ratio wing using CFD/CSD coupled approach

An efficient and robust fluid–structure coupled methodology has been developed to investigate the linear and non-linear static aeroelastic behavior of flexible high-aspect-ratio wing. A three-dimensional open source finite element solver has been loosely coupled with an in-house Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes solver, designed for hybrid-unstructured meshes, to perform aero-structural coupled simulations. For volume mesh deformation and two-way data interpolation over non-matching grids interface, a radial basis function methodology combined with a data reduction algorithm has been used. This technique is efficient in handling large deflections and provides high-quality deformed meshes. Structural geometric nonlinearity has been considered to predict the deformations in the vertical and torsional directions caused by gravitational and aerodynamic loading. A multi-material finite element model has been generated to match the experimental configuration. Computational aeroelastic simulations were performed on an experimental high-aspect-ratio aeroelastic wing model with a slender body at the tip to get non-linear static deflections, twist and structure natural frequencies. The effect of the geometric nonlinearity is significant for large deformation analysis and has been highlighted in the predicted maximum tip deflection and twist. Good qualitative and quantitative agreement has been achieved between the predicted results and the available experimental data.