A coupled Aeroelastic-Flight Dynamic Framework for Free-Flying Flexible Aircraft with Gust Interactions

2026-03-23

AI Summary

This study addresses the strong coupling between aeroelasticity and flight dynamics in highly flexible aircraft subjected to atmospheric gusts by developing a high-fidelity, self-contained first-order state-space model. The model integrates geometrically exact nonlinear beam theory, unsteady two-dimensional strip aerodynamics based on Theodorsen’s theory—including discrete gusts and von Kármán turbulence—along with quaternion-based rigid-body dynamics. For the first time, it fully derives the coupling transformations among aerodynamic, structural, and flight coordinate systems, the associated Jacobian block structure, and the gust input matrix. Validation on a high-altitude, long-endurance flying-wing configuration demonstrates that the proposed framework accurately predicts static aeroelastic deformations, structural natural frequencies, and flutter speeds, with results in close agreement with baseline data, thereby establishing a foundation for model reduction and control design.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight
• Intelligent Robots: State Estimation
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Adaptive Behavior

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Abstract

A complete, self-contained mathematical framework for modelling the coupled aeroelastic and flight dynamic behaviour of free-flying flexible aircraft subject to atmospheric gust encounters is presented. The framework integrates three physical disciplines: geometrically-exact nonlinear beam theory for structural dynamics, unsteady two-dimensional strip aerodynamics based on Theodorsen thin-aerofoil theory with indicial functions for shed-wake and gust-penetration effects, and quaternion-based rigid-body flight dynamics for singularity-free attitude propagation. The coupled system is assembled into a first-order state-space form amenable to time-domain simulation, model order reduction, and control design. Detailed derivations of all coupling terms, including coordinate transformations between aerodynamic and structural frames, the Jacobian block structure, and gust input matrices, are provided. Two gust models are treated: the certification-standard discrete gust and the Von Karman continuous turbulence spectrum. The framework is verified against published benchmarks, including high-altitude long-endurance aircraft configurations and a very flexible flying-wing, demonstrating close agreement in structural frequencies, flutter speed, and static aeroelastic deflections. This paper serves as a self-contained reference for researchers implementing coupled aeroelastic-flight dynamic analysis tools for very flexible aircraft.

Problem

• aeroelasticity
• flight dynamics
• flexible aircraft
• gust interaction
• coupled modeling

Innovation

• coupled aeroelastic-flight dynamics
• geometrically-exact nonlinear beam theory
• unsteady strip aerodynamics
• quaternion-based flight dynamics
• gust interaction modeling