Effect of gust models on the response prediction of a very flexible wind tunnel wing model

ifasd2024 Tracking Number 28

The modelling capabilities of a nonlinear aeroelastic simulation toolbox regarding its gust response prediction of a very flexible wing are exercised against the wind tunnel experiment of the Delft-Pazy wing. Sectional force corrections are employed to capture low Reynolds number effects and the static lift deficiency at high angles of attack due to the onset of separation. With these corrections, both the steady and dynamic wing deformations match the experimental results well. We further simulated the unsteady inflow to the Delft-Pazy wing that is produced by the gust vanes in the wind tunnel simultaneously with the wing itself, instead of using a frozen gust model. The results of this simulation indicate a considerable influence of the wing's presence on the gust velocity that was measured upstream of the wing in the wind tunnel experiment. The structural response differs only slightly utilizing the two different gust models, confirming the frozen gust model being a valid assumption for the moderately large deflections of the Delft-Pazy wing. Possible geometrical nonlinear effects are assessed and are found to become apparent for this wing because of the nonlinear aeroelastic equilibrium but not the gust excitation itself.