This paper presents a novel model for the aeroelastic analysis of composite wings with attached piezoelectric actuators, using the concept of geometric stiffness. The mathematical model is introduced and validated against numerical and experimental results, and good agreement is obtained. It is consequently used to investigate the effect of piezoelectric forces on the aeroelastic behavior of composite wings. In the present analyses, the piezoelectric effect is studied for a voltage range from 0 to 100 V. Two wing configurations are considered: one with the piezoelectric sheets attached at the wing root (root configuration), and the second with the piezoelectric patches distributed along the wing span (staggered configuration). The present numerical examples show that both piezoelectric configurations significantly increase the divergence and flutter speeds, and hence improve the aeroelastic stability of composite wings. In general, the piezoelectric effect is more significant in the staggered configuration. In case of a straight wing, for instance, the divergence speed increases by 26.9%, and the flutter speed increases by 34.3% because of the change of the flutter mode. The staggered configuration is more effective than the root configuration for all other cases. It is concluded that the way piezoelectric patches are distributed on the wing and the magnitude of the applied voltage can considerably improve aeroelastic performance of the wings.
Aeroelastic Modeling of Smart Composite Wings Using Geometric Stiffness
Journal of Aerospace Engineering ; 32 , 2
2018-11-26
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
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