Due to their lightness, the capacity to adapt to the flow conditions, and the safety when operating near humans, the use of membrane-resistant structures has increased in fields as micro aerial vehicles and yachts sails. This work focuses on the computational methodology required for simulating the aeroelastic coupling of the structure with the incident wind flow. A semi-monocoque structure (composed of a main spar, a set of ribs, and an external membrane) inside a wind tunnel is simulated using two different methodologies. Firstly, a complete fluid-structure interaction is calculated by combining the finite element methodology for the solid and the unsteady Reynolds average Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics for the air, including nonlinear effects and prestress. Then, a low-fidelity model is applied, obtaining the linear aeroelastic eigenvalues and the temporal response of the wing. Both methodologies results are in agreement with estimating the transient mean deformation and flutter velocity. However, the modal analysis tends to overestimate the aeroelastic effects, as it calculates potential aerodynamics, predicting an instability velocity lower than that provided by the transient simulations.

中文翻译：

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柔性膜翼数值气动弹性模拟的多保真度方法


由于它们的重量轻、适应流动条件的能力以及在人类附近操作时的安全性，膜抗结构在微型飞行器和游艇航行等领域的使用有所增加。这项工作的重点是模拟结构与入射风流的气动弹性耦合所需的计算方法。使用两种不同的方法模拟风洞内的半硬壳式结构（由主梁、一组肋骨和外膜组成）。首先，通过结合固体的有限元方法和非定常的雷诺平均 Navier-Stokes 计算流体动力学（包括非线性效应和预应力），计算出完整的流固耦合。然后，应用低保真模型，获得线性气动弹性特征值和机翼的时间响应。两种方法的结果都与估计瞬态平均变形和颤振速度一致。然而，模态分析往往高估了气动弹性效应，因为它计算了潜在的空气动力学，预测的不稳定速度低于瞬态仿真提供的速度。