Development of an Active Aeroelastic Continuous Trailing Edge Wind Tunnel Wing Model for Drag and Gust Load Minimization

Abstract

An actively controlled, aeroelastically-scaled wind tunnel wing model was developed for low-speed tests of real-time drag and gust load alleviation by wing shaping for the SSCI-DIRECT project. The model uses eight independently controlled trailing edge flaps, and contains accelerometers and strain gauges for load sensing. The design builds off three VCCTEF aeroelastic models: two with manual adjustment and one with active control. A detailed NASTRAN model was developed and validated by both static load and modal tests. Wind tunnel testing is currently underway at the University of Washington’s Kirsten Wind Tunnel.