Aeroelastic Analysis of Two-Dimensional Tandem Wing using Vortex Lattice Method

To achieve the eco-friendly design with high performance, the small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the next generations are designed based on multiplane such as box wing and tandem wing. Such UAVs can achieve high lift at low Reynolds numbers. At the same time, the flow interaction between multiple wings can have a significant effect on the aerodynamic characteristics and consequently to the aeroelastic stability. Therefore, in this work, the aerodynamic and aeroelastic behavior of the tandem wing is investigated. The tandem wing is approximated as the rigid plate with spring supports that allow it to rotate and translate vertically. The aerodynamic interaction between front and rear plates is modeled using the two-dimensional vortex lattice method. The vortex core model and the core growth model are used to improve the wake model for the better prediction of the aerodynamic loads and the wake patterns. The numerical simulation is performed using an iterative scheme based on the Runge-Kutta method where the coupled aerodynamic forces and structural forces are integrated simultaneously and interactively in the time domain. From the numerical analysis, it is observed that placing wings at closer distance lead to flutter at a lower speed due to the aerodynamic interaction.