A CFD/Doublet Lattice/MD Nastran Calculation of Static Aeroelastic Trim and Structural Loads

A CFD/Doublet Lattice/MD Nastran Calculation
of Static Aeroelastic Trim and Structural Loads
Rich Jacobs
The Boeing Company, Seal Beach, California
Erwin Johnson
MSC Software Corporation, Santa Ana, California
John Ausman
MSC Software Corporation, Santa Ana, California International Forum on Aeroelasticity
and Structural Dynamics
Pichuraman Sundaram 21-25 June 2009
The Boeing Company, Huntington Beach, California Seattle, Washington
BOEING is a trademark of Boeing Management Company.
Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114
Outline
Engineering, Operations & Technology | Boeing Research & Technology Structural Technology
• Background and motivation

• Objective and approach
• Process description
• Sample applications
• Summary

Background and Motivation
• Fast and accurate external loads development is

essential to efficiently supporting structural design
and optimization Application of high fidelity data early in the design cycle offers
significant savings potential where 5% of program cost is
expended but 85% of program cost is committed
• Trade studies
• Rapid prototyping
• Detail design Conceptual Preliminary Detail Production
– Load survey’s
– 100’s to 1000’s cases
– Corrected aero to agree with experimental data
• Optimization
– Robust and efficient aeroelastic loads generation
Background and Motivation
• Current methods have limitations and issues

• Linear panel methods
– Fast
– Unable to capture complex flows and nonlinearity due to shocks,
separation, vortex flows, or model speedbrake control devices
• Wind tunnel
– Accurate
– Costly and time consuming
• High fidelity aeroelastic CFD simulations
– Accurate
– Impractical for large numbers of trimmed load cases necessary for
structural design
– Computationally too expensive for use with structural optimization
– Aerodynamic data must be used as is can not be corrected to agree
with wind tunnel results
– Robustness issues for “real-world” applications
– Mesh deformation
– Control surface deflection
Objective and Approach
• Objective
• Develop practical and affordable variable-fidelity process that
allows for integration of high-fidelity aerodynamic data early in the
design process to improve results and reduce risk
• Approach
• Combine computational fluid dynamics with low cost panel
methods to achieve an accurate, efficient, and robust aeroelastic
trim and loads generation capability
– High fidelity aerodynamic data to capture complex flows
– Progression of aerodynamic fidelity
– Allows for aerodynamic corrections
– Fast and robust enough to be used for “real-world” loads and
structural optimization applications

Process Description
• Based on MD Nastran and enhanced with Boeing funded

developments
• Key features added to MD Nastran

• Ability to perform static aeroelastic analysis with two separate
aerodynamic meshes
– Enables integration of 3-D aerodynamic data from CFD or
experimental methods
– Aeroelastic corrections produced from coarse mesh based on the
DLM, ZONA51, or CPM methods
• Ability to combined rigid controllers from CFD and DLM sources
– CFD could be used to supply solutions for 0o, 5o, 10o, 15o, 20o AOA
– DLM used to supply control surface aero and p,q,r data
– Combined controller set enables creation of trimmed conditions

Process Description
• General form of the aeroelastic trim problem
M [u ]  (K  qQ [u ]  (qQ  P )[u ]

gg g gg gg g gv gv v
Where Mgg and Kgg are the mass and stiffness matrices in the g-set and:
uv Controller states
ug Structural displacements
q Dynamic pressure
Q gv  G gkp Qkv
Pgv  qPgvq  Pgvo
Qgg  G Qkk G p
gk
d
kg
Qkv Aerodynamic data from CFD or wind tunnel sources
Qkk AIC matrix Pogv Controller forces independent of dynamic pressure e.g. engine thrust
Gpgk DLM to structural force spline Pqgv Controller forces dependant on dynamic pressure
Gdkg Structural to DLM displacement spline Gpgk CFD to structural force spline

Process Description
• Overview of the new hybrid static aeroelastic (SOL 144) process
Rigid Aero CFD2NAST

CFD/WT/A502
ADBD
Geom/Press/Loads/States
SOL 144 1
Rigid CFD Solution
.Master Database
CFD to FEM Spline
SOL 144 2
Combined CFD + DL
Aeroelastic Trim and Loads

Aerodynamic Data
• Aerodynamic sources (linear or nonlinear)

• CFD
– Becoming more affordable all the time
– Unstructured methods support rapid grid generation
– Ever faster computers lessen the computational burden
• Panel methods
– A502, S/HABP
• Wind tunnel
• As additional CFD or wind tunnel results become

available, they can be easily added to an existing
database

CFD2NAST
• Rigid aero data processed using the Boeing

CFD2NAST program
• What does CFD2NAST do?
• Stores CFD and associated data to a Nastran
database
– CFD loads, pressures, states, controller names
– Nastran data blocks required for SOL 144
• Processes CFD data
– Interpolate CFD results to a reduced density mesh
– Correct CFD to match target loads from wind tunnel or
flight test
CFD
A502

Splines
• Splines are used to couple the aerodynamic and

structural models
• CFD
• Doublet-Lattice
• Nastran native splines for 3-D aerodynamics
• Spline6
• Splinrb
• The external spline server was used by MSC and
Boeing to couple the Discrete Transform* method with
MD Nastran
• Input generated using Patran groups
• Fast and efficient spline generation for CFD models
* Samareh, J. A., “Discrete Data Transfer Technique for Fluid-Structure Interaction”,

18th AIAA Computational Fluid Dynamics Conference, AIAA-2007-4309, Miami, FL, June 25-28, 2007

Trim and Stability Derivatives
• Iterative solution used to

determine trim for nonlinear
Calculate Derivatives About
Reference Point
aero Linear Yes

Trim
Data?
No
• Stability derivatives and

Iter < Max and
flex/rigid ratios may now be
No
UX not Done
converged
nonlinear functions of angle of Yes
attack and control surface Trim
deflections, sideslip
Recalculate Derivatives
About Trim Point

New SOL 144 Output Features
• CSV output provides convenient results summary

• Trim, mass properties, monitor point data
• Force/moment output available for SOL 144

• Format options (single/double field)
• Force components

X-37 Sample Application
• NASA/Boeing X-37
• The X-37 was developed as an
advanced technology
demonstrator to test future
technologies
• Structural loads were developed
from distributed aerodynamics
produced using NASA’s CFL3D
flow solver in 2000
• Illustrative of an advanced
program phase application

• X-37 CFD loads database

• Created using CFL3D with batch
processing utility and control surface
mesh perturbation capability
• Computational requirements reduced by
r = -15o
using restart databases and convergence
monitoring strategies
• Full database contains 520 conditions
• 316 Navier-Stokes solutions
– Range of Mach numbers 0.60-0.95,
angles of attack, and control surface
deflections
• Processed using CFD2NAST
– 26 seconds
– 516MB
• Models
s
r ids ent nts
ts e
en 00 G E l em le m
l em ,0 0E
0
E 54 ,000 68
, 00 59
42
CFD FEM DLM
• Initial SOL 144 rigid CFD trim

• 12 minutes FEM Displacements
• CFD to FEM spline generation 4 minutes
• Aeroelastic CFD + DLM trim
• 10 conditions
• 16 minutes

X-48B Sample Application
• NASA/AFRL/Boeing X-48B
• The X-48B is a 8.5% scaled
remotely-piloted vehicle with a
wing span of ~21ft
• First Flight 2007
• The objective of the program is X-48B 30 X 60 Foot Wind Tunnel Test
to investigate the flight

characteristics of the BWB
design
• Demonstrates how CFD can
be included for initial loads
development
• X-48B aero database

• Rigid unit solutions produced using A502 higher
order panel code
• CFD++ used to produce high AOA Navier-Stokes
solutions for 10o and greater
• 10o AOA CFD++ solution interpolated to the A502
mesh and stored with A502 solutions
– Forces, pressures
A502 CFD++
• Models
881,000 Elements 20,000 Grids
12,000 Elements 23,000 Elements 1764 Elements
A502 CFD++ FEM DLM
• Initial SOL 144 trim with A502/CFD aero

• 1.8 minutes
• Aeroelastic A502/CFD + DLM trim
• 197 conditions
• 22 minutes
• Reduced memory requirements from smaller aero and
FEM models result in significantly faster solution time
compared to X-37
• The new SOL 144 loads capability can be used with MD

Nastran SOL 200 and other optimization programs
• To investigate cycle time for structural
sizing/optimization the new SOL 144 process was used
with Collier Research's HyperSizer program
• Structural components
– 344 panels
– 104 beams
• Loads developed using SOL 144 with A502/CFD + DLM aero
– 173 trimmed and balanced conditions generated in 20 minutes
• One sizing iteration performed in 52 minutes
• Results show CFD+DLM loads can be used effectively for
structural optimization applications

Summary
• A new approach for incorporating high fidelity aerodynamic

data early in the design cycle to improve the accuracy and
efficiency of static aeroelastic loads development was
presented
• The process is based on new capabilities available in MD
Nastran that allow use of two separate aerodynamic meshes
for SOL 144 analysis
• The technique utilizes and combines aerodynamics from
high fidelity sources such as nonlinear CFD, and wind tunnel,
with doublet-lattice, ZONA51, or CPM methods
• The process allows for a progression of aerodynamic fidelity
from linear panel methods with, to nonlinear CFD, to
incorporation of results from experimental methods
• Application of the new process was demonstrated on two
representative models that indicated that loads can be
generated efficiently for “real-world” applications

A CFD/Doublet Lattice/MD Nastran Calculation of Static Aeroelastic Trim and Structural Loads

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A CFD/Doublet Lattice/MD Nastran Calculation

of Static Aeroelastic Trim and Structural Loads

• Background and motivation

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

• Fast and accurate external loads development is

• Current methods have limitations and issues

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

• Based on MD Nastran and enhanced with Boeing funded

• Key features added to MD Nastran

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

• General form of the aeroelastic trim problem

M [u ]  (K  qQ [u ]  (qQ  P )[u ]

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

• Overview of the new hybrid static aeroelastic (SOL 144) process

Rigid Aero CFD2NAST

Rigid CFD Solution

Aeroelastic Trim and Loads

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

• Aerodynamic sources (linear or nonlinear)

• As additional CFD or wind tunnel results become

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

• Rigid aero data processed using the Boeing

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

• Splines are used to couple the aerodynamic and

* Samareh, J. A., “Discrete Data Transfer Technique for Fluid-Structure Interaction”,

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

• Iterative solution used to

aero Linear Yes

• Stability derivatives and

nonlinear functions of angle of Yes

attack and control surface Trim

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

• CSV output provides convenient results summary

• Force/moment output available for SOL 144

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

• X-37 CFD loads database

CFD FEM DLM

• Initial SOL 144 rigid CFD trim

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

to investigate the flight

• X-48B aero database

A502 CFD++ FEM DLM

• Initial SOL 144 trim with A502/CFD aero

• The new SOL 144 loads capability can be used with MD

Copyright © 2009 Boeing. All rights reserved. IFASD-2009-114

• A new approach for incorporating high fidelity aerodynamic

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