The design, construction, and tests of a concept aeroelastic wind tunnel model of a high-lift variable camber continuous trailing edge flap (HL-VCCTEF) wing configuration

The NASA/Boeing research and development effort focused on the Variable Camber Continuous Trailing Edge (VCCTEF) configuration concept aims at adding control degrees of freedom and control modes in the form of continuous deflections of wing control surfaces spanning a variety of shapes. Such continuous shaping of the wing can be tailored optimally to yield best lift/drag/moment characteristics as well as airframe noise characteristics at different flight conditions. While mathematical modeling and design methods and infrastructure are being developed by NASA and Boeing, a low-cost low-speed wind tunnel aeroelastic testing program has been underway at the University of Washington in Seattle. Its goals include generating an experimental data base for the validation of the mathematical modeling methods developed and gaining insights regarding the physical behavior and design challenges involved. This paper describes a Phase II VCCTEF wing aeroelastic tests carried out at the University of Washington’s Kirsten wind tunnel focusing on a high-lift aeroelastic model equipped with leading edge slats and a root trailing edge Fowler flap in addition to the outer wing VCCTEF. The design and construction of the model are described as well as results of test/analysis correlation studies based on NASTRAN aeroelastic simulations. While nonlinear aerodynamic/aeroelastic behavior is expected and does appear in the high-lift cases, the goal of the NASTRAN based test/simulation evaluation was to evaluate the accuracy of linear Finite Element/aerodynamic panel codes in such cases and identify their limits.