Load Analysis

Aerospace structures must withstand a wide range of flight and ground loads during the operational life. The determination of the loads represents one of the key disciplines in aircraft design and certification, directly influencing structural sizing, weight, fatigue life, and overall aircraft performance. Accurate load prediction requires coupled aeroelastic models that capture the interaction between aerodynamic, structural, and inertial forces. The research develops and investigates multifidelity aeroelastic load analysis integrated directly in the aircraft design and optimisation framework. The design and certification of an aircraft at an industrial scale require a huge number of flight conditions and loadcases. Therfore an efficient parameterization and automated generation of load cases is essential as well as a reliable load case enveloping. 

Load Envelopping

In addition to conventional section-force-based load enveloping methods, alternative approaches are being investigated to improve the identification of critical sizing load cases. A particular focus is placed on reserve-factor-based enveloping techniques derived from aircraft certification methodologies, which directly incorporate structural integrity to the load analysis process.

Multi-fidelity aerodynamic data set

The aircraft design process requires multiple levels of aerodynamic fidelity. High-fidelity models like CFD models provide accurate predictions but are computationally expensive, while low-fidelity models enable rapid design space exploration. A central research focus is the integration and blending of aerodynamic data of different fidelity levels to combine accuracy and computational efficiency.