Aeroelastic studies on a high-performance swept-wing airplane

Abstract

Comprehensive aeroelastic analyses and wind tunnel tests have been conducted on a model of a typical high-performance airplane with swept surfaces. The investigation covered the effect of dynamic pressure upon steady state longitudinal control and stability characteristics as well as aileron effectiveness. The analysis was based upon a superposition method which yields a convergent series which may be applied to any structure on which the load is a function of the deflection. It has been shown that after a few terms this series degenerates to an elementary geometric progression which maybe summed to infinity. This conclusion is applicable even to cases where the aeroelastic effects are large and the structure is actually approaching a condition of instability. Wind tunnel tests were carried out both at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology. Measured data were compared with the results of the theoretical analysis.

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