Curvilinear fiber optimization tools for aeroelastic design of composite wings

The aeroelastic design of composite wings modeled as thin-walled beams is investigated through the use of curvilinear fiber. The structural model considers non-classical effects such as transverse shear, warping restraint, rotary inertia, nonuniform torsional model and also aerodynamic loads based on Wagner's function. In this paper, a linear spanwise variation of the fiber orientation resulting in a variable-stiffness structure is used to optimize the wing for maximum aeroelastic instability speed purpose, while manufacturing constraints are incorporated. Numerical results indicate improvements of aeroelastic stability of variable-stiffness wings over conventional, constant-stiffness ones. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.