Unsteady Aerodynamic Whirl Flutter Control

Project:

There is currently great interest from rotorcraft manufacturers in tilt-rotor aircraft (see AW609 and Cleansky Next Gen TiltRotor) due to their ability to achieve VTOL and high-speed long-range flight. However, one of the major challenges is whirl flutter in high-speed forward flight. This is where the rotor excites the wing torsional mode causing it to precess, thereby driving the torsional mode. To prevent whirl flutter requires thickening of the wing to increase its torsional stiffness, thereby increasing drag and sacrificing some of the speed / range which makes tiltrotor aircraft competitive. One possibility is to use high-frequency actuation to control the unsteady aerodynamic forces.

At Bath we are currently working with Airbus to investigate two high-frequency actuator types for controlling loads on fixed-wing aircraft that are ideal for this purpose. This studentship would investigate the potential of these devices for tiltrotor applications through a Hardware in the Loop (HiL) approach. HiL refers to a hybrid testing method where the parts of the problem that can be simulated are modelled computationally and the parts that cannot be simulated are measured experimentally. In this case the structural dynamics can be modelled; whereas the unsteady aerodynamics cannot and so will be experimentally investigated in a wind tunnel with the model and experiment linked in real-time. This project therefore incorporates two interesting and novel aspects, unsteady aerodynamic control of whirl flutter and HiL.

Informal queries should be addressed to Dr David Cleaver ([Email Address Removed])

Candidate:

Applications are welcomed from UK and EU students who have, or would expect to obtain, a good undergraduate degree (BEng or MEng) in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics or equivalent. English language requirements must be met at the time of application to be considered for funding.

Application:

Formal applications should be made via the University of Bath’s online application form for a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Please ensure that you state the full project title and lead supervisor name on the application form.

https://samis.bath.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_ipp_lgn.login?process=siw_ipp_app&code1=RDUME-FP01&code2=0013

More information about applying for a PhD at Bath may be found here:

http://www.bath.ac.uk/guides/how-to-apply-for-doctoral-study/

Anticipated start date: 30 September 2019