Fluid to composite structure interaction

• Main Author: Tan, Melvyn Han Xiang.
• Other Authors: Chai Gin Boay
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Aeronautical engineering::Materials of construction; DRNTU::Engineering::Aeronautical engineering::Aerodynamics
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/46020
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) is becoming an important area of research over the years. As machines and structures get faster, bigger and more complex, it is important to understand how structural deformation affects fluid flow and vice versa. Through such research, safety of these machines and structures can be greatly improved. This project is a study of the structural response of fluid interacting with a structure during deformation. In this report, an introduction was done on composites, structural theories, aerodynamic theories and the coupling of the structural and aerodynamic theories in FSI analysis. Literature review was also done on past research by J.H. Kim et al. and M. Kuntz et al. which covered both experimental as well as computational analysis. Fabrication of the mount and the wing was done and initial designs were drawn out using the Solidworks program. Next, static testing on the wing and tensile testing of the material used was carried out to determine the exact material properties. This was followed by the wind tunnel test which was used to obtain wing deflection due to lift acting on it. The next phase of the project involved the use of ANSYS workbench to setup the FSI analysis which required coupling the structural solver with the fluid solver. After testing and computational analysis was done, the results were reviewed and discussed. The main results obtained were deflection, lift and drag at varying angles of attack and velocities. Other relevant data was also obtained from the experiment and analysis. These data were compared in the following section of the report and theories were used to explain the data obtained. The report ended off by concluding all findings and also recommending future work that can be done to improve on the current results as well as embarking on other useful areas of study.