Assignment 10

Aileron Reversal
AE676 - Aeroelasticity
Puneet Singh
Y8378
Figure 1: Wing with deected aileron
Formulation
Consider Fig. 1. The angular twist at any position y is given by (y) about the elastic axis. The twist is
assumed to be as a summation of shape functions like this :
(y) =
n

i=1

i
(y)a
i
(1)
The cantilever condition at the root requires:

i
(0) = 0 (2)
and at the tip the moment must be zero

i
(l) = 0 (3)
From the equilibrium condition we can write at a position y from the root:
1
Figure 2: Angle of attack at wing cross-section
d
dy
_
GJ
d
dy
_
+ M = 0 (4)
Aerodynamic Model
The moment load is due to the Aerodynamic lift (L), moment (M
AC
) and inertial force (Nmg). The moment
at any position y can be written as their sum:
M = qcC
L
e + qc
2
C
Mac
Nmgd (5)
where, q =
1
2
u
2
is the dynamic pressure, c is the chord length, e is the oset between the aerodynamic
center and the elastic axis, N is the load factor, m is the mass per unit length, g is the acceleration due to
gravity, and d is the oset between the center of mass and elastic axis.
Lift
The angle convention can be seen in Fig. 2. The free stream velocity U is along AA

. Due to the roll rate p,

the wing cross section (at a spanwise distance of y from the roll axis) experiences a downward component
of air ow of magnitude py. Hence the net air speed for the cross section is along BB

. The wings zero-lift

line would have been along CC

, for no aileron deection. So the angle of attack would have been

r
+ ,
the rigid angle of attack summed with the twist angle. However, due to the aileron deection, the zero-lift
line shifts to DD

, and the additional component is termed as

0L
.
This model of the aerodynamics is assumed because of the experimental data obtained from the NACA
Contractor Report. In the gure reproduced from this report seen in Fig. 3, we can see that the lift curve
slope does not change appreciably with respect to an aileron deection. As an example marked on the gure,
we calculate the change in lift due to an aileron deection of 20
o
from initially 5
o
and a net angle of attack
change (due to twist and roll rate downwash) of 4
o
from intially 4
o
to 8
o
. So if we follow single arrowheads
on the gure, rst we go from the point A on the 5
o
aileron deection lift curve at = 4
0
to the 20
o
aileron
deection at = 4
0
, point B. Then we travel along the new lift curve upto the nal = 8
o
, point C. The
same change in lift coecient is obtained if we increase the angle of attack on the same lift curve of 5
o
aileron deection, to go to point D, following the double arrow line. Then we increase the angle of attack
by 4
o
to go to point E. Point E and Point C both have the same change in lift coecient. The eective
increase in angle of attack due to aileron deection can be obtained from Fig. 8. For small deections, the
slope of the curve is nearly same for all angles of attack.
2
To determine the rolling moment produced by an aileron deection of , we require only the non symmetric
lift distribution on the wing. Hence the lift coecient can be written as:
C
L
= C
L
( +
0L
) (6)
Here the modied angle of attack is due to 2 terms, the additional twist and the downwash induced due to
a roll rate:
= (y)
py
U
(7)
The change in eective angle of attack can be found by:

0L
=
1
C
L
C
L

Moment
Similarly, the change in moment due to aileron deection is:
C
M
=
C
M

(8)
This is because about the aerodynamic center, the moment is independent of angle of attack, even if there
is an aileron deection. This factor can be obtained from Fig. 9
Load Factor
The load factor is obtained from:
N =
L
W
= 1 +
a
g
= 1 +
y p
g
This gives us:
Nmgd = mdy p (9)
Solving for Twist
We now have:
d
dy
_
GJ
d(y)
dy
_
+ qceC
L
_
(y)
py
U
+
1
C
L
C
L

_
+ qc
2
C
M

mdy p = 0 (10)
By using the assumption of , we can write:
n

i=1
a
i
_
GJ

i
_

+
n

i=1
a
i
qceC
L

i
qceC
L
py
U
+ qce
C
L

+ qc
2
C
M

mdy p = (11)
Here is the error because we have assumed a solution of the form of which may not be the exact solution.
3
Figure 3: Lift Coecient vs Angle of Attack with dierent Aileron Deection
4
Galerkin Method
From the Galerkin method, the integral of the product of this error and a shape function is nullied over
the domain. Hence we can see:
_
l
0

j
dy = 0
=
n

i=1
a
i
__
l
0
_
GJ

i
_

j
dy + qC
L
_
l
0
ce
i

j
dy
_
+
_
q
C
M

_
l
0
c
2

j
dy + q
C
L

_
l
0
ce
j
dy
_

qC
L
p
U
_
l
0
cey
j
dy p
_
l
0
mdy
j
dy
By assuming all the shape functions such that j = 1, 2, , n , we can write this in the form of a matrix
equation:
[A]{a} + {B} {C}p {D} p = {0} (12)
where:
A
ij
=
_
l
0
_
GJ

i
_

j
dy + qC
L
_
l
0
ce
i

j
dy (13)
B
i
= q
C
L

_
l
0
ce
j
dy + q
C
M

_
l
0
c
2

j
dy (14)
C
i
=
qC
L
U
_
l
0
cey
j
dy (15)
D
i
=
_
l
0
mdy
j
dy (16)
For the matrix [A] we can use integration by parts to simplify the integral:
A
ij
=
__
GJ

i
_

l
0

_
l
0
GJ

j
dy + qC
L
_
l
0
ce
i

j
dy =
_
l
0
GJ

j
dy + qC
L
_
l
0
ce
i

j
dy (17)
The boundary conditions of the shape function help us remove the endpoint terms. Let the inverse of matrix
A exist so that we can obtain the following linear matrix equation:
{a} = [A]
1
{D} p + [A]
1
{C}p [A]
1
{B} (18)
The condition that the inverse of that matrix exists implies that we are not operating the divergence speed.
It can be shown that when |[A]| = 0, the wing twist exceeds structural limitations.
Equation of Motion
The integral of the assymetric lift over the complete wing span gives the total moment acting on the aircraft.
This moment causes the aircraft to roll. We assume that both the half wings produce equal amount and
distribution, but of opposite direction, of lift. This involves the assumption that a negative aileron deection
5
characteristics are same as a positive deection. But our aerodynamic data allows us to make this reasonable
assumption. So
I
xx
p = 2q
_
l
0
cC
L
ydy = 2q
_
l
0
cC
L
_

py
U
+
0L
_
ydy (19)
If we use our approximation of the twist and the aileron deection:
I
xx
p = 2qC
L
n

i=1
a
i
_
l
0
c
i
ydy
2qC
L
p
U
_
l
0
cy
2
dy + 2q
C
L

_
l
0
cydy (20)
We now rewrite the equations again in matrix formulation:
p = {L}
T
{a} Mp + N (21)
where:
L
i
=
2qC
L
I
xx
_
l
0
c
i
ydy (22)
M =
2qC
L
UI
xx
_
l
0
cy
2
dy (23)
N =
2q
I
xx
C
L

_
l
0
cydy (24)
Replacing {a} from equation 18:
p = {L}
T
[A]
1
{D} p + {L}
T
[A]
1
{C}p {L}
T
[A]
1
{B} Mp + N (25)
and rearranging to get:
(1 {L}
T
[A]
1
{D}) p = (N {L}
T
[A]
1
{B}) (M {L}
T
[A]
1
{C})p (26)
Hence the equation of motion can be written as:
p =
_
N {L}
T
[A]
1
{B}
1 {L}
T
[A]
1
{D}
_

_
M {L}
T
[A]
1
{C}
1 {L}
T
[A]
1
{D}
_
p (27)
Sudden Aileron Deection
For a sudden aileron deection from straight steady ight, our equation of motion becomes:
p =
_
N {L}
T
[A]
1
{B}
1 {L}
T
[A]
1
{D}
_
(28)
since intially p = 0. If the numerator becomes zero, we will get no rolling motion if the pilot applies an
aileron deection. So
N = {L}
T
[A]
1
{B} (29)
If we replace the matrices by their values, we get:
6
2q
I
xx
C
L

_
l
0
cydy =
_
2qC
L
I
xx
_
l
0
c
i
ydy
_
T
[A]
1
_
q
C
L

_
l
0
ce
j
dy + q
C
M

_
l
0
c
2

j
dy
_
We can cancel terms on either sides to get a simpler relation:
C
L

_
l
0
cydy = q
_
C
L
_
l
0
c
i
ydy
_
T
[A]
1
_
C
L

_
l
0
ce
j
dy +
C
M

_
l
0
c
2

j
dy
_
We can then use dierent values of q upto the divergence speed. This will determine matrix A. The complete
right hand side can then be obtained. If this is equal to the left hand side, this means we have reached the
no roll at sudden aileron deection condition.
Just to simplify the expression we write:
C
L
I
1
= qC
L
{I
2i
}
T
[A]
1
{C
L
I
3j
+ C
M
I
4j
}
The simplied terms are given as:
C
L

= C
L
(30)
C
M

= C
M
(31)
I
1
=
_
l
0
cydy (32)
I
2i
=
_
l
0
c
i
ydy (33)
I
3j
=
_
l
0
ce
j
dy (34)
I
4j
=
_
l
0
c
2

j
dy (35)
Steady Roll
During steady roll we can write
p =
_
N {L}
T
[A]
1
{B}
M {L}
T
[A]
1
{C}
_
(36)
Aileron eectiveness is dened as:
p

=
(pl/U)

=
p

_
l
U
_
=
_
N {L}
T
[A]
1
{B}
M {L}
T
[A]
1
{C}
_
l
U
(37)
We can reduce some unrequired terms by replacing the quantities in the matrices:
p

=
_
_
_
_
_
2q
I
xx
C
L

_
l
0
cydy
_
2qC
L
I
xx
_
l
0
c
i
ydy
_
T
[A]
1
q
_
C
L

_
l
0
ce
j
dy +
C
M

_
l
0
c
2

j
dy
_
2qC
L
UI
xx
_
l
0
cy
2
dy
_
2qC
L
I
xx
_
l
0
c
i
ydy
_
T
[A]
1
_
qC
L
U
_
l
0
cey
j
dy
_
_
_
_
_
_
l
U
(38)
7
This gives us:
p

=
_
_
_
_
_
C
L

_
l
0
cydy q
_
C
L
_
l
0
c
i
ydy
_
T
[A]
1
_
C
L

_
l
0
ce
j
dy +
C
M

_
l
0
c
2

j
dy
_
_
l
0
cy
2
dy qC
L
__
l
0
c
i
ydy
_
T
[A]
1
__
l
0
cey
j
dy
_
_
_
_
_
_
l
C
L
(39)
We can replace the integrals using the following symbols:
p

=
_
C
L
I
1
qC
L
{I
2i
}
T
[A]
1
{C
L
I
3j
+ C
M
I
4j
}
I
6
qC
L
{I
2i
}
T
[A]
1
{I
5j
}
_
l
C
L
(40)
The other integrals are:
I
5j
=
_
l
0
cey
j
dy (41)
I
6
=
_
l
0
cy
2
dy (42)
For matrix [A] we can write:
A
ij
= qC
L
I
8ij
I
7ij
(43)
where
I
7ij
=
_
l
0
GJ

j
dy (44)
I
8ij
=
_
l
0
ce
i

j
dy (45)
For a particular speed, we can calculate q and all the elements of the matrices. Hence the aileron eectiveness
can be plotted with each speed. When this eectiveness goes to zero, we can say that aileron reversal has
occurred, because with further increase in speed, a negative roll will occur for a positive aileron deection.
Change from Rigid Lift
The ratio of the total actual lift with respect to the lift if the wing was rigid is given by:
L
elastic
L
rigid
=
_
l
0
qc C
L,elastic
dy
_
l
0
qc C
L,rigid
dy
=
qC
L
_
l
0
c(
py
U
+
0L
)dy
qC
L
_
l
0
c(
py
U
+
0L
)dy
= 1 +
_
l
0
cdy
_
l
0
c(
py
U
+
0L
)dy
The aileron reversal is independent of the current roll rate. For simplication of the expression we set it
eqaul to zero. So we get:
8
L
elastic
L
rigid
= 1 +
_
l
0
cdy
_
l
0
c(
1
C
L
C
L

)dy
= 1 + C
L
_
l
0
cdy
C
L

_
l
0
cdy
If we replace the twist angle with our approximation we get:
L
elastic
L
rigid
= 1 +
C
L
C
L
n

i=1
a
i
_
l
0
c
i
dy

_
l
0
cdy
= 1 +
C
L
C
L
{
_
l
0
c
i
dy}
T
{a}

_
l
0
cdy
We replace the matrix of the coecients of the shape functions from Eqn. 18. As before, we put the roll
rate and accelerations equal to zero for simplication.
L
elastic
L
rigid
= 1
C
L
C
L
{
_
l
0
c
i
dy}
T
[A]
1
{B}
_
l
0
cdy
= 1
C
L
C
L
{I
9i
}
T
[A]
1
{B}
I
10
where
I
9i
=
_
l
0
c
i
dy (46)
I
10
=
_
l
0
cdy (Area of wing) (47)
We can also plot the variation of lift along the wing at dierent speeds. In this case the lift ratio is written
as:
C
L,elastic
C
L,rigid
= 1 +

py
U
+
0L
= 1 +
C
L
C
L

20
i=1
a
i

i
(y)

= 1 +
C
L
C
L
{
i
(y)}
T
{a}

Hence we get:
C
L,elastic
C
L,rigid
= 1
C
L
C
L
{
i
(y)}
T
[A]
1
{B} (48)
Integrals
Here we calculate the integrals according to the nature of the actual wing of the aircraft. We have been
provided with 20 segmented sections of the wing. So the integrals take a summation form as shown below.
The section is denoted by the index k, while the chord, osets, moments of inertia etc. are expressed as
functions of k. The integrals I
1
, I
3j
, I
4j
appear in the above equations only as products with terms which
are derivatives of . Since these terms only exist over the span of the aileron, we integrate over only those
segments of the wing which are from 14 to 19 according to the drawing provided.
I
1
=
_
l
f,aileron
l
i,aileron
cydy =
19

k=14
c(k)
_
l
2
(k)
l
1
(k)
ydy =
1
2
19

k=14
c(k)[l
2
2
(k) l
2
1
(k)] (49)
9
We use the following shape functions for the twist deformation. As can be seen they satisfy the boundary
conditions:

i
= sin
_
(2i 1)y
2l
_
(50)
and so

i
=
(2i 1)
2l
cos
_
(2i 1)y
2l
_
(51)
Hence
I
2i
=
_
l
0
c
i
ydy =
20

k=1
c(k)
_
l
2
(k)
l
1
(k)
y sin
_
(2i 1)y
2l
_
dy
I
2i
=
2l
(2i 1)
20

k=1
c(k)
_
2l
(2i 1)
sin
_
(2i 1)y
2l
_
y cos
_
(2i 1)y
2l
__
l
2
(k)
l
1
(k)
(52)
Similarly
I
3j
=
_
l
f,aileron
l
i,aileron
ce
j
dy =
19

k=14
c(k)e(k)
_
l
2
(k)
l
1
(k)
sin
_
(2j 1)y
2l
_
dy
I
3j
=
2l
(2j 1)
19

k=14
c(k)e(k)
_
cos
_
(2j 1)y
2l
__
l
1
(k)
l
2
(k)
(53)
Again we get a similar integral:
I
4j
=
_
l
f,aileron
l
i,aileron
c
2

j
dy =
19

k=14
c
2
(k)
_
l
2
(k)
l
1
(k)
sin
_
(2j 1)y
2l
_
dy
I
4j
=
2l
(2j 1)
19

k=14
c
2
(k)
_
cos
_
(2j 1)y
2l
__
l
1
(k)
l
2
(k)
(54)
For the next integral,
I
5j
=
_
l
0
cey
j
dy =
20

k=1
c(k)e(k)
_
l
2
(k)
l
1
(k)
y sin
_
(2j 1)y
2l
_
dy
I
5j
=
2l
(2j 1)
20

k=1
c(k)e(k)
_
2l
(2j 1)
sin
_
(2j 1)y
2l
_
y cos
_
(2j 1)y
2l
__
l
2
(k)
l
1
(k)
(55)
The next integral gives us:
I
6
=
_
l
0
cy
2
dy =
20

k=1
c(k)
_
l
2
(k)
l
1
(k)
y
2
dy =
1
3
20

k=1
c(k)[l
3
2
(k) l
3
1
(k)]
10
The next 2 integrals are same as the ones used while solving the divergence problem.
Our equations for I
7ij
(when i = j):
I
7ij
=
_
l
0
GJ

j
dy
I
7ij
=
G(2i 1)(2j 1)
2
8l
2
20

k=1
J(k)
_
l sin
_
y
l
(i + j i)
_
(i + j 1)
+
l sin
_
y
l
(i j)
_
(i j)
_
y
2
(k)
y
1
(k)
(56)
and for I
7ij
(when i = j):
I
7ii
=
G(2i 1)
2

2
8l
2
20

k=1
J(k)
_
y +
l
(2i 1)
sin
_
y
l
(2i 1)
_
_
y
2
(k)
y
1
(k)
(57)
Similarly we get for the I
8ij
(when i = j):
I
8ij
=
_
l
0
ce
i

j
dy
I
8ij
=
1
2
20

k=1
c(k)e(k)
_
l
(i + j 1)
sin
_
y
l
(i + j i)
_

l
(i j)
sin
_
y
l
(i j)
_
_
y
2
(k)
y
1
(k)
(58)
and for I
8ij
(when i = j):
I
8ii
=
1
2
20

k=1
c(k)e(k)
_
y
l
(2i 1)
sin
_
y
l
(2i 1)
_
_
y
2
(k)
y
1
(k)
(59)
The integral for I
9
is obtained by:
I
9i
=
_
l
0
c
i
dy =
2l
(2i 1)
20

k=1
c(k)
_
cos
_
(2i 1)y
2l
__
l
1
(k)
l
2
(k)
(60)
The area of the wing is simply:
I
10
=
_
l
0
cdy =
20

k=1
c(k)[l
2
(k) l
1
(k)] (61)
Results
The aileron eectiveness decreases with increase in forward speed as shown in Fig. 4. The aileron reversal
speed is at 885.0 m/s. This is larger than the divergence speed of 558.0 m/s obtained earlier. We can see
that upto the 5th mode shape, the results start to converge. It is interesting to note that although the
divergence problem is inbuilt into the aileron reversal formulation, we do not see any deviation in the plot
near the divergence speed. Even if we nely vary the speed near the divergence speed, the numerator and
denominator terms together do not blow up. Only at exactly the divergence speed, we get an indeterminate
solution.
If we vary the stiness of the wing as in Fig. 5, we observe that the aileron reverses much earlier, for a exible
wing. Not only that, but there occur singularities several times. These singularities indicate divergence in
twist of the wing due to the ailerons.
11
In Fig. 6, we have plotted the ratio of the total lift coecent of the exible wing with respect to the rigid
wing. We can see that the total lift is actually higher upto the divergence speed of the wing, after which it
reduces. To have a better idea of how the lift is actually distrubuted over the wing span, we see Fig. 7.
The magnitude of the dierence between the rigid and elastic lift is extremely small. This shows that the
aileron deection produces very small twisting moment, compared to the stiness of the wing.
Figure 4: Aileron Eectiveness
Figure 5: Eect of modulus of rigidity
12
Figure 6: Variation of Total lift coecient with speed
Figure 7: Spanwise distribution of lift
13
Figure 8: Change in Lift Coecient due to Aileron Deection
14
Figure 9: Change in Moment Coecient due to Aileron Deection
15