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Conceptual design and comparative study of strut-braced wing and twin-fuselage aircraft configurations with ultra-high aspect ratio wings

Conceptual design and comparative study of strut-braced wing and twin-fuselage aircraft configurations with ultra-high aspect ratio wings
Conceptual design and comparative study of strut-braced wing and twin-fuselage aircraft configurations with ultra-high aspect ratio wings

Sustainable and fuel-efficient next-generation air transportation demands a step change in aircraft performance. The ultra-high aspect ratio wings (UHARW) configuration is one key enabling strategy for improving aircraft aerodynamic efficiency and reducing fuel consumption and emissions. Unconventional aircraft configurations and advanced airframe technologies are required to address the large bending moment and shear stresses in the UHARW structure. This paper considers two promising unconventional configurations for adopting UHARW design, including strut-braced-wing (SBW) and twin-fuselage (TF), with advanced airframe technologies, i.e., active flow control, active load alleviation, and advanced airframe structures and materials. Three typical missions, including short-range (SR), medium-range (MR), and long-range (LR), are considered for aircraft design. A conceptual design and performance analysis framework for SBW and TF configurations is developed in this paper. According to the mission profile and top-level requirements proposed for each mission, an SBW and a TF configuration are designed, respectively. A comparative study is carried out to determine the best-in-class configuration of the corresponding mission to evaluate the potential of SBW and TF configurations for next-generation sustainable aviation applications. The results showed that the TF configuration has a better wing weight reduction effect than the SBW configuration, and the MR-TF and LR-TF aircraft have lower takeoff weight and fuel weight than those of the SBW aircraft for the same mission. However, due to the adjustment of the cabin dimensions for the SR-TF aircraft, the SBW configuration outperforms the TF configuration in this mission.

Advanced airframe technology, Conceptual design, Strut-braced wing, Twin-fuselage, Ultra-high aspect ratio wing
1270-9638
Ma, Yiyuan
b0523048-df03-4269-af67-8fd7ef9780a8
Karpuk, Stanislav
583b7aff-008d-4d29-b697-01745a423095
Elham, Ali
676043c6-547a-4081-8521-1567885ad41a
Ma, Yiyuan
b0523048-df03-4269-af67-8fd7ef9780a8
Karpuk, Stanislav
583b7aff-008d-4d29-b697-01745a423095
Elham, Ali
676043c6-547a-4081-8521-1567885ad41a

Ma, Yiyuan, Karpuk, Stanislav and Elham, Ali (2022) Conceptual design and comparative study of strut-braced wing and twin-fuselage aircraft configurations with ultra-high aspect ratio wings. Aerospace Science and Technology, 121, [107395]. (doi:10.1016/j.ast.2022.107395).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Sustainable and fuel-efficient next-generation air transportation demands a step change in aircraft performance. The ultra-high aspect ratio wings (UHARW) configuration is one key enabling strategy for improving aircraft aerodynamic efficiency and reducing fuel consumption and emissions. Unconventional aircraft configurations and advanced airframe technologies are required to address the large bending moment and shear stresses in the UHARW structure. This paper considers two promising unconventional configurations for adopting UHARW design, including strut-braced-wing (SBW) and twin-fuselage (TF), with advanced airframe technologies, i.e., active flow control, active load alleviation, and advanced airframe structures and materials. Three typical missions, including short-range (SR), medium-range (MR), and long-range (LR), are considered for aircraft design. A conceptual design and performance analysis framework for SBW and TF configurations is developed in this paper. According to the mission profile and top-level requirements proposed for each mission, an SBW and a TF configuration are designed, respectively. A comparative study is carried out to determine the best-in-class configuration of the corresponding mission to evaluate the potential of SBW and TF configurations for next-generation sustainable aviation applications. The results showed that the TF configuration has a better wing weight reduction effect than the SBW configuration, and the MR-TF and LR-TF aircraft have lower takeoff weight and fuel weight than those of the SBW aircraft for the same mission. However, due to the adjustment of the cabin dimensions for the SR-TF aircraft, the SBW configuration outperforms the TF configuration in this mission.

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Accepted/In Press date: 27 January 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 31 January 2022
Published date: February 2022
Additional Information: Funding Information: This project has received funding from the Clean Sky 2 Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 883670 . The JU receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the Clean Sky 2 JU members other than the Union. The authors would like to thank Rafael Palacios (Imperial College London) and Rolf Radespiel (Technische Universität Braunschweig) for their feedback on the aircraft configuration design. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
Keywords: Advanced airframe technology, Conceptual design, Strut-braced wing, Twin-fuselage, Ultra-high aspect ratio wing

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 469051
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/469051
ISSN: 1270-9638
PURE UUID: 14fb604c-e96c-49e2-8003-702bf14f9a5b

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Date deposited: 05 Sep 2022 17:02
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 21:26

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Contributors

Author: Yiyuan Ma
Author: Stanislav Karpuk
Author: Ali Elham

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