Design and Optimization of Adaptive Wings for Highly Efficient Long-Range Aircraft

In order to investigate the potential of adaptive wing technology to reduce fuel consumption, two highly efficient long-range transport aircraft were designed. The first design is based on basic maneuver load alleviation and a conventional composite wing-box structure and represents the reference aircraft. The second aircraft design introduces adaptive wing technology and advanced structural concepts to quantify the potential of active and passive load alleviation technologies. This paper presents the results of the aerostructural wing optimizations as an essential part of the design work. In the optimization process, high-fidelity simulation methods are used to determine the flight performance in transonic cruise flight and the loads in maneuver flight and to minimize the mass of the composite wing box in a structural sizing. Static aeroelastic effects are considered in all flight conditions. The minimization of fuel consumption for three typical flight missions represents the objective function. The design parameters describe the wing shape and the deflections of the control surfaces. Realistic constraints for the integration of the landing gear, engine nacelle, and control surfaces are considered. The comparison of the two aircraft designs shows a potential for improving fuel efficiency by 5.4%.