Aerodynamic-Structural Design Studies of Low-Sweep Transonic Wings

The work presented herein explores the possibility of extending some commonly accepted limits related to the general layout of an efficient transonic wing. Specifically, the Mach-Sweep-Thickness relationships are revisited at a cursory level. High-fidelity aerodynamic and aerodynamic-structural optimizations are performed on a set of wings constructed by a parametric variation on wing sweep. These study wings are derived from a baseline wing representative of current aircraft design practices. Initial results show that it may be possible to significantly reduce wing sweep without incurring either aerodynamic or structural penalties, especially for M ≤ 0.8 aircraft designs. Although more work is required to better quantify the magnitude of the potential improvements possible. Nonetheless, with existing aerodynamic and aerodynamic-structural optimization software, the possibility of enhancing the current knowledge base of wing planform layout is now within grasp. Background The current generation of civilian transport aircraft are typically designed with a moderately high swept wing. However, the planform layout of these wings were substantially influenced by historical design charts developed decades ago. These design charts were derived and updated from wind-tunnel and flight data collected over the years; they include shifts due to technology levels, such as that introduced by supercritical airfoil sections.