A comparative study between Flax-Fiber Reinforced Polymer and Balsa wood for Aero-structure applications.
2022-26-1199
05/26/2022
- Event
- Content
- When air flows over a wing, a pressure difference is generated between the upper and lower camber of the wing. This pressure difference is responsible for lift generation. Since the wing is the primary lifting surface of all aircraft, the structure itself must be capable of handling all the loads imposed upon it. This study aims to perform a trade-off between Balsa wood and a natural fiber composite namely Flax Fiber Reinforced Polymer and evaluating their performance using ANSYS. Balsa wood is the most common material used for building homebuilt remote-controlled aircraft. This makes the aircraft light but restricts its performance as it cannot handle cyclic loads over a period of the cycle. Thus, a natural fiber composite is being chosen as a substitute for the conventional Balsa wood. The wing is modeled using SOLIDWORKS 2018 and includes 5 ribs and a rectangular spar at the maximum thickness/chord %. The composite material is built using ANSYS ACP wherein all the laminates and fiber orientations are defined. Firstly, a fluid dynamics simulation using the Finite Volume Method is performed using ANSYS-FLUENT. Then a one-way fluid-structure interaction analysis is performed wherein the adverse pressure gradient generated is imported as a load over the wing in Static Structural. The total deformation and Von Mises stress are obtained and are used as a comparative parameter for both materials. Furthermore, a pre-stressed modal analysis is performed to find the natural frequency of the structure to analyze its dynamics. This provides the basis for performing further structural dynamics problems like Aeroelastic effects.
- Citation
- Phatarphod, S., Swain, P., Sharma, N., and Maiti PhD, D., "A comparative study between Flax-Fiber Reinforced Polymer and Balsa wood for Aero-structure applications. ," SAE Technical Paper 2022-26-1199, 2022, .